Last year Beckley weathered injuries in the early part of the season to all-state guard Elijah Redfern en route to a state tournament berth.
The Flying Eagles fell in the quarterfinals to eventual state runner-up Spring Mills and graduated Redfern in the spring.
The good news, though, is they return the core of players that led the Flying Eagles through the early part of the season.
“They got experience when Elijah went out,”: Beckley head coach Ron Kidd said. “They had to do a lot. They had to grow up fast and we got four starters coming back. Got Jaylon (Walton) inside that we expect a whole lot from as far as doing the job on the inside plus rebounding and scoring. We got (Zyon) Hawthorne who became our point guard once we lost Redfern and he did an extremely good job last year. We feel like he’s gonna have to have a real good year and we feel like he will have a great year. We got Coby Dillon and we expect him to be one of the best 3-point shooters and one of the best guards in the state as a junior this year. Preston Clary, we expect big things out of him as far as rebounding, and he also can hit the outside shot and he can get to the goal.”
Those four returning starters have all played since their freshmen years, bringing a ton of experience as upperclassmen. They also bring experience outside of basketball that Kidd hopes can help. Dillon was a star on the soccer state championship team and Clary was a standout defensive back in his first year of high school football.
“Anytime you win a state championship, I’ll tell you that is great because winning breeds winning,” Kidd said. “Whenever you win it carries over to your next season and you got that great feeling, you know how to win. You know when things get tough, how to get down and just keep fighting. I think Coby’s gonna do well, along with Preston. Where (Clary) played football, they made the playoffs and I think that made him a whole lot tougher as well as with A.J. Thomas who we expect a lot of.”
As far as strengths, Kidd expects to be able to push the tempo. His team won’t be as big as seasons past but has an advantage with a plethora of guards.
“I think we’re gonna be real strong at the guard spot,” Kidd said. “We feel good about our guards and the playing experience that we have with the guys coming back. I think most of them started for two years or so and that’s a great feeling. They could be one of my better teams, but one thing they have to learn is they have to do it by committee. One guy’s not gonna be able to do it alone. it’s gonna have to be by committee. Everything that we do has to be as a team.”
Kidd’s had most of his team together for the last two weeks despite the delays in football and late title run in soccer. It’s helped him get everybody on the same page but in typical Beckley fashion there’s one area where he wants to see his team improve.
“I think we gotta get better in our defensive intensity as one unit, like it’s a team thing,” Kidd said. “They really don’t have to talk which I think they will cause I think they’ve been playing together long enough. They like each other. They hang out with each other  little bit more, so I think that’s gonna make us better. It’s gonna have to make us better on defense because we’re small. Each and every one is gonna have to rebound for us and we really wanna run the ball.”
As Kidd’s philosophy stays the same, so do his expectations for his team. Regardless of a 16-year title drought, he expects his squad to compete on the final Saturday of the season.
“You know my messaging always stays the same,” Kidd laughed. “We wanna be cutting down the nets that last Saturday night but we know it’s gonna be a tough challenge. Each and every game, we wanna just get better and like I said we just want to compete and play hard. That’s the main thing. We wanna make sure our kids compete and play hard. Nothing but good things happen if we do that.”
