Cannon School, not afraid of a loss, starts No. 1 in Observer’s Sweet 16 poll
Last week, Cannon School girls’ basketball coach Kelvin Drakeford talked about why he always puts together a tough schedule for his team, and how that scheduling, and his decision to give his team plenty of freedom to play, has helped turn the Cougars into a state power.
“I don’t think losses are losses,” Drakeford said. “They’re definitely lessons. So we don’t mind seeing that ‘L’ in the (loss) column because, you know, when it comes down to playing in February, we want to be in that state championship game, and we want to be prepared for that moment.”
Drakeford and the Cougars start the season ranked No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16, a regional poll that began in 1984 and ranks the top teams in the media company’s coverage area, which currently includes schools in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln and Union counties that play in the N.C. High School Athletic Association or with the N.C. Independent Schools.
The poll is compiled by longtime N.C. girls’ high school basketball expert Randall Clark, a co-host of The Observer’s Talking Preps streaming show, which will switch from football to basketball coverage in January.
Clark put together the rankings in October, before teams tipped off, and before Cannon School opened its season at Gaston Christian, a team that was 15-6 last season and has multiple Division I recruits, including 6-foot-7 center Happy Arune.
Tough opening night on the road
Gaston Christian beat Cannon Tuesday night, 44-30. Cannon played without two of its best players — sophomore center Jakaila Gaskin (shoulder) and junior Madison Drayton (knee cap).
Gaskin, who has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Louisvile, Miami (FL), Ohio State and Tennessee, was second on the team in scoring last season and first in rebounding. Drayton, who has offers from Elon, N.C. A&T, Western Carolina and William & Mary, was first in scoring and second in rebounding.
“The majority of my girls want to play at the collegiate level,” Drakeford said. “So we have to show them who they need to compete against to earn offers and interest. So I try to show them that, you know, there are other people, other teams, working just as hard as you are.”
And to Drakeford’s point, Cannon’s tough schedule — which this year includes games against national prep schools, on the road against S.C. powers and in the John Wall Holiday tournament in Raleigh — could lead to a few losses.
But it seems to be working.
Taking over the team and having some fun
Just nine years ago, Cannon was 1-19 and going through a three-year run where it finished 11-53 overall. Since Drakeford took over in the 2017-18 season, when the Cougars were 4-15, Cannon has now run off seven straight winning seasons.
“They were only like five or six girls on the team before I took over,” Drakeford said. “I was like, ‘No way.’ But (school administrators) were like, ‘We think you should do it.’”
Drakeford had a team of freshmen year one, but he coached in a style that many players love, allowing them freedom to move and play and not just to go to spots in an orchestrated manner. He embraced social media, let his players do group TikToks and made music a big part of the Cougars’ practices and locker room culture.
“Man,” he said, “we just want to have some fun.”
Drakeford said that type of culture began to attract players, and when future McDonald’s All-American Reigan Richardson transferred to Cannon from public Hickory Ridge before her sophomore season seven years ago, Drakeford said “the floodgates opened.”
Losses are lessons
In the past five years, Cannon has won at least 20 games each season and has won three state titles, including the previous two back-to-back. In three of those seasons, however, Cannon had seven losses and never fewer than five.
Maybe Drakeford is right about that losses being lessons thing?
Drakeford said the schedule is also attractive to top talent, like Gaskin and Drayton and 5-11 junior Brooke Busby, who’s beginning to flirt with Power 4 schools. He said top players would rather play other top teams versus winning by 50 every night.
“We believe in challenging our girls in tough environments, on the road, in tournaments,” Drakeford said. “Wherever. It’s what the kids want. And I want them to be prepared when they go to that next level, to be able to fit whatever system that college wants and to not be robots. So I try to, like, just let the girls be the girls and learn how to play basketball at the end of the day.”
The Charlotte Observer girls’ basketball Sweet 16
Rk., School, 2024-25 record
1. Cannon School (26-7)
2. North Mecklenburg (25-4)
3. Mallard Creek (25-4)
4. Marvin Ridge (24-6)
5. Lake Norman (30-1)
6. Providence Day (25-8)
7. Porter Ridge (16-9)
8. Concord Academy (26-7)
9. Stuart Cramer (29-3)
10. Ardrey Kell (17-10)
11. North Lincoln (29-2)
12. Queen’s Grant (22-5)
13. South Mecklenburg (25-5)
14. Victory Christian (15-9)
15. Hickory Ridge (21-9)
16. Myers Park (13-14)
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
