Pillow Academy is about to unveil its newly renovated gymnasium and basketball court.
The facility, updated with several major improvements, will be showcased for the first time Tuesday when the girls and boys teams host Jackson Prep.
It is the culmination of a project that has been more than two years in the making.
When Barrett Donahoe, head of school, first arrived at Pillow in the spring of 2020, talks of renovating the gym and Durwin Carpenter Court, which is named after legendary girls basketball head coach Durwin Carpenter, were already underway.
After realizing the need for not only an updated gym but a cafeteria with more room as well, Donahoe and development director Shawna Young began exploring how they could get the total $3.5 million project done.
“The initial thought process was to add a student section or make an area for students only (in the gym), and through that conversation came a lot more conversations about the need for renovating the cafeteria, the need to close the breezeway, which is now going to house our concession stand,” Donahoe said of the early stages of the project. “So, the project gained a lot of traction because of that.”
After the talks of renovations progressed into more serious consideration, Donahoe and Young began to put the plans into action.
“We started the process of talking to a construction company, and that led into the conversations with architects about what could be done,” Donahoe said. “Then it was about trying to find out if there was interest from our community in making this project happen, which we found out quickly that there was.
“We were very fortunate to get a very generous lead gift to get the project started. Once that happened and we had architectural renderings that we could show people the importance of what we had to do, it all took off.”
Carpenter’s Lady Mustangs are off to a 3-3 start while waiting for the home court to be finished. In his 28 years as the head coach of Pillow’s girls basketball and 49 years as a head coach in general, Carpenter has amassed over 1,100 career wins — making him one of the winningest active head coaches in the nation. The MAIS Hall of Fame coach said he can’t wait to see the finished product.
“When Barrett Donahoe came on as headmaster, he really started pushing the project, him and Shawna Young,” Carpenter said. “They have done an outstanding job of getting all this organized and together, and the ideas they have come up with have been really great. It’s going to be something different.”
The updated basketball facility will feature a seating capacity of around 1,100, a redesigned court floor, a center-hung scoreboard as well as the traditional wall-hung scoreboards, redesigned and updated walkways and concession stands inside the gym, and a lounge located behind a glass wall that overlooks the court.
Under the leadership of Carpenter, the Lady Mustangs have become one of the powerhouse girls’ programs in the state, winning nine state titles and four Overall championships.
Not only has the girls basketball program been flourishing, but also girls soccer is coming off its second straight state title after beating Lamar School 3-2 in double overtime on Oct. 11.
In Donahoe’s eyes, a winning school deserves winning facilities.
“The thing about this gymnasium is, it sits in the middle of our campus, and we wanted the center of our campus to be a showcase for who we are and what we do here at Pillow Academy,” Donahoe said. “We’re just blown away by the generosity of so many people who have made this project happen. We’re just excited about when we get to come in here and play a game.”
That happens Tuesday as the girls and boys basketball teams play host for the first time this season. The varsity girls tip off at 6:30 p.m. against Jackson Prep, with the boys to follow. The JV girls and boys will play prior to the varsity games.
-Contact Jared Conerly at 662-581-7237 or jconerly@gwcommonwealth.com.
