What a difference a month makes. Following a January 10th 48-44 loss at Winfield, Woodrow Wilson saw a season of high expectations hanging in near-mediocrity with just a 4-4 record.
Since that loss, however, the Flying Eagles have been on a tear, winning 12 straight and positioning themselves as one of the favorites in a crowded Class AAA field. Over that span, Woodrow Wilson has outscored its opponents by an average of 17 points per game, holding teams to just 48 points per contest.
Junior Donte Nabors has been key for the Flying Eagles on their run, putting up over 20 points per contest over the 12-game span.
“He’s been our go-to guy during that stretch, but all of our guys have stepped it up, even the guys that have been coming off of the bench,” said head coach Ron Kidd. “I think that really has been the difference.”
As for the slow start heading into January, the Flying Eagles played five games over a span eight days, something Kidd pointed to that took somewhat of a toll on his team early on.
“We always feel like we have a shot at a state championship. That’s our ultimate goal, cutting down the net at the end of the year.” – Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd
“It was a point where we had played a lot of games on the road, so I think our kids kind of lost their legs a little bit,” Kidd said. “But we just told them that there will be times like that and you always have to be ready to play. I just think our pride and tradition really ended up kicking in with our kids.”
Regardless, Woodrow Wilson has been back on track over the last month – and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Winning breeds winning and you want to be winning going into the postseason. We are on a stretch where we’re winning now and that’s a real good feeling,” Kidd said. “We feel like we’re playing good at this time, but we still can be even better. We’re just taking it game by game to just keep getting better.”
As for the overall potential of his team this year to capture the school’s 17th state basketball title?
“We always feel like we have a shot at a state championship,” Kidd said. “That’s our ultimate goal, cutting down the net at the end of the year.”
The last state title for the Flying Eagles came back in 2008. And if they’re going to get to that level again this season, they’ll have to do so through a difficult section and region.
“We have three tremendous teams in our section this year, counting Greenbrier East with what they have, and Princeton is pretty solid as well,” Kidd said. “In the region, there’s always George Washington and South Charleston – and you never know about Capital, they might get a spot where they can do some damage.”
Woodrow Wilson has a two point loss to Greenbrier East and fell to South Charleston early in the season by seven. The Flying Eagles, meanwhile, own impressive victories over George Washington (74-51), Princeton (67-51) and Morgantown (63-31).
“They’re all very good teams and any one of those teams have the capability to win it all,” Kidd said. “I haven’t seen Martinsburg, but I think there are several teams that have a shot to win the state championship – it’s wide open this year in Class AAA.”
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Kevin Maupin
So proud to be an Eagle. My alma mater has been so blessed for the past 30 years to have had Coach Barksdale and Coach Kidd lead the basketball team. Coach Barksdale is like a father to me and was in my humble opinion the best coach ever and I wouldn't want anyone else to have replaced him and coached the maroon and white for the past thirteen years than Ron Kidd. Coach Kidd is as high character and hard working person a school would hope for. Coach Barksdale always had tremendous assistants to many to name so I will just name Butch Freeman who was is assistant the entire 17 years. So, I would amiss if I didn't thank Stevie Kidd, Brian Nabors, and Gene Nabors for being the hard working and loyal assistants that they are. Good luck Flying Eagles!!! I am so proud that you are one of the teams that still does it the old fashioned way which is taking the young men in their community and working extremely hard to in Woodrow's case maintain a championship program that the community, school, and alma mater can be proud.
February 14, 2013 at 4:43 pm | Report comment