Welcome to Central Cabarrus basketball: a fast-paced, high-scoring nightmare for opponents

Early in the third quarter of Saturday night’s game at Lake Norman, Elijah Ford stole the ball and set off a series of passes that ended with Chase Daniel scoring on a layup and getting fouled in the process.

On each of the passes, a Central Cabarrus player happened to be open, and driving toward the basket. Daniel found himself open under the basket.

If you’re watching the Vikings for the first time, it might look like schoolyard basketball — players running around, managing to shed their defenders, finishing with a lucky layup.

But the eyes can be deceiving.

Each of those Central Cabarrus players was where he was supposed to be. And Daniel was supposed to be heading to the basket. It was all planned.

“Well, pretty much,” Central Cabarrus coach Jim Baker says of his team’s pressing and fast-breaking offense. “Here’s the funny thing. We could probably come down the court after the turnover and run any of 20 different plays.

“And they’re all planned.”

Welcome to the world of Central Cabarrus basketball.

It’s high-energy, fast-paced, and a nightmare for scorekeepers.

And … it works, at least for the Vikings.

They finished 30-1 last season, their only loss coming by an 84-75 score to eventual state champion West Charlotte in the 3A West Regional finals. This year, the Vikings are off to a 2-0 start heading into Tuesday’s games. They’ve outscored their two opponents by an average of 183-102. That includes a 104-72 victory in Saturday’s game at Lake Norman.

Central Cabarrus, which was scheduled to play Butler on Wednesday night and has two games in this weekend’s Cabarrus County Classic at Cox Mill, does all this without a player taller than 6-5 on the roster.

One opposing South Piedmont 3A Conference coach last year said the Vikings operate at “Ludicrous Speed.” If you’ve seen the movie “Spaceballs,” you’ll understand. If not, just know that Central Cabarrus doesn’t like to sit back and let an opponent set up a play — and the Vikings aren’t fond of stalling on offense.

The funny thing is that all of this happened, more or less, by accident.

‘I wanted to coach’

But you need to go back a couple decades first.

Baker is no newcomer to this basketball coaching business. After playing at Catawba College under its iconic coach, Sam Moir, he went into coaching. His father, Walt, a longtime coach for whom the North Rowan High gym is named, wanted his son to go into finance.

“I wanted to coach,” Baker says.

He worked as an assistant at Davidson, Virginia Tech and VMI, before returning to Catawba and replacing Moir in 1994 when he retired.

Baker then coached Catawba for 20 years, compiling a 344-236 record. He was named South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year five times and guided Catawba to nine appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs. He resigned in 2014, ready to take a break.

Baker is credited for running a top-notch program. He says 64 of his 68 seniors graduated.

“But I still had the itch to coach,” he says. “My kids and wife wanted me to coach again. They thought I’d take a college job.”

But Central Cabarrus’ athletic director at the time, Kevin Bryant, contacted Baker. He had coached one of Baker’s sons in high school and asked if he would be interested in the Vikings’ vacancy. Baker agreed.

‘Lord, have I lost it?’

“It wasn’t an overnight success,” Baker says.

His first team went 4-21, and the Vikings were 6-19 in the 2018-19 season.

“I’m thinking, ‘Lord, have I lost it?’ ” he recalls.

Then Jaiden Thompson and Gavin Bullock arrived as freshman at Central Cabarrus.

“The whole culture changed,” Baker says.

Central Cabarrus went 17-10 in the 2019-20 campaign and then 12-2 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.

Then came the game that changed everything.

Early in that 2020-21 campaign, Baker had attended some clinics at Alabama, where his son, Josh, is an assistant to Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats. He watched coaches discuss a system that involved high-pressure defense, multiple offensive sets, and a fast-paced offense.

On Jan. 15, 2020, the Vikings were playing Central Cabarrus.

“Some of the coaches and I started talking about trying that,” he says, referring to what he saw at Alabama. “It was pretty much an instant success.”

The Vikings started pressing closely and running on offense.

It’s not for everyone

Jim Baker doesn’t recommend that every coach switch immediately to that system.

“A big part of it is the kind of players we have here,” he says. “The next year after Jaiden and Gavin arrived, Carson and Chase Daniel got here. This is a special group of players. They make this work.”

He says eight of his players are in the academically advanced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program. Most of the Vikings carry high grade-point averages.

Baker even tells a story about being at a Panthers’ game earlier this year while someone else coached the Vikings in an offseason scrimmage. Central Cabarrus won easily.

“These guys,” he says of his players, “can operate this system by themselves, if need be. Me and the other coaches just keep it organized.”

Bakers says there are a couple constants in the Central Cabarrus system.

“First, we will not let you run your play against us,” he says. “The faster we go, the better we play. And as the game goes on, the other team’s shots start falling short. They’re getting tired.”

Can the Vikings run a patterned, deliberate offense?

“Sure,” Baker says. “We have plays like that, and we could run them. But that’s not how we operate.”

Baker wants people to know one more thing about this Central Cabarrus team.

“These are really good kids,” he says. “They’re close. They care about one another.”

Baker’s youngest son, Jake, a sophomore, suffered a season-ending knee injury about 10 days ago. Jim Baker says players have been a strong support system for his son.

“This is my 42nd year in coaching,” he says. “This team is keeping me young. It’s still a lot of fun.”

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

Thursday’s high school basketball schedule

Mecklenburg nonconference

Covenant Day at Gaston Christian

Hickory Grove Christian at Union Academy (boys)

Hough at Sun Valley

Independence at Mallard Creek (boys)

Metrolina Christian at Carmel Christian

North Charlotte Homeschool at Hickory Christian (boys)

Providence Day at South Pointe, SC (girls)

Queens Grant Charter at Carolina Christian (girls)

Southern Guilford Homeschool at South Charlotte Thunder

Sugar Creek Charter at West Mecklenburg

Victory Christian at Elevation Prep (boys)

Area nonconference

A.L. Brown at Central Academy

Burns at Forestview

Christ Classical at Covenant Classical (boys)

East Gaston at North Gaston

Greater Cabarrus Stallions at North Hills Christian

Hickory at Freedom

Millers Creek Christian at University Christian

R-S Central at C.D. Owen

South Stanly at Anson County