In first season, Gaither leads LR to state championship

Caleb Gaither still can’t believe it.

It’s been three weeks since the Lower Richland boys basketball team won the Class 4A state championship and the first-year coach is still digesting the title run. The Diamond Hornets rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Wren for the school’s first state title since 1999.

Gaither has been rewarded for the effort, being named The State’s Midlands Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

“Sometimes, if I’m sitting alone by myself or riding down the road, I say, ‘Hey man, we just won the state championship,’ ” Gaither said. “All the credit goes to my players. You can be the best coach in the world, but you have to have the players to carry out a game plan, run the Xs and Os.

“That class of 2017, I’m ecstatic for them. For them to go through a few coaching changes and a little bit of pressure from the surrounding community. For them to stick to the plan and bring the state championship back to Hopkins is huge. I’m happy for them and happy for Lower Richland.”

Lower Richland took a chance on the 30-year-old Gaither, who had no previous experience as a head coach, serving as an assistant at Dorman and South Pointe. He was the school’s third head coach in the past four seasons and was aware of the tradition and expectations when he took over.

Gaither also knew he was inheriting a talented team led by Division-I signees Clyde Trapp and Ja’Cor Nelson. The goal was to build a strong foundation in the first year. Things started slowly with a loss to Keenan in the opener, and they were 2-2 after four games. But the Diamond Hornets went on an eight-game winning streak in January, including a win over defending state champion A.C. Flora.

“Winning a game against A.C. Flora was a confidence booster,” Gaither said. “It was a gradual process. The entire team got better and better. The entire team matured.”

That effort continued into the postseason and included a win over No. 1 and unbeaten Wilson, which had the home-crowd advantage at the Florence Civic Center.

In the championship game against Wren, Lower Richland fell behind 24-6 in the first quarter and then lost Nelson with a dislocated elbow in the fourth quarter. But Gaither and his team never panicked, pulling out the 51-42 victory.

“You fall down 24-6 and I’m trying to stay as positive as possible,” Gaither said. “I put myself in their shoes and wanted to calm them down. Didn’t want them to see me get rattled or show any type of panic. If I was calm, that would help them settle down and play our game.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 3:14 PM with the headline "In first season, Gaither leads LR to state championship."