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Guest Blog by Brian Carter: NCBCA COACHES VS CANCER
This is our 1st profile of out Basketball Coach of the Week.
A lifetime of excitement, thrills, memories and most importantly,
relationships. “Today, I consider myself to be the luckiest man in the world,” a
quote attributed to Yankee legend Lou Gehrig but I would certainly say applies
to me.
My name is Brian Carver, and I am the Head Basketball Coach and
Athletic Director at Enka High School in Asheville North Carolina. I am
currently in my 33rd season coaching high school basketball. As I look back at
the years spent on the sidelines, I also realize just how lucky I have been. I am
thankful for all the players and experiences that I have been fortunate to be
apart of.
Growing up in the Enka community as a high school player, fate intervened as
when I was in elementary school, someone new moved into our neighborhood.
The new Head Coach at Enka High School was now my neighbor. Over the
years, he watched me grow up in the driveway playing pick up. After an up and
down playing career of my own, he needed a coach to take the JV’s to team
camp the summer after I had graduated from high school. I was hooked! I have
been coaching ever since.
After spending seven years as an assistant at Enka, fate again intervened and I
landed at a local rival high school and had the chance to spend a few years as an
assistant for one of our state’s all time great high school coaches. Those
formative years under those two legends has meant more than any classroom
lesson I could have ever had.
Eventually, I ended up back at my high school as the Head Coach, a dream
come true for me. This is a place that I love dearly, and have devoted my life
too. Along the way, I have had some successes and had some tough defeats but
it’s the players and love of this school that keeps me energized and ready for
another season of Enka Basketball.
The game of basketball has given me so much in my life, I am honored to try
and give back to the game. Now in my 22nd year as the head coach, I have
become the schools all time leader in wins, led our teams to the first ever back
to back 20 win seasons, and made the deepest run into the state playoffs in
school history in 2022. I have been named conference coach of the year (23), 2x
district coach of the year, the North Carolina Coaches vs Cancer State Coach of
the Year (13). I have been selected as coach in the historical Blue/White All Star
game 3 times, selected as assistant coach of the North Carolina East/West All
Star game played in the Greensboro Coliseum. Most recently I have been
selected as the Head Coach of the North Carolina All Star team in the annual
North Carolina/South Carolina Carolinas Classic.
At the conclusion of last
season, I was blown away as I was named the NABC National High School
Champion Coach of the Year. Attending the Final Four in Houston and being
recognized while sitting with multiple Hall of Fame college coaches such as
Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim, and Tubby Smith among many others was
certainly a thrill of a lifetime and a memory that I will cherish for the rest of
my life.
I truly believe in servant leadership and one thing that my career has afforded
me is the opportunity to serve and give back! I am proud to serve as an
Executive Board Member of the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association
(NCBCA), Board Member of the North Carolina Coaches Association, and I am
on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina High School Athletic
Association. I am the founder of the NCBCA Coaches vs Cancer Shootout, an
event that has raised over $185,000 for fight against cancer. However, none of
these experiences can replace the relationships and connections that I have
over a 30 year coaching career, for that, I am truly thankful and blessed.