Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Woodsboro offending opponents with versatile players on both sides of ball

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Friday, March 2, 2001
Woodsboro offending opponents with versatile players on both sides of ball
Eagles able to shut down challengers with menacing offense, defense and plenty of skilled athletes
By Lee Goddard
Caller-Times
Those summer pickup basketball games have gone a long way in Woodsboro.
   While the boys team prepares to take on Jarrell High School tonight in the Class 2A Region IV semifinals at 6 at St. Edward's University in Austin, it owes at least some of its success to just shooting around with each other.
   "We've been playing together for a few summers now," said senior guard Bryan Jones. "It's really just messing around over the summer, that sort of thing. But you get to know them as a person."
   And as a player. Jones is but one cog in the Eagles' system of balanced offense and stranglehold defense. Along with senior guard Josh McCoy, junior post Jason Schultz and junior forward Michael Vesley, Jones is one of four double-digit scorers on the team.
   That's important for Woodsboro, the runner-up team in District 31-2A, as the Eagles have anybody who can take command of a game. In the regional quarterfinal, Universal City Randolph - which would fall to the Eagles by 29 points - decided to take Vesley, the team's leading scorer at 15 per game, out of the offense.
   Vesley still scored 10, but Jones and Schultz picked up any scoring burden, going for 20 apiece.
   "They're teamwork and a lack of selfishness," Woodsboro coach Don Schneider said of his players. "That's what I mean when I say they lead by example. They came after Michael; that gives us the chance to go to Bryan and Jason.
   "They've been playing together for a while," he added. "They're not afraid go give it up and let someone else score."
   They're also not afraid to play an exacting defense. While Jones is second on the team with 13 points per game, he easily admits his favorite part of playing is defense.
   "I love defense," said Jones, who is averaging over two steals per game. "Man to man. It's just the feeling of holding someone under ten points in a game."
   It seems he's not the only one on the team that feels that way. McCoy and Vesley are also averaging two steals per contest, and Schneider praises senior starting forward Nathan May for his defensive tenacity.
   Controlling the pace of the game is a key part of the Eagles' run this year. If they're facing an up-tempo team, they'll slow it down. Against a slow-down team, they're going to try and make it a running game.
   There's been success in the playoffs so far; only one foe has cracked the 50-point barrier, and the Eagles have surrendered just 49.3 points per playoff game.
   "It really depends on the opponent," Schneider said. "Run if you want. We can slow it down. If you go slow, we want to pick it up."
   The team's ability to balance offense and defense is much like the individual players themselves, in that they thrive on versatility. Jones, for one, is a good example.
   While he is second on the team in scoring, he leads the team in assists and rebounding, despite standing only 6-0.
   "Bryan Jones has really put it together this year," Schneider said. "He's more than just scoring. He's a real good defensive player and he's a playmaker."
   He's not the only one to stand out in different phases of the game. At 6-5, Schultz has grabbed eight rebounds per game, while the 6-2 Vesley is second on the squad with 8.5 boards per game.
   With that combination, it's a rare sight for the Eagles to lose. It's happened only four times this season. Once to Class A playoff participant Austwell-Tivoli, another in overtime to Class 4A playoff team Beeville and twice against Bloomington, the 32-2A champs, who will also appear in Austin the regional tournament.
   In some ways, Schneider feels the last loss to Bloomington helped launch his team's run into the playoffs.
   "They beat us that second time, and it kind of woke us up," Schneider said. "As soon as the district was over with, it became a new season. The regular season was behind us, and we set new goals."
   Woodsboro (28-4) vs. Jarrell (21-8), 6 p.m.
   At St. Edward's University (Austin)
   For the third consecutive year, Woodsboro, runners-up in District 31-2A, has made the playoffs. But this is the furthest the Eagles have gone, being bounced from the area round the past two years. There is a good chance Woodsboro, which last got this far in 1993, can go even deeper into the postseason. Each player has the ability to step up and score, led by Michael Vesley, who has been hitting 15 ppg. and 8.5 rebounds per game. Guard Bryan Jones adds 13 points per game and 10 rebounds per contest, while Josh McCoy contributes 11.5 ppg at guard, and Jason Schultz 12.3 ppg in the post. While he is hitting 7 ppg, forward Nathan May is also a threat that can step up if required. The Eagles really excel at defense, and that will be needed against Jarrell, the second-place team in 25-2A, and the Hayes brothers - 6-0 point guard Brandon Hayes and his adopted brother, 6-3 post Jontue Fears-Hayes, who will head to Baylor on a football scholarship. In the Cougars' 70-64 regional quarterfinal win over Brookeshire Royal, Hayes scored 32, Fears-Hayes 21 and the rest of the team 17. The other threats on Jarrell are 6-0 wing Brent Arldt and 6-4 post James Thomas. The winner gets the Danbury-Bloomington victor in the regional final at 1 p.m. on Saturday at St. Edward's.

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