Roaming the county getting ready for tonight …The overall record isn’t anything to shout about: 3-8. The conference record has everyone shouting: 2-0.
North Rowan’s boys are tied for first place in the Central Carolina Conference going into tonight’s road game at East Davidson and are favored over the last-place Golden Eagles (4-9, 0-2).
“We’ve gone from the outhouse to the penthouse,” coach Kelly Everhart chuckled.
The 3-8 overall mark is deceptive. The Cavaliers opened the season with an 84-point effort in a victory against Carson and then went into the tank offensively. In the next eight games ó against tough 3A and 4A competition ó North averaged just 45 points.
And although they haven’t exactly been the North Carolina Tar Heels, they’ve scored 53 and 60 in their first two league contests.
What’s impressive about that is senior guard Bryson Gaymon has managed just two points in each game. So Everhart is getting production from others, like Marquise Weddington.
“The kids just have to relax and realize it’s better to shoot layups than 3-pointers,” Everhart said.
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We talk about Salisbury’s Brandon Abel being the front-runner for CCC Player of the Year. But North center Winslow Cherry is now a candidate after starting his conference season with 39 points in the first two games.
Everhart sat Cherry down after the Christmas tournament and informed his 6-foot-3 center he had been outscored by his opponent an average of 10 points per game.
“I was hoping to motivate him a little bit,” Everhart said.
Cherry obviously listened. He hit his first five shots against West Davidson and finished with 22 points.
Cherry will see some height tonight in 6-5 East Davidson post player Kyle Branson.
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Don’t think Rowan County is a basketball hotbed? North and Salisbury’s boys are the only undefeated conference teams in the CCC. In the North Piedmont 3A, the East and West boys have combined for 23 wins in 27 games.
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The most intriguing matchup tonight has East Rowan’s 11-3 girls at 12-1 Statesville. Both are 8-0 in the NPC.
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An important week has the Carson girls (2-9, 1-12) facing West Iredell and Mooresville. West Iredell is 0-8 in the league and Mooresville is 1-7 after beating West.
It will be Carson’s two best chances at victory.
“West Iredell is similar to us,” Cougars coach Brooke Misenheimer said. They’re a slower-paced team.”
Misenheimer is keeping a stiff upper lip after losing several games by astronomical amounts.
“We’re young and inexperienced,” she said. “We just need to play as much as we can before next year.
“It’s got to get better.”
Carson goes to West Iredell tonight without the services of starting guard Taylor Whitley, who is suffering from a lower back strain. She should be ready for duty by Friday when the Cougars travel to Mooresville.
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Stat of the year: Salisbury’s boys have had 17 different players suit up for varsity so far.
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On the airwaves tonight, the dynamic duo of Howard Platt and The Coach, Bob Parker, will broadcast the Mooresville-West boys game from Mount Ulla.
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Now, you know my roaming won’t stop until we have an update on the NPC and its insistence on playing four games at one sight.
Because of two meandering jayvee games and a slow-paced girls game where only a missed layup at the regulation buzzer prevented it from going into overtime, the West Rowan-South Rowan boys started their Friday night game at 9 p.m.
That’s right. Starting time: 9 p.m.
“Let’s just be glad it’s not a Tuesday and we’re not at North Iredell,” Parker told his WSTP audience.
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We’re even getting e-mails from players. South Rowan’s Reid Shaver wrote recently to say after a home game he didn’t walk through his door until 10:30 p.m.
“Crazy, huh?” Shaver wrote.
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And finally …
Parker brought up a good point. He said that of the group who makes the decisions on starting times, there probably isn’t a basketball coach in that room.
Parker hopes the people in charge change the times next season, the last before realignment moves everyone around.
For the time being?
Parker simply refers to the NPC as “the West Coast scores.”
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.