Knights’ Guilford lands at Randolph-Macon
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808
There’s no question that Collin Guilford made an impact on the Greenfield School boys basketball program in the two years the Winterville resident played for the Knights.
Upon transferring from Pope John Paul II Catholic High in Greenville, the 6-foot guard helped the Knights win 62 games, including the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship in 2019.
“I feel like that was a great decision by me for myself and I’m glad I did it because I learned a lot from Coach (Rob) Salter and Greenfield,” he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I’ve never been on a team where we battled so much in practice every day, just going at each other like we didn’t know each other. But at the end of the day, we’re like family.”
Now he’s looking forward to being part of another family at Randolph-Macon College after recently signing with the Yellow Jackets of NCAA Division III. Guilford, the son of Lena Bailey of Winterville and Carlos Guilford of Winterville, said he was also offered by Div. II Barton College and Div. III Eastern (Pennsylvania) University and received interest from Div. III William Peace and Div. II USC Aiken. However, Guilford wasn’t concerned about Div. II or III, but rather, what seemed like the right place for him.
“I chose Randolph-Macon because I visited their campus and watched the games and stuff. I just felt very comfortable,” he said. “I liked the environment around the college campus and I liked the team a lot. I liked how the head coach was on me, checking on me throughout the recruiting process, just keeping in touch. I feel like I made a great choice for my future.”
Led by All-America junior guard Buzz Anthony, the Yellow Jackets of head coach Josh Merkel went 28-2 and won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles. But the No. 3 Yellow Jackets’ season ended with a thud when the NCAA Div. III tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as they prepared for a third-round game.
“I’m just going to go as hard as I can and give it all I’ve got,” Guilford said. “I’m going to listen as much as I can because I know a lot of those guys have been there longer than me and they know stuff I don’t, so I can’t come in thinking I know everything or I don’t need to listen to anybody. I just need to be humble and listen to my coaches and teammates and just get better.”
The possessor of a 3.9 GPA, Guilford said he is probably going to major in business at the liberal arts college in Ashland, Virginia, located just a few miles north of Richmond. That makes sense because, as Greenfield head coach Rob Salter pointed out, Guilford was all business on the court.
“What I love about Collin is he competes at a high level and he’s not scared of anything,” Salter said. “He’s going to come at you if you try to challenge him. … If someone makes a mistake and talks a little bit to Collin first and gets him going, I mean, Collin is a very explosive, dynamic guard who can really shoot the ball.”
Playing on a team with every starter averaging double figures, Guilford scored 15 points a game while doling out seven assists per outing. He was one of 12 players selected to The Wilson Times All-Area team. He was lethal from the perimeter, shooting 43% from 3-point range. But his defense was even better, Salter said.
“I’m telling you this year when he played at a high level, it was hard to beat us,” Salter said. “And he played at a high level a lot for us this year because he just put so much pressure on the defense with how quick he is. He’s one of the quickest guards in the state and for a guard his size, he’s explosive. I’s been a lot of fun to watch him grow.”
Salter added that Guilford always was up for big games at Greenfield. He was the MVP of the Greenfield Christmas Tournament in December.
“Randolph-Macon has a fantastic program but it won’t surprise me to see him play a lot of minutes his first season,” the coach said.
Guilford said that beside working on his defense and building his physique, he wants to develop his leadership skills vocally.
“I want to improve on being more vocal because in the past sometimes, I could lead by example,” he said. “I just want to be a good teammate no matter what, if we’re doing good or bad.”
Guilford looks forward to seeing one of his former teammates at least twice next season as Greenfield senior Trey Pittman has signed with Randolph-Macon’s ODAC rival, the University of Lynchburg.
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Guilford said. “I know it’s going to be fun seeing him down the road with all the memories we have together at Greenfield.”
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808
There’s no question that Collin Guilford made an impact on the Greenfield School boys basketball program in the two years the Winterville resident played for the Knights.
Upon transferring from Pope John Paul II Catholic High in Greenville, the 6-foot guard helped the Knights win 62 games, including the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship in 2019.
“I feel like that was a great decision by me for myself and I’m glad I did it because I learned a lot from Coach (Rob) Salter and Greenfield,” he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I’ve never been on a team where we battled so much in practice every day, just going at each other like we didn’t know each other. But at the end of the day, we’re like family.”
Now he’s looking forward to being part of another family at Randolph-Macon College after recently signing with the Yellow Jackets of NCAA Division III. Guilford, the son of Lena Bailey of Winterville and Carlos Guilford of Winterville, said he was also offered by Div. II Barton College and Div. III Eastern (Pennsylvania) University and received interest from Div. III William Peace and Div. II USC Aiken. However, Guilford wasn’t concerned about Div. II or III, but rather, what seemed like the right place for him.
“I chose Randolph-Macon because I visited their campus and watched the games and stuff. I just felt very comfortable,” he said. “I liked the environment around the college campus and I liked the team a lot. I liked how the head coach was on me, checking on me throughout the recruiting process, just keeping in touch. I feel like I made a great choice for my future.”
Led by All-America junior guard Buzz Anthony, the Yellow Jackets of head coach Josh Merkel went 28-2 and won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles. But the No. 3 Yellow Jackets’ season ended with a thud when the NCAA Div. III tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as they prepared for a third-round game.
“I’m just going to go as hard as I can and give it all I’ve got,” Guilford said. “I’m going to listen as much as I can because I know a lot of those guys have been there longer than me and they know stuff I don’t, so I can’t come in thinking I know everything or I don’t need to listen to anybody. I just need to be humble and listen to my coaches and teammates and just get better.”
The possessor of a 3.9 GPA, Guilford said he is probably going to major in business at the liberal arts college in Ashland, Virginia, located just a few miles north of Richmond. That makes sense because, as Greenfield head coach Rob Salter pointed out, Guilford was all business on the court.
“What I love about Collin is he competes at a high level and he’s not scared of anything,” Salter said. “He’s going to come at you if you try to challenge him. … If someone makes a mistake and talks a little bit to Collin first and gets him going, I mean, Collin is a very explosive, dynamic guard who can really shoot the ball.”
Playing on a team with every starter averaging double figures, Guilford scored 15 points a game while doling out seven assists per outing. He was one of 12 players selected to The Wilson Times All-Area team. He was lethal from the perimeter, shooting 43% from 3-point range. But his defense was even better, Salter said.
“I’m telling you this year when he played at a high level, it was hard to beat us,” Salter said. “And he played at a high level a lot for us this year because he just put so much pressure on the defense with how quick he is. He’s one of the quickest guards in the state and for a guard his size, he’s explosive. I’s been a lot of fun to watch him grow.”
Salter added that Guilford always was up for big games at Greenfield. He was the MVP of the Greenfield Christmas Tournament in December.
“Randolph-Macon has a fantastic program but it won’t surprise me to see him play a lot of minutes his first season,” the coach said.
Guilford said that beside working on his defense and building his physique, he wants to develop his leadership skills vocally.
“I want to improve on being more vocal because in the past sometimes, I could lead by example,” he said. “I just want to be a good teammate no matter what, if we’re doing good or bad.”
Guilford looks forward to seeing one of his former teammates at least twice next season as Greenfield senior Trey Pittman has signed with Randolph-Macon’s ODAC rival, the University of Lynchburg.
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Guilford said. “I know it’s going to be fun seeing him down the road with all the memories we have together at Greenfield.”
