Although Cory Guyton graduated from McAdams High School, the 45-year-old basketball coach has lived in the Kosciusko area off and on most of his life.
That connection led him to accept the Kosciusko head girls basketball coaching position earlier this year, one season after he guided the Choctaw County Lady Chargers to their best season in school history.
“I’m from the area, and I wanted to come home and try to develop the community,” Guyton said. “There’s a lot of little kids who need that extra push, and you want to develop your hometown. (So I) came home to give back to the community and try to put our community on the basketball map.”
Guyton’s impact is already visible.
After going 3-22 last year, the Lady Whippets are 5-2 on the young season. Kosciusko is in the midst of a five-game win streak and went 3-0 en route to winning the J.Z. George Tournament earlier this month.
Guyton will rely heavily on the contributions of his team’s three seniors: Mikhayla Vaughn, Katie Mitchell and Kayla Davis.
Through seven games, Mitchell, a shooting guard, is averaging six points per game; Vaughn, a point guard, is averaging 6.7 points per game; Davis, a center, is averaging 4.4 points per game.
“As leaders, I kind of put the toll on their backs to try to keep the team intact and direct everybody on what to do and where to go,” Guyton said. “Katie Mitchell is a softball player who is coming off of a state championship. So she is tremendous on and off the court. Mikhayla Vaughn and Kayla Davis are doing a great job of being leaders on and off the court, too. They’re growing into their roles, and they’re getting used to me. The first month of the season it’s everybody trying to get used to everybody and things of that nature, but I think they’ve taken on their roles, and they’ve done a good job.”
A pair of underclassmen has already emerged as go-to players for the Lady Whippets. With 10 points per game, freshman Amiyah Greer, a forward, is the team’s leading scorer.
“Amiyah Greer is playing outstanding basketball for us,” Guyton said. “She ’s a ninth-grader… She’s very active on defense, and she does whatever I ask her to do.”
Ariel Fleming, a freshman point guard, has been a consistent spark on offense off the bench for Guyton.
“When we need to get the ball up the floor, I can put her in,” Guyton said. “By her being a freshman, I know she’s going to make mistakes, but she’s handled the pressure pretty well for being a freshman.”
Seven games into the season, Guyton said he is pleased with the effort and direction of his new players, but he is challenging them to remain hungry in their pursuit for perfection.
“So far, so good,” he said. “We still have a lot to work on and a lot we have to do. I think they’ve responded well. It’s been a good experience. We’ve rotated a good amount of players, but I think we still need to be deeper into our bench for us to make a successful run. Overall, I’d say it’s been a fair first month because I feel that we can do better. I put that pressure on them, as well as myself, to try to get them better.”
Guyton credited the Kosciusko educational and local community for wholeheartedly embracing the Lady Whippets, which has, in turn, helped make his transition to the new school a smooth one.
“The biggest thing that I think has helped us this entire time is the community support,” Guyton said. “It has been outstanding community support, outstanding administrative support continuing on down. And when kids see that, they want to do well. The players want to do well for their community and their schools, so I think that’s an added addition to being a young team, and that helps them a whole lot.”
