Scorekeeper David Ross and his famous hat switched sidelines to Apex Friendship

Former Apex girls basketball player McKenzie Randall entered her alma mater’s gym for the first time in five years to familiar sights as the Cougars faced the town’s new high school, Apex Friendship.

First, the recent UNC-Wilmington graduate passed by the visitors’ bench and greeted Friendship coach Scott Campbell before tipoff of a Jan. 26 contest that Apex won 64-33. She last played for Campbell as a senior in 2011, but she was aware he had come out of a three-year retirement to coach at Friendship.

Then Randall kept walking past the scorers’ table and spotted another Apex girls basketball fixture, scorekeeper David Ross.

Randall gave Ross a joyful hug before Ross had donned his ubiquitous hardhat – it features a capital D and hyphen that connects with a picket fence (for “defense”) – and explained that he had switched sides. Instead of an Apex hardhat painted black and gold, his Friendship hardhat was colored red, white and blue for the Patriots.

After 18 years keeping score, serving as the public address announcer and even driving the team bus for Apex girls basketball road games, he gave in to Campbell’s request to reunite at Friendship for his 19th year of volunteering.

“I thought about it long and hard,” said Ross, who was greeted by many others throughout the night. “I asked my wife and friends. I had been here for a long time and had a good rapport with people at Apex.”

That a former high school player five years removed from her playing days would stop to warmly greet a scorekeeper tells you plenty about what Ross meant to the program.

“He was fun to have around,” Randall explained. “We looked forward to him announcing our games. He’s the best.”

Campbell cited Ross’ ability to relate the players. Three of Ross’ daughters played for Campbell. Ross began simply by keeping stats in the 1997-98 school year, his daughter Christie’s sophomore season. He enjoyed his involvement and later added the scorekeeping, announcing and bus driving duties. His daughter Kelly graduated in 2005 and Erin in 2011.

“Once I hand him the scorebook, I never have to worry about anything,” Campbell said. “The information is always accurate. He keeps me informed about fouls on players. I can coach without having to worry about it. It’s especially valuable to have an adult do all that for you. As a parent, he never questioned me about his daughters’ playing time. He never tried to use that.”

As any high school coach can tell you, the only parental volunteer more invaluable to them is a parent that continues to volunteer after their son or daughter has graduated.

Ross, who keeps the JV and varsity books, said once he stayed on between Christie’s senior season in 1999-2000 and Kelly’s freshman year in 2001-02, it was easy for him to continue upon Erin’s graduation.

“You get to know the girls and watch them grow up,” Ross said. “You get to know the families and then their sisters come through as players. And I just love to watch basketball games.”

The more Ross enjoyed the role he decided he needed a special hat. He mentioned it to a friend, Mike Ely, and he provided the hardhat painted black and gold and the “D and picket fence” propped up like a placard.

“When I told him I was going over to Friendship, he made me a new one,” Ross said. “This is the third one he’s made for me since that first one.”

Campbell added contacting Ross was one of his first thoughts when Friendship principal Matt Wight, formerly of Apex High, lured him out of retirement. The old friends picked up where they left off, but Campbell smiles that he does have one more request. It has to do with Wake County Public Schools System not providing a bus driver for road games.

“He drove our bus at Apex,” Campbell said. “I want him to get his license updated to drive the bus again.”

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Scorekeeper David Ross and his famous hat switched sidelines to Apex Friendship."