Capital still trying to find itself
By Derek Taylor - Daily Mail Sports Writer
Capital's 6-6 start to the 2011-12 boys basketball season is the worst 12-game span to open a season for the school since the 2002-03 campaign.
That year, the Cougars finished 8-16 after opening with five wins in 12 starts. The current version has lingered around .500 all season, and again fell even after an 83-71 loss at Parkersburg (10-4) on Saturday night.
The team took another hit last week when sophomore starter Carrington Morris was ruled ineligible for the second semester for not meeting the minimum grade point average standard to play.
Yet, after an overtime win against Greenbrier East (6-5) on Thursday night, Cougars Coach Carl Clark spoke about the importance of playing through rough times. Clark particularly addressed the play of 5-foot-8 senior guard R.J. Symns, who that night scored 19 points and made a crucial steal in the final seconds of regulation that led to him forcing overtime.
"R.J. does a lot of things well, and he does a lot of things bad," Clark said. "But he never stops playing, you know, and that's what we tell him all the time.
"The turnovers and stuff that he makes, the bad decisions he makes, you can live with that when a kid is continually playing hard. He doesn't stop. He continues to play."
Symns averages 11.3 points per game, one of three Capital players to average in double figures through 12 games. Senior forward Earl Reed leads the Cougars at 18 points per game while senior forward Eric Mills averages 16.5 points.
The win over the Spartans was Capital's only victory in its last four games. The Cougars play at Nitro (4-6) today, travel to Winfield (10-3) on Tuesday and play host to Cabell Midland (2-11) on Friday before playing Pinewood Prep, S.C., at Logan on Saturday