Brookland-Cayce boys basketball coach Larry Davis (l) and Brookland-Cayce girls basketball coach Terrence Gibson Photo by Josh Cruse
Larry Davis and Terrence Gibson were two of many coaches introduced at Brookland-Cayce High School during a press conference Monday, May 19.
Davis takes over the Brookland-Cayce boys basketball team, replacing Robert Wells, who left to coach at Lexington High School. Wells won 171 ball games during his more than decade-long tenure at his alma mater. He led Brookland-Cayce to the playoffs in each season, including making it to the 3A Lower State Championship in 2017. Wells also led the Bearcats to their only region title that season.
“Coach Wells has done a great job building a foundation,” Davis said. “It’s going to be hard to follow that act. We have some good young talent. We want to continue to develop that talent, continue to motivate and keep guys here. As things have changed in the direction where guys can transfer one year, it’s going to be hard to convince guys to stay at schools they are zoned for. I want to keep our kids here. I think that is important. I think it’s important for us to create a winning atmosphere, to continue to build on the winning atmosphere that Coach Wells left and put us in a situation where we can compete for region and state championships on a regular basis.”
Davis comes to Brookland-Cayce after a three-year stint at Mars Hill University. He’s also worked on the collegiate ranks at Newberry College and James Madison. In the high school ranks, Davis coached at Lewisville, Northwestern, and York Prep.
“This opportunity means a lot,” Davis said. “Coming back home, being here in front of people that I have a relationship with means a lot. Some I have gone to college with. Having friends and family near by and close, where I can get by and see them, where, when I was at Mars Hill and Virginia, I couldn’t see them, means a lot to me.”
Davis has had a successful career as both a player and a coach. He turned a successful playing career at Denmark-Olar High School into a collegiate career first at the University of North Carolina, where he was coached by Dean Smith, and then at the University of South Carolina, where he was coached by Eddie Fogler. As a coach, Davis won a state championship at Lewisville, while competing for another one when he was at York Prep. Davis hopes his success will help the Bearcat players buy into his program.
“Hopefully, there is a mutual respect for them to respect me as a coach and me and the coaching staff to respect them as players,” Davis said. “We are going to try to maximize their talent and get the most out of them. That comes from practicing hard and challenging them, while at the same time making it fun. That’s going to be important. That’s helping them to understand that I care about them no matter how hard I coach them. I think that’s been true to a lot of players I’ve coached. I’m not just a coach. I’m an extension of their families. I want the kids to understand that.”
Davis said his styles on both ends of the court won’t stray too much from what he did at York Prep. He wants to create a stifling defense that will turn into offense. He wants to share the ball, play at a high pace, and have his players take the best shot available.
Gibson was introduced Monday as the new girls basketball coach after 19 years leading the Ridge View girls basketball program. During his stint with the Blazers, Gibson won 259 games, was named Coach of the Year twice, and guided Ridge View to its first ever state semifinals in 2024.
“This is exciting,” Gibson said. “I didn’t think I would be this excited. I didn’t think I would be this into a new program, but the community, the area, they just want to win. I feel that.”
It was that aura that attracted Gibson to the program.
“When I came into the interview and talked to the AD (Louis Clyburn) and I talked to the basketball coach and people in the community, it’s felt like coming into a home,” Gibson said. “That’s what it felt like. It was just an opportunity. It felt like home.”
Gibson inherits a program that has been hard pressed to find success on the hardwood. For Gibson there are a few things that will be important to turn the program around.
“You have to have talent,” Gibson said. “Talent isn’t always available. Some of the things we want to do on the court may not work. Some of the things that help you win are about being committed to doing the things that make you successful, the things that make you work harder, run harder.
“I think that’s what doesn’t really change for me from middle school to high school to college to things like this. If you are committed to winning off the court and the workouts and being disciplined, all the things people talk about off the court, it leads to success on the court. When you bring those things on the court, I believe we will start having success here.”
Clyburn also introduced Cory Karl as the new cheer coach; G.A. Mangus as the offensive coordinator for football; Scotty Dean as the defensive coordinator; Zeke Walker as the linebackers coach/defensive assistant; Paul Nesbitt as the defensive line coach; Tyler Renew as the running backs coach; Cliff McDonald as an offensive line coach; Jimmy Odell as a defensive assistant; Jordan Terry as an offensive assistant for skill players; and Jarvis Riley the line of scrimmage assistant.
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