Brian Naborsโ eight-year tenure as the coach of the Beckley girls program has been one of constant adversity. Injuries, controversy and Covid have all taken their toll.
The former is doing so again but the veteran head coach is hoping the navigate the waters and guide his team back to Charleston for the fourth time since 2018.
โItโs just hard because weโre dealing with some nagging injuries agin,โ Nabors said. โOut of 15 players we finished with 10 or 11 by the end of practice. Two of my bigs like Taylor Gunter and Leiloni Manns are having knee trouble. We just donโt have a lot of depth right now. Our seniors we have have to step up.โ
Injuries and depth have already taken their toll on the Flying Eagles just three weeks into the season. Itโs forced Nabors to change his approach and tweak his system.
โTheyโre working hard but weโre not where we want to be,โ Nabors said. โWe had to tweak our system with personnel so weโre still trying to get acclimated to how we want to play but Iโm pleased with the effort and the concentration level. They want to get better and they want to learn, compete and win. We only have 15 players right now.โ
Last season saw Beckley struggle as it was forced to rely on a trio of freshmen along with a bevy of other inexperienced players. The good news is those players learned and will factor heavily into Naborsโ plans. With a mix of seniors flanking sophomores Mya Wooton, Josie Cross and Abby Dillon, Nabors expects to see an improvement in this yearโs team after last yearโs fell a game short of the state tournament.
โI have high expectations for all three of them,โ Nabors said of his core sophomores.โJosieโs going to have to play a bigger role for us and really score. We also need her to be a force inside defensively. Abby (Dillon) is a better player and she really works on her game so weโre expecting her to be a big-time player this year. Iโm hoping and praying she can really make a name for herself and be one of the top guards in the state. The problem is if we donโt have anybody to step up defenses will be really geared to stop her. If we canโt get somebody to step up and score itโs going to make it hard for us to win. Itโs going to be hard for us defensively because we had to change things up. Mya, sheโs a better player this year but sheโs going to have to be that defensive stopper and handle the ball a little more.โ
The sophomores will be flanked by several upperclassmen including Sarah Hopkins, Lataja Creasey and Maddy Belcher.
โSarah Hopkins has come along strong and sheโs been released after injuring her knee last year,โ Nabors said. โSheโs worked hard and the kneeโs gotten stronger. Sheโs going full tilt and we need her to play well. In order for us to be good she has to be good. Maddy is going to have to take open shots. But she has to be consistent in knocking it down. To be honest thatโs the challenge. We have to put her in situations she can get her shot off. Weโll need to run stuff for her but Iโve got confidence in her and she works hard. But sheโs battling a knee issue and we have four people battling those issues. Weโve got a unique team, we just have to get healthy.โ
Creasey in particular is key to the success of the team in Naborsโ opinion. Sheโs another guard who can open up opportunities for her teammates and will be key as a secondary ball handler to Dillon.
โWeโre going to put the ball in Latajaโs hands to be more of a distributor and be threat,โ Nabors said. โTheyโre going to give her shots because they donโt think she can shoot so we need her to knock down shots and use her quickness to penetrate and draw help and kick to Abby for shots. At the same time we can put Abby in the position to be aggressive. Weโve got to get (Dillon) in position to get shots because sheโs our best shooter. We need her to shoot five or six 3s a game so we need to get her quality shots. We need Lataja Creasey to be a threat and if Abbyโs going to be successful Lataja needs to be a threat.โ
Considering their youth an inexperience Nabors has confidence in his bunch but isnโt putting pressure on them.
โWe want to compete for a state championship,โ Nabors said. โBut our main goal is to get better every day. I think weโre capable but we need to get healthy and improve to play the level of championship basketball I know we can.โ
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.copm and follow on Twitter @tjack94
