SPENCER — Outside the gym at North Rowan, over behind one end zone inside the football stadium, several signs commemorate the Cavaliers’ long-standing success in track and field.
Those signs underneath the scoreboard hold more importance to girls basketball coach Mike White than any put up on the walls of the Cavaliers’ home gym.
White, who has taken over for Trish Hester as coach of the Cavs, plans to use the perceived strength of his team — speed — to his advantage.
“They say speed kills, and I love an up-tempo game,”White said. “(NormRichardson) at Arkansas uses ‘40 Minutes of Hell.’ We’ll give you 32 minutes. You come out there, it’s going to be like a Chinese fire drill.”
Cavalier teams of the past have ran some, but they often walked the ball up the court on offense and played zone on defense.
White plans to end that trend this season, and he will use a senior transfer to orchestrate those changes on the court.
Keiko Purnell, who is fromOhio, will play the point for the Cavaliers and be in charge of pushing the tempo on offense and pressuring the ball on defense.
“She’s the hardest worker out there,”White said. “With her being new, she’s not just happy about being on the team.”
Senior Timika Peterson and junior Tanisha Hairston, a transfer from Greensboro, could also see time at the point.
“They just have the mentality of, ‘Hey, we’re going to win every game,’ ” White said. “That’s what I like to see. I’m an optimistic person. And those three guards, they’re all optimistic.”
Another speedster, Moriah Jones, will probably play shooting guard, and she should be joined in the starting lineup by small forward Crystal
Craige, power forward Ashley Hendrick and center Courtney Hunter.
“That’s maybe the most athletic person in the state right now,” White said. “She has that tenacity. She’s going to give you everything it takes.”
Craige, who scored at least eight points in five games last season, is the Cavaliers’ best perimeter shooter.
Hendrick, who runs the hurdles, can also beat and bang in the post. “I even go out there and try to post up against her,”said White, a pretty stout guy himself. “You have to bear down a little bit. She hates to lose and loves to work hard.”
Hunter, at 5-foot-10, provides the Cavaliers with a shot blocker in the middle. And even though she anchors the middle for North, she’s no snail, either.
“She runs like a deer,” White said. “She’s going to be a key on defense to getting our break started.”
Freshman Patience Cuthbertson should also see considerable time on the floor for North.
White plans to play a lot of man-to-man defense, but he will trap out of it and even play some matchup zone. From there, White hopes to force turnovers and create a helter-skelter style of play.
North put up 48.3 points a game last season after averaging at least 51.2 in each of the previous four seasons. The Cavaliers could challenge the 57.1 points they averaged in 1999, which set a school record.
“If we run and score off fast breaks, we don’t have to set up anything,”White said.
White has heard people say that his team might win 10 games at best. But the self-proclaimed optimist thinks that’s a conservative guess.
“If you can keep up with us, you might be able to beat us,”White said. “Right now, we’re going to push it.”
Today's News
