ALL-AREA GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Princeton's Wooten named area's top coach

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on March 27, 2017 9:59 AM

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By BEN COLEY

bcoley@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Paula Wooten knows how to get results.

And boy, does she get them fast.

When Ricky Boyette stepped away from the girls' basketball program in 1987, Wooten slid right into the head coaching role. Her first season resulted in a conference championship.

Flash forward to 2016-17.

The Lady Bulldogs were once again in need of a head coach and had no title to speak of since Wooten's run 30 years prior. So there she was, ready to begin her second stint as the varsity coach.

The result? Yeah, you guessed right -- a Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season and tournament title.  

"(The championship) was very important," said Wooten, who was named the 2016-17 News-Argus All-Area Girls' Basketball Coach-of-the-Year. "Coach Boyette and I have been there for a long time. And when you care about a school and about a program, you want to see it be successful. So it was very, very special to see the girls' program to once again be on top."

The Bulldogs finished 22-5 and won 13 conference games after winning just eight matchups in the 2015 season. The team also won a playoff game for the first time in three years.

Wooten's first tenure with the girls' team lasted until the 1997 season, around the time her son, Michael, was born. Wooten has also coached softball and was the first-ever coach of Princeton's volleyball program.

But the veteran coach said when it comes to coaching, her first passion has always been basketball.

When the retiring Marty Gurganus asked her about the position, Wooten carefully thought and prayed about the decision in hopes of making the right move.

 "I know this is a good group of kids and my daughter will be in the ninth grade next year," Wooten said. "So I knew I'd be around. So I decided to try it again."

Wooten said it was fairly easy transitioning back into the role of varsity basketball coach, although the team did begin the season losing the first two out of three.

During the rocky start to the year, Wooten encouraged her players to learn from the mistakes and to seek constant improvement.

"When they started winning, success sometimes breeds success," Wooten said. "They worked hard, bought in to mine and coach Boyette's system, and saw the results."

Though it is difficult to remember the specific details of the 1987 championship season, Wooten did recall that the team had several players returning from the previous year.

This season, the team had six returnees -- Jordan Benson, Emily Ricks, Megan Bryant, Jazmaine McCain, Madison Adkins and Takiria Cummings.

That was essentially the extent of Wooten's rotation. However, the versatility of her players helped mask the weaknesses.

"It was very challenging, but it was good that we had some kids who could play at the two or three or four," Wooten said. "And so we rotated them around a lot of times to give kids rest. But when you got in foul trouble, that presented a problem, but the kids really did well with it."

The main results were seen from the defensive end. The Bulldogs allowed just 31.1 points per game, which was by far the best in the conference. A season ago, the team allowed 48.8 points per game.

The best example of Princeton's suffocating pressure may have been the conference tournament championship.

Rosewood's Braylee Butts entered the game averaging nearly 18 points per game. The Bulldogs held her to three points and just one made field goal. The Eagles managed just 30 points.

"What we preached was defense wins championships," Wooten said. "Offense might win games, but defense wins championships. You've got to be aggressive on defense. I think that was probably the key to our success this year...They took pride in it."

"Princeton" and "pride" are tightly-woven terms in Bulldog Country, especially under the leadership of Wooten.

 From an outsider's perspective, stepping into a coaching role after a 20-year absence may appear complicated. Not for Wooten. She has been around Princeton all of her life and hasn't coached anywhere else. Bulldog blue and gold runs through her veins.

Her secret to instant success -- which she found in 1987 and 2017 -- doesn't come from some magical touch.

The principles are simple, really. Teach fundamentals and build relationships.

"You've got to have discipline, but you also have to have fun and let them know that you care about them," Wooten said. "When the kids know that you care about them, and you have their best interests (at heart), I've always found they'll do whatever they can for you to be successful."

Solid advice from a champion.