How ridding itself of cupcakes made Gaston Christian a healthy bet for a state title
Joe L Hughes II
The Gaston Gazette
At a time when most coaches were looking to add basketball games to their schedule, Gaston Christian’s Aaron Waters spent part of last summer scratching several dates off his team’s 2020-21 schedule.
It was nothing personal, according to the Eagles’ first year boys basketball coach. At some point, though, he knew the team would be thrown into deep water, and Waters needed to know how his players would respond.
“We looked at our schedule at the beginning of the year, and games we felt were ‘guaranteed (wins)’ we took off the schedule,” the Gaston Christian head man said. “Let’s get Charlotte Christian in here early, let’s give Carmel Christian a call. Lake Norman Christian was on the schedule for a little while, unfortunately that didn’t happen. Going to Phenom Hoops events and playing Cannon School twice, I think all those games where we took our lumps in some of them and played tight in others, that prepared us for our run here at the end.”
Despite a daunting schedule that left it with a 9-18 record, Gaston Christian is right where it wants to be headed into this weekend — playing for a state championship.
The Eagles host Asheville Christian on Saturday in the NCISAA Class 3A state championship game. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
It is Gaston Christian’s first state title appearance in boys basketball program history.
“We fought against each other, we fought against other teams,” Waters said. “Played an extremely tough schedule, dealt with criticism, confidence issues, but at the end of the day everybody has bought in and we’re extremely proud to be playing for a state championship.”
Even with a record below .500, Gaston Christian didn’t doubt it had the wares to be playing the season’s final weekend. Brought together through friendship and a shared love of basketball, four of Gaston County’s top talents in Derek Bradley, Greg Brockington, Brenton Elliott and Will Kelly decided joined forces at the school.
Early on, their idea didn’t seem as if it would bear much fruit, the Eagles losing 10 of their first 12 games, including a losing skid of seven games. Even after a January loss to Concord Academy in which his team lost a double-digit advantage in the second half, Waters’ faith never wavered.
“We’re not that far away,” he said. “I still don’t believe we’ve played an entire four quarters of basketball.”
Playing an entire 32 minutes of basketball has proven key for Gaston Christian during its playoff run, getting timely shots in hard-fought wins over Hickory Grove Christian and SouthLake Christian. Losing more than its share of close games this season, Waters said it felt good having good fortune on his team’s side.
“We had some favor, getting to play a team in Hickory Grove Christian with two outstanding players we are familiar with, and then got SouthLake Christian in the second round without (7-footer) Micah (Handlogten),” he added. “Those were both hard-fought games. We fought and clawed for those, and then we were able to play the way we wanted to (against Cape Fear Academy in the NCISAA Class 3A semifinals).”
In that game, Kelly hit five 3-pointers en route to a 23-point night. Elliott finished with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), Brockington adding 13 and Bradley offering 12 points. “It was what we’ve always thought we can be; everything went according to script,” Waters said.
Added Kelly: “It felt like a musician, like poetry in motion. When you’re in a groove like that, it’s a beautiful thing.”
With a state title on the line Saturday, Brockington hopes some of the same good fortune works in Gaston Christian’s favor.
“We’ve worked hard for everything,” he said. “If we put everything we’ve done to this point into action, I feel we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
You can reach Joe Hughes at 704-914-8138, email jhughes@gastongazette.com and follow on Twitter @JoeLHughesII.
Joe L Hughes II
The Gaston Gazette
At a time when most coaches were looking to add basketball games to their schedule, Gaston Christian’s Aaron Waters spent part of last summer scratching several dates off his team’s 2020-21 schedule.
It was nothing personal, according to the Eagles’ first year boys basketball coach. At some point, though, he knew the team would be thrown into deep water, and Waters needed to know how his players would respond.
“We looked at our schedule at the beginning of the year, and games we felt were ‘guaranteed (wins)’ we took off the schedule,” the Gaston Christian head man said. “Let’s get Charlotte Christian in here early, let’s give Carmel Christian a call. Lake Norman Christian was on the schedule for a little while, unfortunately that didn’t happen. Going to Phenom Hoops events and playing Cannon School twice, I think all those games where we took our lumps in some of them and played tight in others, that prepared us for our run here at the end.”
Despite a daunting schedule that left it with a 9-18 record, Gaston Christian is right where it wants to be headed into this weekend — playing for a state championship.
The Eagles host Asheville Christian on Saturday in the NCISAA Class 3A state championship game. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
It is Gaston Christian’s first state title appearance in boys basketball program history.
“We fought against each other, we fought against other teams,” Waters said. “Played an extremely tough schedule, dealt with criticism, confidence issues, but at the end of the day everybody has bought in and we’re extremely proud to be playing for a state championship.”
Even with a record below .500, Gaston Christian didn’t doubt it had the wares to be playing the season’s final weekend. Brought together through friendship and a shared love of basketball, four of Gaston County’s top talents in Derek Bradley, Greg Brockington, Brenton Elliott and Will Kelly decided joined forces at the school.
Early on, their idea didn’t seem as if it would bear much fruit, the Eagles losing 10 of their first 12 games, including a losing skid of seven games. Even after a January loss to Concord Academy in which his team lost a double-digit advantage in the second half, Waters’ faith never wavered.
“We’re not that far away,” he said. “I still don’t believe we’ve played an entire four quarters of basketball.”
Playing an entire 32 minutes of basketball has proven key for Gaston Christian during its playoff run, getting timely shots in hard-fought wins over Hickory Grove Christian and SouthLake Christian. Losing more than its share of close games this season, Waters said it felt good having good fortune on his team’s side.
“We had some favor, getting to play a team in Hickory Grove Christian with two outstanding players we are familiar with, and then got SouthLake Christian in the second round without (7-footer) Micah (Handlogten),” he added. “Those were both hard-fought games. We fought and clawed for those, and then we were able to play the way we wanted to (against Cape Fear Academy in the NCISAA Class 3A semifinals).”
In that game, Kelly hit five 3-pointers en route to a 23-point night. Elliott finished with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), Brockington adding 13 and Bradley offering 12 points. “It was what we’ve always thought we can be; everything went according to script,” Waters said.
Added Kelly: “It felt like a musician, like poetry in motion. When you’re in a groove like that, it’s a beautiful thing.”
With a state title on the line Saturday, Brockington hopes some of the same good fortune works in Gaston Christian’s favor.
“We’ve worked hard for everything,” he said. “If we put everything we’ve done to this point into action, I feel we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
You can reach Joe Hughes at 704-914-8138, email jhughes@gastongazette.com and follow on Twitter @JoeLHughesII.
