By Derek Thompson | The Selma Times-Journal

Three local players and a coach spent Tuesday completing final preparations for the North-South all-star basketball games Wednesday night at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Dallas County head coach Willie Moore and Keith’s John Pettway, Southside’s Charles Price and Keith’s Harriet Winchester were elected to participate in the all-star games earlier this year and they’ve spent this week practicing and getting ready.

Moore will be coaching the South Boys’ All-star team, whose 15-player roster includes Pettway and Price.

“Pettway has done a really good job of coming in and doing what the coaching staff asks him to do,” Moore said. “Same as Charles Price from Southside. They’ve done a really good job of representing the county well.”

The South squad also features 6-foot-9 Cameron Diggs Crawford of Blount, the tallest player in the game, and Carver-Montgomery’s Antonio Nelson, a key player in the Wolverines’ Class 6A state championship run in 2015.

“It’s been great playing with some of the greatest basketball players in the state,” Price said. “It’s good, but very competitive though. My strategy is to just go out and play hard.”

Moore said he hasn’t installed many plays for Wednesday’s game because of the limited time the team has had to practice after being selected, but everyone is competing hard to get in the rotation.

“It’s kind of hard since all the players are good,” Pettway said. “I’m used to being that guy that mainly has the ball in his hands all the time, but now you have to learn how to move without the ball and get yourself open and also be able to benefit yourself and your team.”

Winchester, MVP of the Class 1A state tournament for state champion Keith, is among headliners for the South girls’ squad.

Winchester said she will fight through a wrist injury Wednesday after a four-wheeler accident that happened several days ago.

“I can’t really practice like I want to,” Winchester said. “My shooting wrist is very weak … It’s hard, but it’s okay. I’m making it.”

The North swept both games last year. The North boys are 46-25 in the series dating back to 1953 and currently own a 12-game winning streak heading into 2015. The North girls are 16-2 in the series and have won seven straight.

The girls game is scheduled to start Wednesday at 6 p.m., while the boys game will follow at 8 p.m.