When I think back to when we started playing basketball in the first grade we always loved competing againsts each other and being the best we could be. I always knew my brother was a gifted shooter because he was knocking down threes since he was in the 3rd grade or younger. Most importantly he was always consistent shooting and practicing basketball.
Unlike Bryce, I was gifted with speed and with that speed I always played hard defense. Jokingly Me and Bryce always played 1v1 againsts each other since a young age and I would always win. But my defense would make Bryce have to shoot crazy difficult shots.
So we always say to each other we got where we are to today because my defense made his offense better and his offense made my defense better.
If you said back then that he would be the all time leading scorer for our high school you would be crazy. But once I saw how much he loved the game and was so consistent training I was nothing but proud of my brother to get this record.
All the hours in the gym with each other will never be tooken away or forgotten. I am so proud of my brother for this achievement.
After Allen Worrell 🖊🖋 the feature story through the eyes 👀 of Bryce Smoot, we have read the words of Mama Smoot, Russell Smoot, Brayden along with a Trainer and a Neighbor.
Would still love to hear from Mr Tee Jackson about what holding the record meant to him and anyone else who has a story regarding this effort.
The next piece of business in the World 🌎 of Cavalier Boys Basketball 🏀 is to find someone who was a part of the 2013 Carroll County High School team as I have had a few people compare this years team to 2013 and I would love to learn about that group.
Spotswood High Trail Blazers defeated Hopewell High School yesterday afternoon in the Siegal Center in Richmond by a score of 57-50. The victory officially ends the season for Carroll County (23-3).
The Game from Richmond
The question of the morning is how many people cared about the outcome of the game between two schools located many a mile from The Hill ?
Let’s begin this story two years ago when the Lady 👩 Cavaliers Softball team headed into the post season without the Big Bat and rock solid glove of Miss Lauren Alley. Playing without our power hitter, out recovering from surgery, we fell by a single run to Northside at Cavalier Park.
I followed the Vikings run intently as they ran the table to their State Championship. It helped me to think that while we fell, it took the eventual Crown 👑 wearers to trip us up. I wasn’t sure what anyone else thought but it helped ease the disappointment of the season ending for our eight Seniors.
Fast Forward to this winter, replace Rick Nester with Anthony Barnes and swap out eight Senior Girls for six Senior Boys.
The team finished the regular season at 21-1-2 as the schedule was turned upside down by Mother Nature. Games at Galax and at Radford were never made up as time ran out.
Barnes led his team to victories in the opening two rounds of Regional play as the Cavaliers took care of business against Lord Botetourt and Cave Spring. The record stood at 23-1 and the next hurdle was the Back to Back State Champs 🏆, Northside High School.
Don’t mistake this Viking team with the third version of our own search for a 3-peat in Girls Basketball. Northside simply had two D1 guards on their roster ➕ a Freshman Big Man in the middle. CCHS made it to State in year 3 but they simply ran into better teams and Liberty Christian Academy finally ended the run, leaving the Lady Cavaliers tied for fifth in the State.
Northside HS just kept reloading over the past few years and the Gym was full of people that day in Pulaski County, that believed that winning a third straight was their destiny.
We played Northside to a four point game until the Vikings executed a perfect back door Ally Oop for a Slam Dunk that propelled them to a double digit victory. A victory that allowed them to host Western Albemarle and sent our Cavaliers up to Penn Laird for a State Game at Spotswood.
After watching 👀 Northside play, I was certain that I had just watched the best 2 players in Class 3 play. That changed when we played at Spotswood the following Tuesday night. #4 for the Trailblazers has game ! Camryn Pache co is taking his game to Mount St Mary’s and Tyler Sprague has a gear ⚙ that most don’t possess.
The dynamic duo teamed up to score enough points to hold off another deep and talented team in Hopewell in front of a near capacity crowd in the 7,500 seat home of the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. Spotswood won 🏆 its first Boys 👦 Basketball title in 30 years but that brings us to the question about the Carroll County High School Cavaliers???
Six Seniors who have been playing basketball together since they were old enough to understand the game itself. Their story is over now and Isaiah Easter and five others Juniors will lead the team next season, along with members of the Junior Varsity team, led by Jason Stockner and Ryan Largen will write ✍ the next chapter.
Assistant Coach Kris Richardson and our Six Pack of Cavalier players will move on now with a chest full of memories. Richardson has resigned his position and moved back down the Basketball pyramid for his third run at making CCHS Basketball 🏀 relevant here in the Old Dominion.
The next stop ✋ for the Basketball Whisperer is Head Coach of the Middle School Girls team. The spot was previously held by the late Jeff Tobler. This gives Carroll County Middle School coaches named (Marc) Motley and Richardson.
Bryce Smoot, Brayden Smoot, Cody Reece, Ethan Richardson, Landon Puckett and Jay Burnette will leave The Hill knowing that they were part of a magical ride that took them as far as any Boys team had gone in the history of the School.
Did the Spotswood High School victory over Hopewell add to the value of the season is the Million Dollar 💵 question ???. Five minutes after it ended yesterday afternoon, I heard from Coach Richardson with his answer.
” Spotswood won state, 57-50,”Richardson said.. ” That means that our last 2 losses this year came from the last 3 State Champions.”
It was a terrific story that was ten years in the making. There will be folks that will dismiss it as less than memorable but I can’t help those people, just wish them well. Carroll County went for a ride of a lifetime and while it did end two stops early for some, the rest of us will look back at the Last Dance 💃 with nothing but 💘 and appreciation.
