Aycock's depth proving frutiful

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on December 31, 2014 3:54 PM

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By CAM ELLIS

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PIKEVILLE -- This time last year, the Charles B. Aycock women's basketball team was 5-7 and struggling to find an identity.

Composed of mainly freshmen and sophomores, they'd win just one more game and conclude the year with a disheartening 6-18 campaign.

Fast forward a year and things in Pikeville are looking a bit different.

Aycock headed into the holiday break with an 11-2 record that included impressive wins over county rivals Goldsboro and Rosewood. A year older, the inexperienced players are now battle-tested upperclassmen on a depth-rich and talented team that has the makings of a conference contender.

The man behind it all?

First-year head coach Roy Harrell speaks of his players' abilities and the program's direction with the confidence of a seasoned veteran. His laid-back demeanor on the court and in the locker room has helped the Golden Falcons realize just how successful they can be this winter.

"We talked about [their success] a lot," Harrell said. "They can go as far as they want to go. The talent is there. The knowledge of the game is there. The biggest thing they need to worry about is continuing to work hard and not get complacent."

The players have flourished in the relaxing atmosphere.

"Coach is just a laid back guy," senior forward Myleah Jones said. "He's easy going. There's a different vibe in practices and games now. He just lets us be ourselves and go with the flow."

The change has worked wonders.

Two Aycock starters average double figures -- Jones (15.6 points a game) and Ashley Darden (12.1). Taylor Daniels drops in 9.6 points an outing. The Golden Falcons average 55.5 points as a team.

Harrell's biggest advantage heading into the large portion of Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play may be the team's depth. He calls upon 10 players each game in an attempt to keep fresh legs on the court. The Golden Falcons emulate his philosophy of grabbing rebounds and pushing the ball upcourt in hopes of wearing down opposing defenses.

Harrell could easily field two essentially separate-but-equally efficient lineups. He's experimented with keeping the starters and bench players separate, substituting them in waves comparable to a hockey line shift.

"I feel pretty confident in all the girls we have," he said. "We're going to have to swap out and use all 12 players at times, because those starting 5 can't get out and run the way we like to run.

"We've left it up to them to say, 'Hey let us know when you're tired.' When you know you can't run up the floor at 100%, let us know so we can get someone in for you, because we want to push the ball up the floor and we want to make sure we're busting our tail to get back on defense."

So while some players may moan or gripe about coming off the bench, C.B. Aycock's girls view it in an entirely different light.

"It feels great because our second string can give the starters a break when they're tired," said backup point guard Conner Vinson. "If they're not doing so well we can go in and get things done until it's time for them to come back in."

That proved evident earlier this month when Aycock visited Rosewood. The Golden Falcons started out flat and trailed 43-23 at halftime. They got their first real taste of adversity and how the team -- the bench players in particular -- would respond.

Harrell's team bounced back to win 77-71 in overtime.

"I think it was a big momentum jump for them," Harrell said. "Even if we had not come out on the top at the end of that game, I think they realized by the end that they've started to arrive a little bit."

Aycock has plenty of tough opponents remaining on its schedule. Harrell says the team has the tools it needs to succeed, but believing in itself is the main issue.

The toughest part of Aycock's schedule remains in front of them.

"I want our girls to get into the mindset of winning when they step out on the floor," Harrell said. "They should expect to win. Not hope to win, but expect to."