Today is set to be day 3 for tryouts as the Varsity coaches work on creating their rosters for the Winter. We should be seeing the results by the end of the week.
Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
Still have game stories to create for the Middle School games last night over at Pulaski County. They will include a number of pics from Beth Bouldin.
Have yourself a Blessed Day 🙌!
While Volleyball 🏐 is now behind her, the soon to graduate 🎓 Senior will turn her focus towards becoming a member of the education department at a school next year. Bunn represented The Hill and wore Cavalier colors with a great deal of class over the past eight years.
Head Coaches Darian Brown and Kris Richardson have been stockpiling frequent coaching miles since their seasons began. But last week was played at a pace that would have had the National Basketball Association talking about load management.
The week started out with road games at Christiansburg Middle School and after one day off they returned to The Hill for back to back contests, including a night with neighborly Galax in the house.
One more day off followed and then it was back on the Bus 🚌 for a three game tournament up in Wytheville. The day started with 8am and 9am contests and ended late in the afternoon for both squads.
Playing an already condensed eight week schedule, week number two presented some unique challenges for the coaching staffs and the parents who were wanting to enjoy seeing their Sons or Daughters play their games. Then there are the young Student Athletes to consider and that’s when the Head Coaches offered their thoughts on the week.
” The biggest challenge is trying to make adjustments during the games,” said Coach Richardson. ” My team is very young, and they don’t have the experience to adjust in a short time without practicing it. We have done well with the adjustments we make but it’s so much easier to break it down in person to show all the options that can happen as compared to drawing it on a board and erase it multiple time to show the same thing. I am personally a visual person, so seeing it live with all the moving players allow them to process it easier. Only having a few timeouts per game and an 8-10 minute half-time really shortens the time for change.”
Coach Brown echoed the thoughts after his team captured the Consolation bracket in Wytheville with back to back victories.
” I agree with what Kris said, I also think it’s challenging to keep them focused on wanting to win the next game,” said Brown. “They exert a ton of energy in to one game and then to wake up the next day and expect them to do it again can be challenging, especially for a middle schooler. We’ve had a few different guys step up in different ways this last week and that’s what I’m most proud of. They finished 4-2 on the 6 game stretch. They’re a scrappy bunch.”
Richardson and his Girls earned their initial victory of the season in the final contest on Saturday afternoon. The team had experienced a few close calls as of late, so getting over the hump was a great experience for the players to absorb.
Richardson knows that his team will eventually get there but would welcome more time for adjustments.
” The adjustments can be anything from how to guard certain plays that maybe they have never seen to someone running a 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2 trap and not having enough practice time to easily break the trap,” added Richardson.
No rest for the weary as both teams are set to add three more contests to the games played column beginning with a road trip to Pulaski County. Next stop will be st Galax and then back to The Hill to host Floyd County on Thursday.
Proverbs 11:17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
Have yourself a Blessed Day 🙌
The sample size is still small as Furman University is just three games into the 2025-2026 Women’s Basketball season but Carroll County High School graduate Alyssa Ervin looks good wearing Purple.
After spending her freshman season at Elon University, the leading scorer in the 56 year history of CCHS is now playing basketball in the Southern Conference. Three games in, the now 5’11 guard is averaging 12.0 points per game and is earning increased minutes on the court for Curtis, now in his third season at the helm of the program.
Curtis played his basketball at James Madison University and has a vision of what he wants his Furman program to look like. Scheduling in the non-conference is a key part of that and it shows this year as the Paladins just played back to back road games at Southeastern Conference schools in Georgia and Vanderbilt.
Hearing the SEC announcers say repeatedly that Curtis sees Ervin as his ” Best Scorer ” was reason to smile for everyone in the corner of the former Lady 👩 Cavalier that led her team to consecutive State Championships.
Vanderbilt entered the game on Monday night as the #19 team in the Country and fresh off a season opening trip to Paris, France 🇫🇷 where they took care of business against a talented Cal – Berkeley team. The winner of the game wasn’t going to be in question but Curtis was looking to see which of his 11 freshman and sophomores could stand up to the bright lights on the biggest stage of the season.
Ervin scored 16 points in her 25 minutes of playing time and sprinkled in two rebounds, one assist and one block against the Commodores. The Sophomore finished four of nine from deep and six of 15 overall to lead the team in scoring in the 96-48 setback.
One of the most impressive things about the journey from The Hill to North Carolina and then South Carolina is the commitment to Academics along the way. Even after entering the transfer portal at Elon, Ervin continued to shine in the classroom and finished the second semester being honored by the School for her efforts.
The winding path brings back memories of the one taken by the young woman who helped Carroll County High School its initial State Championship. Sydney Nester began her career at North Carolina State University before transferring over to Marshall University. It was while pitching for the Thundering Herd that Nester flirted with leading the Country in strikeouts.
Ervin and her teammates will return to action 🎬 on Thursday night against Georgia State but there is a date coming up that residents may want to circle as Furman will play at nearby Radford University on Wednesday evening, November 19th. Not sure if Ervin will have another chance to play so close to Carroll County again as the Highlanders campus is just 43 miles from the Gymnasium where Ervin scored her 2 000+ points.
The long term significance of Ervin finds collegiate success directly ties to the future of the program. Erin Gibson, the holder of the scoring record went on to play at Virginia Tech University and that level of success gave younger players someone to look up to and try to emulate as they worked on their game.
Dell Curry still sits atop the scoring list up at Fort Defiance High School and JJ Redick is still the talk of the town over at Cave Spring. Just two examples of what success can do for a High School program, decades later.
There is no telling where the road that Ervin is on will lead her to but there’s plenty of room for people to climb aboard the band wagon and find out.
Furman is set to host their neighbors from Clemson on Sunday, November 23rd in yet another Power Four game.
Ashlyn Newman, a fellow member of the Fab Four group of Student Athletes that graduated in 2024 with individual School records recently celebrated her Senior Day at Bluefield College. Newman earned her two year degree from Wytheville Community College while still in High School and now less than two years later is set to graduate from Bluefield.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 