1A PLAYOFFS -- Cotten has helped changed hoops culture at "The Swamp"

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 23, 2016 1:48 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Time takes its time here.

At first glance, there's modern fare -- grease and sodium stuffed in wax paper and oyster pails, advertised by neon signs that buzz like a child's toy.

A grocery store, known for the silky baritone of its TV lion, lobbies $3.99 ground chuck and extra-strength paper towels.

That's the shiny segment of NC Highway 111 -- four lanes of newly-minted government mule, bright and sprawling, ready and willing to take you somewhere quickly.

Keep going, though.

Because at the jagged intersection of Rifle Range Road, you'll find the marked stylings of a different world. Slower, it seems, with hands on the past.

Farm houses wink at your passing. Expansive fields, now dormant, are watched over by mantis-like, center pivot irrigation systems. Four-post live oaks mark the layout of barns that once bustled country, but have long since disappeared.

On most days this time of year, a burning smell fills the air.

Keep going, though.

Past the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park and the new middle grades facility, and squarely at the end of your gas tank, it suddenly appears -- Spring Creek High School.

It's where a long, highly improbable journey both ends and begins.

It's where Gators' head coach Charlie Cotten and his revivalists met four years ago -- and where finally, at long last, girls varsity basketball is fluently spoken.

*

January 26, 2016. The Swamp.

Senior guard Amber Buchan -- honored a week prior for eclipsing 1,000 points in her prep career, drifted toward a baseline screen against conference foe Hobbton.

A jab step and sprint later, it was over.

The play unfolded in a swift catch-and-shoot, she-gets-buckets kind of way. It was a quality look -- well within the rhythm of her coach's offense -- but also one with a bit of highlight reel mustard on it.

Nothing but net.

In the stands, the crowd wasn't quite sure how to react. Had they not seen this before? A triple, albeit slightly fading, from the short corner?

A fellow student placed his hands on his head.

"No, she didn't just pull from there," he opined.

Welcome to the new normal, fella.

On the evening, Buchan -- along with junior point guard Ashley Marriner and senior forward Tysha Teachey -- accounted for 68 points and 16 rebounds.

When the final buzzer sounded, Spring Creek officially claimed its eighth victory of the season, 84-41. But to observers of the program, those most familiar with its struggles and darkest moments, it was more than a win.

It was the stamped rebirth of a culture.

The 2015-2016 Gators -- Cotten's fourth edition -- were not a group discombobulated by feeder schools, travel ball kinships or egocentric coaching agendas.

They were allowed to develop as a unit -- a novel concept in today's world of youth sports.

And with four more victories, they exceeded the number of wins accumulated by Gator teams from 2006 to 2012 -- a period which saw the school drop 68 of 78 varsity contests.

Make no mistake -- the daughters of Seven Springs were back.

*

"Stop," he says with emphasis, "Stop. start over."

It's 3:30 p.m. and Cotten is done with the sloppiness. His team is pacing through practice following its most recent win -- a 59-28 conference victory at Princeton. And although it's a light day, there is still the expectation that drill work be completed with efficiency, spirit and timing.

It's not happening.

"We don't do anything fancy," he says to no one in particular.

Without missing a beat, the girls resume work. Somewhere along the line, they've heard that bark before. It's how they've become better.

Cotten's quartet -- Buchan, Marriner, Teachey and junior guard Destiney Sutton, who have combined for 277 career starts -- knows it.

Just ask them.

"He's determined," Buchan says of her coach. "Humble."

"Dedicated," offers Teachey, a sentiment echoed by Marriner.

"Hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard," says Sutton.

Stern, sure -- but don't, for the sake of your shot clock, get the wrong impression.

This isn't military-grade hoops, driven by a madman, nor the program that doles out participation trophies, orange slices and hair ribbons. A turnover is still a turnover, and a job well done is recognized -- just not canonized.

This team works in the real world, not on SnapChat.

Within the new Spring Creek culture exists an identity, and there's a strong one present on this year's roster -- one of gym-rat grit, confidence and typical teenage naivete. It's a balanced air Cotten will miss next season.

"I wish they weren't leaving," he said, struggling with the words, "because they have so much more to give."

In a sense, it is unfair that the airman who looked so long for a place to whistle, and his players, who so desperately needed the proper field guide, will part ways after the N.C. High School Athletic Association's upcoming version of March Madness. But what they've built didn't arrive with the snap of a finger, nor will it leave with the fuss of graduation caps and gowns.

What they've built is here to stay -- as is the coach.

"I grew up in a rural area," Cotten said, "and driving down 111, it's similar. The road, the trees. It takes me back, makes me think of those times ... Spring Creek has given me a sense of belonging."

Time took its time here, as it is wont to do in Seven Springs -- but the coach finally got his players, and vice versa.

Gator Nation should consider it worth the wait.