East Surry's Andrew Hunter, center, makes a pass during practice Wednesday as his teammates look on.
After getting off to a 10-0 start, the Cardinals football team lost its final two games, including being upset in the first round of the NCHSAA 1AA playoffs Nov. 13 — a Friday the 13th, no less. But with the horrors of that night past, the East Surry boys basketball team is beginning to see the positives of what seemed like a completely negative situation.
This season will be the first in head basketball coach Jason Anderson’s — and the Cardinals seniors’ — four years that there is a complete team to work with before the season tips off Nov. 24.
“We’d have one, maybe two practices if I got lucky and then we go play,” Anderson said of the past three seasons.
Due to a successful football program, East Surry would have to wait for many of its athletes to finish that sport before jumping on the hardwood. And with football being as brutal a sport as it is, those players usually had a few nicks and bruises to nurse before being ready for basketball. Even if the players came back healthy, they still had to get back in shape. As Anderson pointed out, football is an anaerobic sport, while basketball is aerobic.
“In football, you run a play, come back, huddle up. You get a 30-second breather between plays,” said junior Andrew Hunter, a swingman on the basketball team and wide receiver/safety in football. “In basketball, it’s down and back, down and back. It’s a lot different shape; it’s fast paced.”
One thing the football players bring is camaraderie. A tight-knit group on the gridiron is the same thing on the basketball court.
“Team chemistry is huge,” Anderson said. “If your kids don’t get along, you got problems from the get-go.”
When he had the team together for the first time, Anderson was ecstatic with what he saw.
“Those guys came in here right off the football field, they could have still been pouting, hanging their heads from that playoff loss,” he said. “But I tell you what, if every practice is like it was Monday night, I’m going to be a spoiled coach. They gave it their all. They were going after each other, pushing each other, encouraging each other.”
However, not everyone has forgotten what happened last Friday. That final loss on the football field will drive some players on the hoops squad.
“Once you lose that last game that’s it, you’re done,” said senior Logan Hoosier, who played quarterback and is now a guard. “I think we’re going to keep that in the back of our heads all year. We’re going to work hard and get it done on the court every night.”
And with this unusual week of preseason practice underway, the Cardinals believe they can get off to a hot start and continue that through the season — just like the football team. Although the Cardinals never finished under .500 in the past three seasons, players and coaches know they can play better than some of their previous starts to the season.
“Getting off to a good start’s key to everything,” Hunter said. “Once you get off to a good start, everybody’s on a high, ready to go out and get another win.”
Added Hoosier: “We started off a little rough last year. We eventually came together, but getting off to a good start this year is key.”
Whether they played football or not, one thing is a common among East Surry basketball players: They are able to score. Anderson said in years past he had one or two scoring options and the defense took care of the rest. This season, athletes abound that can both score and play shutdown defense. One thing you won’t find is a ballhog.
“I got 12 people who can shoot, but I’m not going to have anybody fighting over the basketball,” Anderson said. “The main thing is they want to win and they want to be successful.”
Contact Ed Phillipps at ephillipps@mtairynews.com or 719-1921.
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