Thank You, Anthony Barnes and Kris Richardson ➕ our Six Seniors ! Best of Luck in your future endeavors. As for the returning players, its time for people to learn how to play alongside Easter. Watching the development of the young man from Cana has been an absolute treat and while basketball 🏀 is a TEAM game, the other players will need to follow the lead of Isaiah.
Already missing the departing group and their Parents but thankfully most of them still have Spring sports to play in. Ethan Richardson on the tennis 🎾 courts, Brayden Smoot running track for Shawn Montgomery, Cody Reece playing baseball ⚾️ for Casey Burcham to name a few. They left their mark on The Hill and now they get their curtain calls. We are better for the journey !
Tammy Quesenberry has sent in the initial Photo 📷 from today’s Jamboree.
We are hoping to hear from folks throughout the day 🙏, fingers crossed 🤞
Southbound
Looks like we have our first score, tie 👔 at 3-3
Update from coach Nester:
Addie Greene pitched game one and threw really well only allowing one walk. Defense was solid behind her. Offensively for CCHS scored runs on bunts, infield singles and a fielder’s choice. Two for two on stolen bases.
Golden Bears 🐻 drop Game 2 of 3Cavaliers win State championship !Ridgeland 3, Carroll County 3Spotswood Boys 👦 by 2, late in the game!2:38 – Spotswood Wins, 57-50Golden Bears 🐻 are 3 outs away from winning the weekend 😎. We plate 🍽 5 more in the Top of the 9th and now lead 11-2Glad to see 👀 a few folks are following along today !Photo 📷 Credit – Velvet LeonardIt is Final, Golden Bears 🐻 Baseball ⚾️ takes 2 of 3 !!
Under 16:00 – Duke 8, Louisville 7 at 8:42pm
11:51 (Under 12), Duke 17, U of L 15. Blue Devils 9-8 in second four minutes
7:43 left (Under 8), Duke 23-21 / 6-6 👔
3:38 (Under 4:00) 👔 at 25-25, Cards 4-2 in that block.
Halftime score – Cards 38-33, 13-8 close out for U of L
Under 16:00 [14:47], 👔 at 45, Duke 12-7 run 🏃♂️. = 9:49 pm
12:23 – Cards TO, Duke 52-47, 7-2 run 🏃♂️
Media TO – 11:08 – Duke 57-47, run 🏃♂️ now at 12-2, 24-9
Media TO – 7:56, 62-51 Duke, 5-4 Blue Devils
Cards TO – Louisville hits a 3-pointer to cut it to 9, 64-55 @ 5:36
Sitting here in Charlotte, reporting on Duke – Carolina when I received a series of Text Messages from our friend who is listed in my Cellphone as Sweet Home Alabama. Others know her as Debbie Odum. She is describing an event that took place on The Hill and involved seven of our Softball players.
We pick it up with Debbie describing her Kiddo, Bayleigh Allen.
Her and 6 others went to eat at the Barn Cafe after practice this a.m. so 7 total girls. She said there was an older man and his wife sitting near them. The girls thought they were annoyed because,well…7 teen girls being teen girls lol…
After they ate and were ready to pay…they were told their bill had already been taken care of! The man and his wife had enjoyed seeing them together, hanging out…so he paid for all of their food!! They didn’t get their names but all the girls hugged them and had to fight back the tears! I wish they had gotten a pic! What an amazing random act of kkndness!!
Bay said it was her, Carlie, Madison, Natalie, Holly, Laynie-Jo , and Brooke.
Who doesn’t Love our Softball players ??
Kudos to the Mothers 👩 of these seven for raising them well. Father’s too, if they are equally proud !!
We have roughly six or seven stories that are partially done and while we wait on the availability to finish them up, let’s add one more to the pile.
Early February is the time frame and Carroll County High School 🏫 Basketball 🏀 had just finished their latest victory.
Tuesday Night, February 4th on The Hill, Carroll County hosted and dismantled our neighbors to the East, Floyd County. It might have been the most complete game, start to finish as it ended with the Cavaliers up by almost 30 points(84-55).
Isaiah Easter played at another level that night, on both ends of the floor. The Junior appeared to finish up with a double – double, getting into double digits in both Scoring and rebounds against the Buffaloes.
It wasn’t until CCHS Varsity Baseball Coach Casey Burcham went through the game film the following day that we realized exactly what Easter had accomplished. The hardest stat to keep in Basketball 🏀 is the assist and that’s because unlike other Stats, the assist is in the eye of the stat keeper.
A player scored or they didn’t, grabbed a rebound or they didn’t but with an Assist there is a grey area. There’s never a question about who touched the ball last before a player scores, the question is how much did the player making the pass set up the scorer. The rule of thumb is two dribbles being the limit in regards to setting up the shot.
Casey Burcham texted, Easter had 15 points 15 rebounds 12 assists and 6 steals.
The triple double is a mainstream stat in the National Basketball Association with players like The Joker in Denver racking them up on a regular basis. At the Collegiate level they’re far and few between and justified in being celebrated. In High School, it just doesn’t happen as guards collect Assists and Bigs collect rebounds.
Easter recorded a Triple Double in a contest with our biggest rival in the Three Rivers District. A disciplined team led by a veteran Coach who later led his squad to the Class 2 State Tournament.
The reference to going from wearing our Mascot costume at his Sister’s Softball game during his Freshman year, shows the humble beginnings to Easter’s time on The Hill.
To complete this story it would be very beneficial to add some thoughts from Easter, his Parents, his Coaches and / or his teammates about the accomplishment.
We also need to say Thank You 🙏 to Casey Burcham for taking the time to count the Assists !
If you are out there and would like to contribute to this story, please 🙏 reach out !
