Assistant moves up to lead Wampus Cats
After 17 years as assistant coach, Salty Longing takes the reins of the Conway Wampus Cat program this fall. Longing, a Conway High School and Hendrix College alumnus who played basketball at both schools, took the position after the resignation of Will Johnson, who moved out of state last spring. After coaching at Conway Junior High School and Bob Courtway Middle School in the district, Longing became assistant coach of the Wampus Cats in 2000. During his tenure as an assistant, he was a part of the Wampus Cats’ state championship in 2010, state runner-up finish in 2008 and three conference championships. Conway won 255 games during those years. “I am extremely excited and humbled about the opportunity to be the head coach at my alma mater,” Longing said. “I have been a Wampus Cat since birth, and I look forward to the challenge of leading this program. My 17 years as an assistant under James Bates and Will Johnson will no doubt serve me well as we head into this season.” Conway finished 15-14 last year, including a 6-8 run through the 7A-Central. The Wampus Cats qualified for the Class 7A state tournament as the fifth seed from the Central and beat Fayetteville, fourth from the West, to advance to the quarterfinals, where their season ended with a 67-56 loss to North Little Rock, the top seed from the Central and the eventual state runner-up to Fort Smith Northside. “We lost several close games with leads in the fourth quarter last year,” Longing said. “I believe we are a better ball-handling team this year with a very versatile roster that should help us improve on that this year. We have only one returning starter, but we do have several returnees who logged varsity minutes.” That returning starter is Blake Bradshaw, a 6-7 senior center who averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds per game last season. “Blake is a skilled post who can shoot on the perimeter,” Longing said.
Also expected to contribute inside are Mandell Campbell, a 6-7 junior; Keaton King, a 6-5 junior; and Ja’kilyn Kaiser, a 6-3 junior. “Mandell is a good back-to-the-basket post,” Longing said. “He has a tremendous wing span and is a rim protector. Keaton is an extremely hard worker and a good position player. Ja’kilyn is a smaller post who can play out on the floor.” Outside, the Wampus Cats have some options, including Lerome Thompson, a 5-9 junior point guard; Scott Ashby, a 5-9 senior point guard; Tyler Tolliver, a 5-9 junior point guard; Jaylan Fulton, a 6-1 senior shooting guard; Stuart Lowe, a 6-2 senior shooting guard; Bryton Drake, a 5-10 junior shooting guard; Terry Clardy, a 6-2 junior small forward; Kylen Milton, a 6-3 junior small forward; and Caleb London, a 6-3 sophomore small forward. “Lerome is a good ball-handling and shooting guard,” Longing said. “Scott Ashby is a ball-handling guard with some starting experience. He is a heady decision-maker. Tyler Tolliver is a ball-handling guard who is an exceptional on-the-ball defender. “Jaylan Fulton, Stuart Lowe and Bryton Drake will be relied on for their perimeter shooting. Terry Clardy, Kylen Milton and Caleb London are athletic wings with length who will be relied on to rebound, defend and score when needed.” Longing said the Wampus Cats will have several team strengths this season. “We are fairly long and athletic,” he said. “I love our versatility. We should be able to be effective playing big or small lineups. This team has multiple players who can score inside and great team chemistry. The kids get along and play well together.” Weaknesses? “We were a poor perimeter-shooting team last year, and we hope to improve on those numbers,” the coach said. “Our players have been coming to ‘shooting workouts’ on random nights this month to, hopefully, help in this area.” The 7A-Central also includes Bryant, Cabot, Little Rock Catholic, Little Rock Central, North Little Rock, Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside. North Little Rock was the league’s top seed to the state tournament with the Northside Grizzlies second. The Grizzlies knocked off the NLR Charging Wildcats to win the state championship. Also qualifying for the state tournament from the Central last year were Little Rock Central, which fell to North Little Rock in the semifinals as the third seed, and Cabot, which reached the quarterfinals as No. 4. So the 7A-Central figures to be a tough road again this season. “The road to winning the 7A-Central goes through North Little Rock and Fort Smith Northside,” Longing said. “They are well-coached and loaded with Division I talent. Cabot and Bryant are two rival schools that are extremely well-coached and noted for their hard-nosed toughness.” After a Nov. 9 benefit game at Baptist Prep, the defending Class 4A state champion, the Wampus Cats will officially open the season against Fayetteville, expected to be a contender in the 7A-West, on Nov. 16. “The depth and length of [the Wampus Cats] will allow us to play more uptempo this year,” Longing said. “I think the versatility of our players will enable us to do more things on both ends of the floor. Even though we only return one full-time starter, most of our top players have varsity experience. “We have a very difficult nonconference schedule that should get us battle-tested for the tough 7A-Central grind.” Nick Harrell is Longing’s assistant coach.
I am extremely excited and humbled about the opportunity to be the head coach at my alma mater.” SALTY LONGING CONWAY BOYS COACH