Unbeaten Pulaski Academy girls looking to complete dream hoops season
BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
When long-time and highly successful Star City girls basketball coach Becky Yarbrough decided to leave for Pulaski Academy, it was a not an easy decision.
But the opportunity to retire from teaching, move closer to family, focus solely on coaching and do so at a school with abundant resources was just too good to pass up.
The result been remarkable as the Lady Bruins won the conference crown going away and will take a 30-0 mark into Wednesday afternoon’s 4 p.m. game with Malvern at the Class 4A-5 Regional in Clinton.
“It has been enjoyable, a great year and the kids have worked really hard,” Yarbrough said. “They set their goals and I have just been very pleased and surprised with how they have brought the intensity every day to practice.
“They lock in and stay to their business. It has been just a joy to coach them.”
For all the success, Pulaski Academy must beat Malvern on Wednesday in the Class 4A Region 5 event to advance to the state tournament next week in Magnolia.
“When you have Regionals, you have to win that first one to be in,” Yarbrough said. “That is always the scary one.
“…As a coach, you always worry about going into the postseason without any losses, but we have faced some adversity and players some really tough tournaments and some good teams in those tournaments.
“…A lot of games our kids have not played four quarters of basketball, at least our starters, but I hope they are ready for that because we are going to face some really good teams.”
While Pulaski Academy has run through it’s schedule, they are not ranked in the top five of their classification.
Is it possible to be 30-0 and still have a chip on the shoulder?
“You know we really never mention that,” Yarbrough said. “We just talk about staying focused day by day, play by play, practice by practice, no looking ahead and one game at a time.
“I don’t think these kid worry about the rankings. They just worry about each other game and I hope that can continue to do that.”
Yarbrough is 938-175 in her high school coaching career, which began in her hometown of Rison and then included 33 years as a junior high and high school head coach at Star City.
She had an idea early that Pulaski Academy might have a special season.
“Of course they had experience coming back and was real fortunate to get Lindsey Johnston to come back out,” Yarbrough said. “She’s just been a great asset to our team this year.
“I think just from the get go, it’s just been a really good fit with her coming back and the kids that we had here. They just have really good team chemistry, which makes it fun to coach.”
Still it was a tough decision for Yarbrough to switch coaching paths.
“It was really tough,” Yarbrough said. “I had some great memories at Star City, was successful there, great support there throughout the years. Just coached so many girls that I had a close relationship with to.
“It was really difficult, but at the same time, I was looking forward to getting closer to my kids, getting some new energy I guess, something different and the excitement of that. It was just the right time.
“It’s sad, I miss those kids, I miss the community, but I have been welcomed here, got a lot of support here and I really love the people here. They have been great to me.”
Focusing on just coaching has been a help for Yarbrough.
“The schedule here has been really nice and I get to focus on youth athletics here and the development throughout the whole program and it is just a really good situation,” Yarbrough said. “I am enjoying it.”
She thinks here team has been improving throughout the season.
“I think it has been balanced scoring and I think that is what makes us 30-0,” Yarbrough said. “People have tried to play us boxes and ones and triangles and twos, but we have got kids that can score – not just two or three.
“The depth own the bench has gotten better. At first, it was in experienced, but as we have played later, there is more confidence with those kids coming off the bench.”
Graphic courtesy of Pulaski Academy
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