David Airing is heart of Charlotte Covenant Day offense

Covenant Day boys’ basketball coach Wade Tapp said he was lucky to take over a team that had nine seniors on the roster. And one of them was David Airing.

Airing, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound wing, is averaging nearly 24 points per game for Covenant Day. More importantly, he’s helping build the basketball program at the young school.

Tapp, a first-year varsity head coach, was the junior varsity coach when Airing came to the high school. Airing played on varsity as a freshman. Even though Tapp didn’t work directly with him, he saw what Airing brought to the program.

“What stood out to me was what a hard worker he was,” Tapp, 27, said. “He’s very coachable. Whatever the coach told him, he was all ‘Yes sirs’ and was ready to work hard.”

Much of Airing’s hard work happened in the weight room. Tapp said Airing is athletic, but “not as gifted as many of the athletes that we face.” He’s taken advantage of offseason workouts to get stronger and faster. He’s even taken up an in-season training regimen that has helped.

“A lot of guys will take that time off and say, ‘Well you know I’m in season now and I’m just going to focus on my game,’ ” Tapp said. “But to be a true athlete and to be a true student of the game, that athleticism and strength has to go along with it.”

As he’s gotten more athletic and faster, Airing’s play on the perimeter has improved. Airing is equally comfortable in the post and on the perimeter, which can cause matchup problems for opposing defenses. If he’s guarded by a smaller guard, he can take him inside. He can stretch a larger defender out to the three point line.

“I’m pretty good at being able to score inside and outside,” Airing, 17, said.

Airing has served as the team’s point guard at times when starter Ben Hawks has been injured a couple of times this year.

No matter where he plays, Airing is the heart of the Covenant Day offense. He averages about 14 more points than the next closest player (Justus Melton with 9.6 points).

“It’s always helpful to have a go-to guy in clutch situations, in clutch games, that you can count on to get an open shot and get an open look,” Tapp said. “He’s got great teammates around him that can finish, and that’s extremely helpful because it’s certainly not a one-man show.”

When the defense focuses Airing, his teammates find scoring opportunities. Hawks also averages nine points per game and Ethan VanDe Velde and Drew Pierce average more than five points each.

Airing scored his 1,000th point as a junior last year in a season where he averaged 18 points per game. He’s an accomplished player in a young program. Covenant Day has only had eight graduating high school classes and started fielding varsity teams in 2005.

“It’s a huge responsibility as an athlete to be, kind of, the face of a certain program,” Tapp said. “Being a young school that’s seeking to make a name for itself, David has been a crucial part of (moving the program forward) and he’s not done that through being flamboyant or seeking attention. He’s just done that through sheer hard work and determination. And that’s set an example for other guys.”

Airing said he hopes he and his fellow seniors are role models for future Covenant Day basketball players. He’s seen how the program has grown since he started at Covenant Day as a kindergartner.

He helped the team make it to it's first N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A state tournament last year (Covenant Day made the 1A tournament in 2006 and 2A in 2007 and 2008). The Lions lost to Christ School 88-31 in the first round of the playoffs.

“That was big,” he said about making the playoffs. “We lost by a lot but it was still a good experience.”

Airing hopes the team makes it back this year. The Lions (10-14 through Feb. 7) started the year slow, winning just one of their first seven games. But they’ve improved recently, going 6-7 in Metrolina Athletic Conference play and winning three conference games in the same week (Jan. 29, 31 and Feb. 1) for the first time that Tapp can remember.

“I think, especially at this time in the season, our team is playing really well,” Airing said. “In the beginning, we struggled finishing out games and stuff like that, but I think we’re playing really well as a team. This is the best Covenant Day team I’ve been on.”

Covenant Day has played well against tough competition, losing by just seven points to Providence Day, by six points to Charlotte Latin and forcing Charlotte Christian to overtime before losing by six.

Tapp, who played basketball at Christian and graduated in 2003, thinks these are big steps for the program.

“That’s an incredible opportunity to play with premiere programs in the Charlotte area and to know that we’ve earned some respect when teams in the past may have overlooked us.”

Airing remembers playing Christian in previous years and always losing by double digits. He wanted to win this year, but he knows it’s important for the program that they were competitive.

“A lot of times we’re not expected to win, so all the close games we’ve had have been impressive to me,” he said. “We’re not really supposed to be able to compete with them.”

Tapp hopes the program gets more competitive in the coming years. It’s going to be tough without his nine seniors and Airing, who isn’t sure where he’ll go to school next year. But he will have this group to use as an example for players to come.

“I could not have asked for a better team to coach in my first year. I feel spoiled almost,” Tapp said. “It’s just been a blast and David is a prime example of the blessings I’ve received in coaching these guys.”