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.
โThey got experience when Elijah went out,โ: Beckley head coach Ron Kidd said. โThey 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 heโs 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.โ
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.
โAnytime you win a state championship, Iโll tell you that is great because winning breeds winning,โ Kidd said. โWhenever 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 Cobyโs 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.โ
As far as strengths, Kidd expects to be able to push the tempo. His team wonโt be as big as seasons past but has an advantage with a plethora of guards.
โI think weโre gonna be real strong at the guard spot,โ Kidd said. โWe 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 thatโs 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 guyโs not gonna be able to do it alone. itโs gonna have to be by committee. Everything that we do has to be as a team.โ
Kiddโs had most of his team together for the last two weeks despite the delays in football and late title run in soccer. Itโs helped him get everybody on the same page but in typical Beckley fashion thereโs one area where he wants to see his team improve.
โI think we gotta get better in our defensive intensity as one unit, like itโs a team thing,โ Kidd said. โThey really donโt have to talk which I think they will cause I think theyโve been playing together long enough. They like each other. They hang out with each other little bit more, so I think thatโs gonna make us better. Itโs gonna have to make us better on defense because weโre small. Each and every one is gonna have to rebound for us and we really wanna run the ball.โ
As Kiddโs 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.
โYou know my messaging always stays the same,โ Kidd laughed. โWe wanna be cutting down the nets that last Saturday night but we know itโs 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. Thatโs the main thing. We wanna make sure our kids compete and play hard. Nothing but good things happen if we do that.โ