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MARION, S.C. — Crasten Davis came to the Pee Dee to start coaching Creek Bridge’s boys.
After that school closed, what then?
All Davis did was start coaching the Marion girls and led them to a SCHSL Class 3A state runner-up finish.
With that in mind, coaching a girls’ team for the first time won’t be his only memory from 2019-20.
He’s also the Morning News Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year.
“When I came here, I saw they had talent, and I just didn’t want to let them down,” Davis said. “And for them to go and have the season like we did, and I got Region 6-3A coach of the year, and now this. A lot of people will applaud me for a job well done. But really, the applause needs to go to these young ladies that bought into my vision.
“Although this might have my name on the award, this is an award to the entire team, the coaching staff, the administration and our fan base.”
The Region 6-3A champion Swamp Foxes even went undefeated before losing their regular-season finale. They finished the season 29-2.
“I remember our very first practice, and I had notes from watching them on film from the season before, and I saw things they could get better at,” Davis said. “I wanted them to get over the hump that would allow us to beat disciplined teams like Bishop England.”
In the lower-state semifinal, on the 2019 champion Battling Bishops’ home floor, Marion did just that.
“When we had early season practice, I told them we were practicing for teams we’d see down the road,” Davis said.
Through the preseason drills, the cross-country season, Marion began to jell.
“It was all about the maturation of the young ladies, the maturation of myself and the maturation of our coaching staff,” Davis said.
As Davis looks back upon this season, he said, it was one he enjoyed.
And one he’ll never forget.
“It was a beautiful ride,” Davis said. “Even though the season didn’t end in the way we wanted it to, it was still like a movie, almost. The season was absolutely amazing.”
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