Pinson came together on Saturday night to honor one of its own before Pinson Valley’s first home game of the 2023-2024 season. The Indians’ 79-48 victory over Carver was almost beside the point.

The stands were packed to honor Caleb White, a 17-year-old senior ,who collapsed at a preseason pickup game with teammates in August and died.

White was a star for the Indians and a starter since he was a freshman. He helped lead Pinson Valley to a 6A No. 1 ranking and undefeated regular season in 2022-2023 before being upset 51-41 in the Regional Finals by Buckhorn.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Pinson Valley retired White’s No. 1 jersey and honored him with a video package showing video and photos from his life as a young athlete. Fans packed the bleachers wearing the same stylized white “UNO OUT” t-shirt. The Indians wore the same shirt during warmups, and left a seat at the team bench empty with White’s jersey draped neatly over the back.

Pinson Valley basketball was a family affair for the Whites, as Caleb and his brother began their basketball careers in the Indians’ gym as small children.

“Caleb had an older brother, and always aspired to be like his older brother” Caleb’s father, Curtis White, said. “So he had a lot of things to look up to. I think if he thought he could beat his brother, then he thought he could beat anyone. He always played up, and he always played high-level competition, and I think that brought out the best in him.”

Curtis, who addressed the crowd before his son’s jersey was retired, was overcome with emotion as Pinson Valley took the floor. That’s when it hit him. His son, a natural leader, had always been the first Indian on the floor for warm-ups. His absence again shocked a grieving father.

“It’s emotional, because we grew up here in Pinson,” Curtis White said. “So we have friends who knew me, him, my wife, Cam. We just started here, and it’s fitting to have his jersey retired here in a place that not only did he play basketball, but he was a member of the community here.”

According to his father, Caleb had always wanted to be like his big brother, Cam White. Cam and Caleb played together on the Indians squad until Cam graduated, a one-two punch of athleticism and tough defense punctuated by sharp shooting that made Pinson Valley a perennial contender in 6A basketball.

“Obviously, he meant a lot to me,” said Cam White, who is now pursuing a degree at Tennessee State University. “But even deeper than that, we had a really deep connection ever since he was born. We were always around sports. We always played sports, and that’s kind of how we bonded, through competition. But it was healthy competition, like we would fight but at the end of the day, we were each other’s best friend. His loss is kind of hard, but I know that he’s in a better place, and I know he wouldn’t want me to be here frowning and not living every day, so I try to do that and honor him.”

Pinson Valley head coach Darrell Barber knew the night would be emotional for the crowd, for the team, and for himself. The memory of Caleb lives on for Barber and his squad, as they push themselves forward into a season they thought would look quite different.

“He was a leader, a great student-athlete, and he was loyal more than anything else,” Barber said. “He always had a smile about himself, and he was a tireless worker, coming in at five and six in the morning. He was a true example of a student-athlete. He was a tough kid, and he had a next-play mentality. He was always going to go hard and give his best.”

As for the game versus Carver: Pinson Valley jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed, finishing with a 31-point margin. The Indians’ Clyde Walters led all scorers with 19 points, while three other teammates scored in double figures. Quay Lynch and Austin Coner each had 14, while Camron Frost put up 10. For Carver, Jaden Jones and Dmitri Howard each scored 10, while Levante Woodside had 8.

Pinion Valley faces Percy Julian on Nov. 20, while Carver travels to play Central Phenix City on November 13.