‘It’s pretty crazy’: Norm Stewart Classic provides full circle moment for Hannibal’s Gaines

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Friday started just like any other day for Hannibal girls basketball coach Shawn Gaines.

“I woke up at my normal time. I typically wake up about 4:30 a.m.,” Gaines said. “I went to exercise, then I came home.”

When he returned home, though, the nerves were flowing a little faster than normal. Those extra nerves came with good reason. The Pirates were just a few hours away from departing for Columbia, Mo., to play in the Norm Stewart Classic at Mizzou Arena, the home of the University of Missouri men’s and women’s basketball teams.

“I was getting a little anxious so I tried to get my mind off of it by watching film of one of our next opponents, so that way I’m not freaking out or making myself more worried than I already am,” Gaines said.

The mere existence of this game at an NCAA Division I arena was not the only reason Gaines was so nervous, though. The Pirates were set to square off with Columbia Rock Bridge, Gaines’ alma mater, in the city where Gaines was born and raised.

“It’s pretty crazy when you really sit down and think about it,” said Gaines, a 2012 Rock Bridge graduate.

After that film session, Gaines headed to Hannibal High School where he is a special education teacher. He made some calls to college coaches during the first block, had class, then 10:30 a.m. came around, and it was time to board the bus and head for Columbia.

The nerves only intensified as the bus approached Gaines’ hometown.

“The whole bus ride, as I was getting closer and closer and seeing the familiar sights of Columbia, that’s when the nervousness started to ramp up a little bit,” Gaines said. 

When he arrived at the arena, the gravity of the moment really hit him.

“Then I walked into Mizzou Arena, and I was like, ‘Wow, we’re here,’” Gaines said.

This was not the first time Gaines had been to Mizzou Arena or even stepped foot on the court there. Gaines, who played football all four years at Rock Bridge and basketball for two, was on hand to watch the Bruins girls basketball teams win Class 5 state championships in 2008 and 2012 at Mizzou Arena.

On Jan. 4, 2005, Gaines got to play at Mizzou Arena as a fifth grader when his travel team, the Columbia Lakers, had a scrimmage at halftime of a Mizzou men’s basketball game against American University.

“It was very, very, very big being a fifth grader, then you’ve got the Antlers (the Mizzou student section) screaming at us to shoot. It was a cool deal,” Gaines said. 

He did alright for himself in that scrimmage.

“I got a rebound or two, and I got to the free throw line,” Gaines said. “I didn’t make my free throws, but I at least went.”

As for which was more nerve-wracking — playing or coaching at Mizzou Arena — Gaines was conflicted.

“I would say playing, but at the same time, I was pretty nervous to get this thing going today,” Gaines said. “I can say that. I was super excited all day just to get on the court.”

From the moment Friday’s game tipped off at 2 p.m., Rock Bridge was firing on all cylinders. The Bruins blitzed the Pirates by shooting 58 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range on their way to a 55-10 halftime lead. The Bruins, which finished third in Class 6 last season and second in 2023, notched their third win by at least 30 points this season and handed the Pirates’ their first loss with a 79-25 result.

“They are every bit as advertised,” Gaines said. “We approached this game as a measuring stick. I know that we’re a good team, but where do we stack up against some of the state’s best? Are our rotations good enough? Are we doing the right things offensively? Little things like that were really what was on my mind.

“When they get hot from the 3-point line the way that they did, it’s hard to handle, especially when you’re not shooting the ball well.”

While the homecoming would have been even sweeter with a victory, Friday provided Gaines with a coaching experience that he said has only been topped by Hannibal’s dramatic 81-80 victory over Palmyra on Feb. 14, 2023, during Gaines’ first season as the Pirates coach.

“That’s my No. 1 experience,” Gaines said. “This is probably No. 2.”

There was no Shakespeare’s pizza after the game, either — just the Domino’s pizza provided by the event staff, for which Gaines was thankful — but Gaines will make up for that in due time.

“I’ll get it the next time I go there,” Gaines said.

All told, not a bad trip down memory lane.

“Not at all,” Gaines said.