After missing the state tournament by one game last season, Brian Nabors has his Beckley Flying Eagles back in the big dance.
The goal is clear – bring another title to The City of Champions but that task is easier said than done.
The Flying Eagles ride into Charleston with the No. 6 seed despite winning their section and region.
And in a change to the format, they’ll be the opening game of the five-day state tournament, tipping off on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Opposing Beckley (16-8) from the jump is a talented Spring Valley (20-4) team that frequented the top three spots in the AP poll throughout the season, rising to as high as No. 1.
The Timberwolves have lost to just one in-state opponent in Cabell Midland and returned the favor six days later in the sectional championship.
When Nabors throws on the film, he sees a talented team with physical traits to boot.
“I see size and tenaciousness,” Nabors said. “They’re very tenacious defensively and they shoot the ball well. The point guard is really steady and she’s very skilled and I think that she makes them go. We’ve got our hands full and we’ll have to have our best defensive effort to try and get a win.”
Despite having been in Charleston two years ago, most of the the players on Nabors’ roster are tournament virgins.
Josie Cross, Donya Burton and Abby Dillon were in middle school during the last tournament bout and senior Lataja Creasey missed that game due to illness and wasn’t with the team during it’s 2020 run.
Keanti Thompson, who rejoined the team in January, led the team in scoring with 18 points in that 2021 loss to George Washington, though Nabors isn’t putting much stock in an experience from two years ago.
“It’s a concern, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t,” Nabors said about his team’s lack of experience. “It was two years ago when Keanti experienced it and other than her we didn’t have anybody else that had an opportunity to play. But I just feel like this team is so resilient and they just love to play basketball.They’ll be ready too play and it doesn’t matter where they’re playing and what the situation is. They’re hungry and I just believe that they’re very resilient and have something to prove.”
Thompson leads the Flying Eagles in scoring with 14 points per game while Dillon adds 13.3. Josie Cross rounds out the trio of double-figure scorers with 10 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, giving the team its biggest post threat.
The lineup of Dillon, Thompson and Creasey, paired with Cross and Burton gives the Flying Eagles four capable ball hqndlers and three consistent 3-point shooters. But it also gives up the size advantage as they’re a smaller group.
“We don’t have a choice,” Nabors said. “Spring Valley has more size than us and hopefully our speed will take control and hopefully it will be able to get us over the hump. But we have a huge challenge in front of us and have to play fundamental basketball on both ends of the floor in order to be successful. We’re going to have to box out and move our feet well. They’re well-coached and run a real good system. They like to spread you out and they do a real good job with their high-post offense. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but we’re going to have to be really good at it in order to be effective. We just have to be fundamentally sound to be successful.”
While Nabors’ players are new to the atmosphere and state tournament, he himself is not. He’s coached in it in 2018, ’20 and ’21 while helping lead his 1992 team to a state championship as a player. Spring Valley is in a similar position, not having been to the state tournament since 2016.
Still Nabors doesn’t consider his experience a particular advantage.
“I don’t think so because I can’t play,” Nabors laughed. “Hopefully we’ve done a good enough job to prepare them for this moment. They’re going to be well coached so we have to be prepared. We’re going to have to take everything they throw at us and I just think it’s going to be a really good game. I’m just hoping that we’re able to play well enough that we come out with a win.”