Gaston College's basketball program-builders to be honored on Monday night
When Gaston College decided to field its first basketball team in 50 years in the summer of 2021, there was no practice gymnasium, homecourt, uniforms or a schedule of games.
All the Rhinos had were head coach David "Dickey" Nutt and associate head coach Jamie Rosser trying to recruit a roster of new players.
Even that was complicated by the coronavirus pandemic as Nutt and Rosser recruited almost exclusively by zoom calls for what became a 14-man roster of players from six states and two countries.
Four of those players were sophomores who had only this season left to play in junior college - Jaylen Bates, Kalil Camara, Damon Davis and Zavion Jackson.
Thoose four will be honored as Gaston College closes it first regular season on Monday night at 7 p.m. at South Point High School against Hosanna Bible College. The Rhinos are 17-10 overall and have completed their Region 10 slate with an 8-6 record.
"It was crazy. It really was," Davis said of putting the team together so unconventionally. "But this whole pandemic in general is crazy.
"But I have to say the zoom calls were pretty good for me. You know, I got to spend virtual face-to-face time with the coaches and discuss what they were looking for."
One by one, the roster began falling into place highlighted by the sophomores who are regular starters for the team.
Davis and Bates came in from St. Petersburg, Fla., Community College, Camara from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and Jackson from Eastern Oklahoma State College.
The remaining nine freshman came from high schools or colleges and would be allowed to regain a year of collegiate eligibility due to a special COVID exemption.
But Nutt and Rosser knew they'd have to lean on the veterans because of their experience and talent.
"Honestly, it was very strange to be recruited by a zoom call," said Bates, who has received offers from NCAA Division I schools Florida A&M and South Carolina State and is also considering other schools for next season. "But the zoom meetings that we had, all of the guys were determined to come together and accomplish a common goal. We also we shared information on social media and were checking in on each other even before we got to Gaston College."
Amazingly, other than Bates' longtime friendship with freshman Joshua Johnson from their hometown of Atlanta, Ga., and Bates and Davis spending time as teammates at St. Petersburg, Gaston College's players had little knowledge of each other; Camara and Jackson played for rival teams in NJCAA Region 2 and Camara and Bates had played in a junior college showcase event in the summer of 2019.
Camara says now that Nutt and Rosser deserve credit for the way they built the roster.
"The coaches recruited a bunch of unselfish guys who just wanted to win," said Camara, who has committed to play for NCAA Division I Jacksonville University next season. "That's the way I would put it. And when you have that, great things can happen."
Once the team got together on campus when classes began in September, their bond grew stronger as they spent time on shuttle rides to class and eventually to practices and games.
How important were those bonding sessions?
Jackson considers that time on buses and vans as his season highlight.
"I'll say my favorite moment was the travel experience, especially with coach Nutt and coach Rosser," said Jackson, who expects to play college basketball at the NCAA Division I or Division II level next season. "We talked basketball and life. Same as with my teammates. We were just talking, being brothers and growing closer as a family, which has made us better on the floor."
The longest basketball trip came in mid-November when Gaston College visited Tallahassee, Fla., Community College and Northwest Florida State College; Northwest Florida is ranked No. 11 in the most recent national poll.
The trip resulted in the team's first losses of the season after a 6-0 start but big wins lay ahead for the Rhinos as they would begin Region 10 play with a 78-75 win at perennial power Cape Fear Community College on Dec. 4.
Gaston College would eventually finish 5-2 in Region 10 road games that included a 90-86 win at all-time Region 10 winner Spartanburg Methodist, a 66-65 win at defending Region 10 champion Brunswick Community College and a 97-95 double-overtime win at USC Salkehatchie when it was atop the league standings.
Also, the Rhinos' last game on Thursday was a 89-87 home victory over Caldwell Tech when the Cobras were in first place and had a chance to clinch the league title.
Team chemistry has been strong from the outset, even as Nutt has used 10 different players in the starting lineup and different rotations have been used throughout the season.
"It's hard to have chemistry like we have as a first-year program," said Davis, who is being recruited by NCAA Division I and Division II schools for next season. "Even little travel ball and AAU teams have issues with players who all are usually friends. But we got together as a whole new program from the start and have had a winning season."
Added Bates: "I commend coach for the chemistry aspect of our team. Everybody can have a piece of this when they play their role. Everything coach Nutt has been telling us has been true. We're in the huddle in a lot of games and don't know the outcome but we know the person next to them is going to fight to have their backs. It's become a brotherhood. That's been a big thing for us this year."
Entering Monday's finale, the team has won five of its last six games, with Bates calling the last victory his personal highlight; Bates' dunk with 3.9 seconds left off a pass from DaMarco Watson and Dee Merriweather's 34 points fueled by nine 3-pointers sparked the win over Caldwell Tech.
"In conference, we have not played as well at home as we should have," Bates said. "But we all came together as we should have and it was a moment to enjoy. Now we've got another home game we want to enjoy on Monday."