MOCKSVILLE — Used to be, East Rowan basketball players struggled to contain their opponents.

Tuesday evening, 16 future Mustangs struggled to simply contain their glee.

They were actually playing summer basketball — for Coach K.

Derek Kurtinsky, who recently replaced Mark Flynn as the boys basketball coach, has wasted no time in creating a new mindset for a program that never had much belief in itself.

Now, the players are starting to perk up. And they better if they want to continue playing for Coach K.

“It has only been two weeks,” Kurnitsky laughed after the glorified scrimmage with his former school, Davie County. “They don’t know what to think of me yet. They see this weirdo running around the gym stomping.”

No, not a weirdo. They’re seeing a man they perceive to be a savior.

“I’m really excited to be playing for a new guy, even though I enjoyed playing for Coach Flynn last year,” said Matt Belk, who has grown to 6-foot-3 and has developed a nice little baseline hook.

“I’ve been watching Kris Lang,” he smiled.

Kurnitsky says he wants to instill confidence in his players. So why did he take them for their first “real” game to Mocksville?Jim Young will have another powerhouse this season, a team that Coach K predicts will be ranked among the top 10 teams in 4A.

“I threw them to the wolves,” Kurnitsky said. “And I did it on purpose.”

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East is in the process of learning Davie’s offense. So basically, Davie knew everything that the Mustangs were going to do. Maybe Kurnitsky just wanted to see how his youngsters would react.

Or maybe he just wanted his players to take a good, hard look at Sean Stevens, who bombed in three-pointer after three-pointer.

“Will you get out on him!” bellowed Coach K. “That’s about the 68th straight three he’s hit.”

“No. 69!” screamed a Davie scrub when Stevens immediately hit another bomb.

If East’s players want to know what their new coach can accomplish, they need to make the 5-7 Stevens their poster child.

Coming out of the eighth grade, Stevens was a decent little player, averaging about 12 points. He joined Coach K for his freshman season and boom! He averaged 23.

The mad bomber’s numbers have increased each season.

“They’ve got a lot to look forward to,” Stevens said of the East players. “Coach K is hilarious and he’s a really good coach. He’s always there for his players.

“He saw I could shoot and if you’re a good shooter, you can score in this system.”

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Will Kurnitsky find another Stevens? He was wondering just that as rising freshman Eric Taylor began a Stevens-like streak of outside swishes.

“I call it a boy, a ball and a dream,” said Coach K.

Kurnitsky’s main goal Tuesday was to see who would hustle, who would pout ... and along with Young, let the Mustangs know of basketball transformation up here. Don’t forget that Davie was 2-56 in the two seasons before Young’s arrival. Now, the War Eagles expect to win 20 every year.

“You can win,” Young told the Mustangs. “Just listen to this guy. If he isn’t successful, I don’t think anybody can be there.”

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The sweltering heat had the Mustangs huffing and puffing, but if Kurtinsky barked, they jumped. This is their guy now and the love affair officially began last night.

“We need somebody like this to come into the program,” said guard Derek Talbert. “I didn’t know what to expect but when I met him, I knew he’d be good for us. Nobody has ever practiced us like Coach K.”

Talbert was shooting in the gym one day and Kurnitsky, fresh off an interview, ambled in.

“He badgered me with questions,” Talbert laughed. “He wouldn’t give me a chance to answer. But he wants to run and gun and that’s going to be a different style from what I’ve played.”

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If Kurnitsky has one problem with his new team, it’s that they pass too much. (he’ll never coach at North Carolina).

“We’re not Hoosiers!” he exclaimed. “If we pass more than twice, I’m mad. I want to catch it and shoot it after the first pass.”

That enthusiasm has the community already embracing him. During “Meet Coach K Night” last week, he was stunned that so many people showed. He was even more stunned when he finished talking.

“They all lined up to shake my hand,” he marveled. “I thought I was the Pope. or something.

“I told them, ‘I’m not a savior. I’m just a basketball coach.’ But they’re starving for a winner.”

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Coach K has already passed his first test. When he talked, every eye was on him.

“We’ve only practiced two days but we’ve gotten better,” he told the Mustangs. “Imagine how much better we’ll be in six weeks. A lot better, right? Imagine how much better we’ll be in six months. A lot better, right?”

Then, Coach K got on a one of his famous roll.

“I’m cocky,” he told his new players. “When I walk into a gym, nobody is cockier than Coach K. I want you to have a chip on your shoulder, just like me. You don’t have it now but you just need to be around me more. You’ve got to play like I coach.”

He begged them to be gym rats. Begged them to play against older guys at the Y. Pretty much begged them to have complete confidence.

East is going to keep playing summer basketball. Next Wednesday, it’s off to North Stanly to face Salisbury.

East is taking baby steps now. The Mustangs are listening and learning. But when they hit the court, can they turn this program around? Can rising senior Belk one day look back and say, “I help start something.”

“I had tons of people here, including good coaches, tell me, “You won’t win at Davie,’” Young said. “But you can win anywhere.”

Derek Kurnitsky believes that or he wouldn’t have taken the job. And Tuesday, his Mustangs were showing signs of believing too.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com .