GRANITE CITY - The girls' basketball program at Granite City High School is becoming revitalized under the leadership of first-year head coach Greg Vaughn, who took over the team six days before the scheduled start of preseason practice on Oct. 26.
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Since then, the Warriors, who went 0-11 last season in the COVID-shortened season and had only won a total of 20 games during the past five seasons. Granite was 8-8 after a loss to Breese Mater Dei Catholic and now later in the season, stands 9-15, and it is the most wins for the Warriors in many years. The Warriors were 15-14 in 2012-2013 and that was the last time they finished above .500 with double-digit wins.
"I was excited, nervous, anxious, all of the emotions you might feel," Vaughn said. "But this being the school I graduated from, and played here myself, it's probably a dream come true, honestly."
Vaughn, who graduated from Granite in 1995 and played on the Warriors' boys team, started implementing his philosophy on the opening day of practice, emphasizing the fun of the game while working hard to get better.
"One of the first things we wanted to implement was having more fun within the program," Vaughn said, "making it so it wasn't a daily grind. We wanted to make sure it was a positive atmosphere for the girls to come in, and one way we probably implemented initially was through social media, and having a presence online, and making it more of a family atmosphere rather than just a team."
Vaughn was an assistant coach under former head coach Whitney Sykes-Rogers, and when he started as an assistant four years ago, he helped to emphasize that the Warriors had to earn everything on the court.
"When back four years ago, we started this talk that 'hey, you have to earn it,'" Vaughn said. "You haven't earned the right to be good yet, and I told them this season when I took over that 'hey, we're here, it's our time now.' You've earned the right to compete, you've earned the right to be one of the top teams and they've worked really hard for it."
After the Warriors dropped their first three games of the season, Vaughn got his first win Dec. 6 with a 49-15 victory at Memorial Gym over East Alton-Wood River. Along the way, the Warriors went on a five-game winning streak from Dec. 9-20, their longest since the 2003-04 season, when Granite ran off six in a row near the end of the regular season.
The Warriors have been led by junior forward Kaylyn Wiley, who earlier was averaging 11.4 points-per-game and senior Emily Sykes, who averages 10.6 points and 9.6 rebounds-per-game. Melashia Bennett has also contributed 6.1 points and 1.8 rebounds-per-game, while Ella Stepanek is averaging 5.5 points and 6.9 rebounds-per-game. Stepanek is a multi-sport star athlete for Granite City High.
Being a former Warrior player, Vaughn relates well to the ups-and-downs of the game and sports in general, and understands what his players are going through night after night.
"Well as an athlete myself, I can relate a little bit to what they're going through," Vaughn said, "the ups-and-downs. I think once you step on the court, though, basketball's basketball. It lets you escape reality a little bit on what's going on at home, or what's going on at school. And it lets you have that normalcy, that you need and that structure."
In his first season as Warriors' head coach, Vaughn's emphasis isn't so much on winning as it is finding players who are willing to work hard and have fun as well.
"Obviously, no one likes to lose," Vaughn said, "but winning is what we're trying to focus on last. What we're trying to do is build good people, build good athletes that want to come in the gym and work. But there are an awful lot more smiles when you're winning games, and the bus ride's home a lot better."
The Granite City girls host Belleville West at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 7.
