Aycock's Best signs to play hoops at Averett (Va.) University

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on May 30, 2016 1:48 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Ian Best doesn't do vacation days.

Or power naps, or water breaks, or anything that remotely qualifies as a breather from basketball.

That's why a recent time-out -- a hasty respite in which the Charles B. Aycock senior signed a national letter-of-intent to play collegiately at Averett University -- stood out as a glaring exception his most adhered-to principle.

"No days off," he says.

The ceremony, attended by a proud function of family and Aycock staffers, was a fitting testament to the point guard's tireless work ethic and infectious, get-there-first attitude.

In his world, progress doesn't sleep.

There's just work.

It is, after all, how one perfects the final act of a blinding, behind-the-back cross over dribble -- one that ghosts a wing defender in a serpentine, off-hand loop. It's not a natural bit of human contortion, but Best sure makes it look that way.

Work.

It's gathering a dribble with pace, setting the opponent up like a garden gnome, then vanishing for a meet-and-greet at the rim. It's not easy, that bit of flash, but Best makes it look that way.

Work.

It's finding a gym, any gym, at any hour, to get up shots and hone a skill set that makes you different from every baller in the county -- a group that runs nine schools deep and countless players wide.

"He put in the work," said his father, Leonard. "Up in the mornings, five o'clock... going back in the afternoon, putting up shots."

The physical toll was exacting, not glamorous.

But the concept of sweat equity -- for personal gain, not a snapchat reel -- was exactly how Ian Best gained the attention of college programs despite a varsity career that spanned just 50 games.

*

February 11, 2016.

It's senior night at Eastern Wayne, and the sellout crowd is brimming. Still on edge from an emotional, flash-popping rite honoring seven seniors, the crowd is ready for a show.

What they get is a clinic.

Best began the affair in quick-hitting order, dissolving any and all doses of the Warriors' pressure. He carved, slipped and sliced roughshod through a rotating swarm of host schematics with a slick, even handle.

He routinely found layups and formed the basis of a lead Aycock would never relinquish. The Golden Falcons were seven clear after one quarter, up 18 at half and won going away, 78-68.

No. 5 was simply dominant, controlling the pace and registering a game-high 25 points. Moreover, he hand-delivered a playoff berth to an Aycock team mired in the middle of a February siege.

"He kind of put everybody on his back," coach Dave Elmore recalled, "and carried the load... wasn't selfish about it, and brought everybody else along with him."

The hours. The drills.

The shadow boxing, in empty gyms and parks, at odd hours. He'd been waiting for a moment like this -- come one, come all.

Eastern Wayne was the culmination of work, plain and simple.

*

The ink is dry on his official paperwork and Ian Best finally gets to talk -- he likes doing that, too. Especially about his new home.

"I went there (for an official visit), just felt a part of the "team as soon as I walked in the gym," he said. "It just clicked, like with family."

Perhaps it was the atmosphere.

Located in Danville, Va., Averett University is a Norman Rockwell-inspired, Division III postcard that stretches the length of a 30-second time-out along the North Carolina border.

As the crow flies, it's just 45 minutes from Greensboro.

And parts of it -- the prominent rail line, the town's quaint nature -- are reminiscent of home.

It's a notion recruits always find appealing.

Significant interest from the AU coaching staff didn't hurt, either.

David Doino, formerly of N.C. Wesleyan and now in his third season as the Cougars' head coach, was taken with the point guard's multi-faceted nature.

In fact, it made him a recruiting priority.

"Ian has a very good feel for the game," the coach said, "(and) we felt he was the type of person that fit into our program. His desire to get better on and off the floor has us very excited to coach him."

Above all else, one thing is clear -- he won't have any problems getting him to put in the work.