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Friday, March 2, 2001
Miller, Ray boys gear up
Squads looking to meet at regions
By George Vondracek
Caller-Times
Down deep, they are aching for another shot at each other.
   They haven't wanted to entertain the thought too often as the boys basketball playoffs progressed - there were more matters of import with which to deal.
   Yet the thought of two Corpus Christi Indepenent School District boys basketball teams - Miller and Ray - squaring off for the first time in a boys regional championship game is a tantalizing one to muse.
   "I think most of us want to play them real bad," Ray guard Doug Nichols said. "They beat us in the last game. I think most of us want them again."
   "It's in the back of our minds," Miller guard Jamaal Lucas said. "But you've to take one game at a time. I would like to play them again. It'd be nice for two Corpus teams to meet in the final."
   There are pressing issues, however, before a Miller-Ray battle can be considered.
   The 25-10 Texans must first get past 11th-ranked Converse Judson (30-3) in the first Region IV-5A semifinal at 6 p.m. today at Texas-San Antonio.
   Then, the 32-4 Buccaneers must defeat San Antonio Jay (26-6) in the nightcap with an 8 p.m. scheduled start time.
   "We had talked about it earlier," said Ray coach Sam Odoms, the last man to take a CCISD boys team to Austin, in 1985 when he was at King. "We thought we had a chance to win district. We knew we could represent the district. We wound up splitting and sharing the title.
   "We figured if we could play again, it would be for the regional championship. I think we have a good chance and I think Miller has a good chance."
   The teams split District 29-5A matchups, with Ray winning at Miller, 90-80, and the Bucs winning at the Texans' gym, 80-54. Miller holds a 2-1 edge on the year, however, thanks to a 78-75 win in the CCISD tournament.
   "This opportunity is something that just comes to you," Miller forward Jacoby Smith said. "I haven't heard of it ever happening. If we win and they win, we'll meet up and see what happens."
   Different roads
   Early, many dismissed any shot the Texans might have had to earn a playoff spot, let alone contend for the 29-5A championship - everyone, of course, except Odoms and the Ray players.
   On the Miller side, the talent was there. But there were questions as to how the Bucs would respond to new coach Dwight Whittington, who took over the club after Kevin Wall was dismissed by the school district.
   There were trying times for both teams. But both endured and, eventually, prevailed, with Ray sharing a district title and Miller taking a 16-game winning streak to San Antonio.
   "At first, a lot of people were downing us," said Ray senior swingman Tiger Mitchell, who along with sophomore brother Taurean lead the Texans with 15.3 and 19.1 scoring averages, respectively.
   "It was, 'You ain't gonna get that far; be thankful you split with Miller,'" Tiger Mitchell said. "They said the team last year was better and they got beat by the same team (South San Antonio) that Judson beat this year."
   Nichols said it was a matter of the Texans playing team basketball.
   "We lost a couple of games at the beginning of the year to West Oso and Flour Bluff that we shouldn't have," Nichols said. "We were playing too much one-on-one ball.
   "Sometimes, we still fall back into it. When we need to, we'll have Taurean or Tiger go one-on-one. But we're doing much better playing team basketball."
   Whittington was no stranger to the Miller program, having spent three years in the program. Yet there always is a tad bit of adjusting. And with the controversy surrounding Wall's exit - the ex-coach fought the dismissal following a CCISD finding of mismanged finances within the program - there was added scrutiny on the program.
   "It's not surprising to us as far as we've gotten, but as far as us having adversity and being in the public eye, we've come a long way," said Lucas, last year's All-Metro MVP who leads the Bucs with a 20.1 scoring average. "Everybody watches Miller so we have to watch what we do. It's a good thing 'cause it keeps us on our toes."
   Said Whittington: "The surprising thing is not the wins. It's the leadership of Jamaal and Jacoby Smith. They really got behind us saying that we need to quit pulling each other apart and get behind each other.
   "I knew we could have a winning season. It's just how they've gotten behind each other."
   Strong competition
   Against Judson, the Texans will be facing a team that has proven its ability to respond to tough situations. The Rockets rebounded from a 28-11 deficit in the second quarter of Tuesday's regional quarterfinal, peeling off a 53-20 run to get past South San, 78-66. In doing so, the Rockets made 25 of 31 free shots.
   The previous round, Judson got a 3-point goal from Damon Best with 2 seconds to play to get past San Antonio Clark, 44-41.
   "They start four guards and one post, pretty much what we do," Odoms said. "I just know they're not as big as they've been in the past. I know they're going to be well coached if they came from 17 points down to beat that team the other night."
   Miller has a chance at redemption, since Jay eliminated the Bucs in the second round last year, 62-55. The game still burns in the minds of the Bucs, who fell apart late. They turned over the ball, missed four crucial free throws and let the Mustangs corral 10 offensive rebounds - the boards led to eight points - in the latter half of the game.
   "If you're in the clutch last five minutes, you learn you have to take care of the ball, no turnovers and you've got to make the free throws," Smith said. "If you can't make them down the stretch, you're not going to get it done."
   Whittington said the experience gained in that game and another year on the court should help the Bucs in the rematch with Jay.
   "I think they have matured up to this point in the season," he said. "We have to show how strong we are mentally to win this game.
   "There's no room to let down mentally," Whittington said. "We'll always have a good performance physically. The mental things are the things that'll take things away from you in big games."
   And prevent a possible CCISD matchup for the right to advance to the state tournament next week in Austin.


Staff writer George Vondracek can be reached at 886-3731 or by e-mail at vondracekg@caller.com

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