Smoky Mountain Papas go gold for four straight
But so have his Senior Olympic teammates. Last month, on Monday, June 22, the “Smoky Mountain Papas” 3-on-3 team won gold for the fourth consecutive year at the Tennessee Senior Olympics.
Carson, a Concord resident, was joined by coach/captain Bill Bayless and Terry Longworth, both of Lenoir City, Jeff Rakes and Phil Sebes out of Chattanooga and Turner Jackson from Cleveland on the team in the 70+ division. The group would also have featured Keith Bowers from Elizabethton, but he was unable to make the trip.
Since the tournament is 3-on-3 halfcourt format, each lineup typically consists of two guards and a post player. Carson filled the post role for the team, and Bowers would have done the same, though the other guys are guards.
“We had the option to play at nationals since this was a qualifying year, and we haven’t even talked about whether we’re going to proceed on or not,” Bayless said.
The team started its run in 2023, practicing out of the same First Baptist Concord gym where workouts took place this year.
Then in 2024, everyone except Bayless aged up, so he was on a different team.
“We were separate, but we both won gold in our separate divisions,” Bayless said.
The success continued in 2025 and 2026, though the number of teams has thinned each year.
“As we’ve gotten older, there are fewer competitors, so we only had three teams in our division this year,” Bayless said. “COVID-19 devastated participation at the Senior Olympics, too, and it really hasn’t recovered.
“But God has given us the desire and the ability to still try to play, and the leadership of First Baptist Concord has been gracious in allowing us to practice and play pickup ball there,” he said. “We’ve united forces a bit to have enough to play. We are all blessed to be able to try to do it.”
