![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/manchester\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/2-2-1024x683.jpg\")
\u201cThat\u2019s what NFL teams get,\u201d Cope said. \u201cIt [the team] means something here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The girls give it back in full. Practices are intense \u2014 10,000 shots a week drilled into muscle memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But they love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe spend so much time together, they\u2019re part of our family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019d think they\u2019d be tired, but this weekend, my seniors were on a houseboat posting about their \u2018Lady Raiders senior season.\u2019 They\u2019re all in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That buy-in starts young. Cope and the Lady Raiders staff run summer camps for third graders and up, and they recognize elementary teams at home games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not uncommon to hear a third grader yelling, \u201cBella Vinson for three!\u201d as she mimics her hero. The Lady Raiders are role models and hometown icons in a program where young girls grow up dreaming of wearing red and white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At home, Cope\u2019s 4-year-old son is already living that dream, spending hours launching jumpers on his little basketball goal \u2014 channeling Stephen Curry, Natalie Barnes, or Olivia Vinson, depending on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cope remembered one game as if it happened yesterday. In a packed district matchup during his third season, the Lady Raiders were down by one with 1.2 seconds left. Cope called a timeout, drew up a last-chance play, and they launched the ball the length of the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It landed in the hands of Bella Vinson, the all-time leading scorer, who spun and sank a Christian Laettner-style jumper at the buzzer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe place went crazy,\u201d Cope recalled. \u201cYou just don\u2019t have games like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for the future, Cope is clear on the legacy he wants to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope people remember how my teams played and how much it meant to the community. I hope they say, \u2018Coach Cope loved the game, but he loved his players more.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And here in Coffee County, that love is re- turned \u2014 loud, proud, and full of fire. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE LIGHTS are blinding. The crowd\u2019s roar is deafening. Over 3,000 people fill Coffee County Central High School\u2019s gym, which feels more like a college arena than a high school court. The Lady Raiders charge onto the hardwood, fired up to play the game like it\u2019s their last. Leading the charge is coach Joe Pat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":24033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n