After practice last week at The Convo, Erin Bailes and Olivia McCuskey shared tales of their high school days. One would laugh while the other reminisced, as if last year was a far distant memory. Occasionally, they completed each other's sentences and poked fun at past on-court encounters.
A year ago, that conversation would have been blasphemous.
Bailes and McCuskey are two of five newcomers for Ohio this year. The freshmen from West Virginia are close friends now, but for the last four years, all they knew about each other came from a scouting report.
I knew Liv had all those
you know step-back-in-your-face threes all those dribble moves and stuff
Bailes said jokingly of her new teammate.
I had all the crazy moves
McCuskey confirmed. She was such a good shooter
though.
Bailes, of Huntington, W. Va., was a shooting guard and point guard for the Huntington Highlanders. She made three consecutive Class AAA title game appearances and scored 17 points per game her senior year, when she was named her conference's Most Valuable Player. Huntington coach Lonnie Lucas noted Bailes' on-court intelligence as her greatest attribute.
She's a smart basketball player. She knew how to run everything
he said. Her performance in the state tournament improved her stock a whole level.
McCuskey, a St. Albans, W. Va. native, played the same two positions for the Nitro Wildcats. She averaged 17 points and nine rebounds as a senior.
Nitro coach Jackie Long praised McCuskey for her intensity and awareness on the court.
She was good enough not only to create chances for herself
but she was always able to keep her head up and find other players
Long said.
Bailes and McCuskey -both six feet tall - defended each other when their teams met. They first faced off in Amateur Athletic Union basketball as seventh graders, and then five more times in high school.
Huntington and Nitro belong to the Mountain State Athletic Conference and meet every year in league play. The Highlanders won four of the five contests during the two Bobcats' high school careers.
Our junior year we were big rivals-
Bailes said, before McCuskey completed the thought: -because (the Highlanders) were always real good
but my sophomore year
