VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Take a look around Green Run's gymnasium lobby and you'll notice photos of star athletes from the Stallions' past.
One of them is basketball star Ashley James.
"I would always be in here as a young kid just watching him play and watching him create that legacy and create that pathway for me to keep it going," Green Run senior guard Kassidy Jackson said.
"He did a lot for this program," added Stallions' head coach Kenneth Harris. "I make sure everybody knows who Ashley James is when they come through here."
James was killed in an accidental shooting in March of 2020, but the program has kept his memory alive. Each year the Stallions host the AJ James Benefit Game prior to the start of the season and Harris talks about his legacy to his current players. As today's Stallions prepare for the Class 5 state title game later this week, the former Green Run star is still shining bright in the program.
"He's like the heart and what we want everybody in this program to be like, carry that mentality," noted senior forward David Miller.
"AJ's always going to be a part of this, man," Harris said. "We fight for him and I know right now he's with us."
This year's Green Run team has shown that AJ James heart. This past Friday, two-time defending state champion Woodside stood between the Stallions and their goal of reaching the state title game. Though many outside the program may not have thought Harris and his group stood a chance, Green Run prevailed, 39-34, ending the Wolverines' reign.
"We just had to go in confident and knowing that they could be beat and knowing that we had to come in and play hard and execute the game plan to win that," Jackson said.
"Coach Harris always told us once the playoffs started, 'don't let them off the hook. We're the only ones who can beat them,'" recalled Miller. "We didn't let them off the hook and we went out there and got them."
Now one more victory separates the Stallions from a state crown. Green Run split the title in 2020 due to COVID and finished runner-up in 2021 during the condensed winter sports season, but now the program has a chance to take its sole place at the top of the Class 5 mountain and honor a forever teammate in the process.
"It's going to mean a lot," Harris said of a potential state title. "It means a lot that we're able to go to VCU and compete for a state championship and for this community and this school, we want to bring it back."
"We've still got one more to go," added Jackson. "Everyone doubted us, so the fact that we're here, we're definitely going to get the job done and bring it back home."
"Win the state championship was one of my main goals coming into high school," Miller noted. "Now that I have the chance to do it, it would mean everything to me."
Green Run and Albemarle tip off in the Class 5 state championship game Thursday at 2:30 PM at VCU's Siegel Center.
