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Spring looks for chemistry on the court
By KEVIN KOLOIAN
Coming off a successful season where it made the state playoffs, the Spring boys basketball team will need to blend together its returning star players with new faces on varsity.
The Lions did well in the district that produced two quarter-finalists and one final four team. District 16-5A, which has been changed to 13-5A, was considered one of the toughest, if not the toughest, teams in Houston, producing three all-state players.
Spring will be returning two first team all-district players in point guard Don Thomas and Cyril Lewis.
To keep to their winning ways the Lions will need to play well-rounded basketball in order to rise above their stacked competition.
“We’ve got to be consistent and play extremely hard on the defensive end of the court and execute on offense, a pretty simple formula,” head coach Chris Bailes said. “We’ve had no practice time since opening night, so I haven’t been able to stress anything the last couple of weeks.”
Relying on weathered players like Lewis and Thomas in this early stretch will be crucial to the Lions’ pre-district play.
Lewis is a senior wing who loves to get up and down the floor, Bailes said. He is athletic enough to play power forward and quick enough to play shooting guard and will be asked to do a lot for his team, all of which are well within his abilities, Bailes believes.
So far Lewis hasn’t shown any rust this season, scoring 33 points on Nimitz and 28 against Clear Brook.
“He’s an all-around basketball player; he’s not a pure shooter, just a basketball player who can do it all,” Bailes said.
Thomas is a junior point guard who controls the game for the Lions, Bailes said. He is very physical and loves to take on contact going to the basket. He also has a range on his jump shot that goes well beyond the three-point line.
“Don has that rare ability to make everyone on his team better with his leadership and the ability to make the right pass at the right time,” Bailes said.
Known for its lack of height, Spring’s post game is already in trouble. The team’s only post presence, center Devon Brown, broke his wrist just before the start of the season.
With the junior out for the year, the Lions’ offensive strategy will need to be adjusted, Bailes said.
“Hopefully we will be all right. We run a lot of ball screens. We run motion offense, a few sets, but motion, predominantly,” Bailes said.
Returning a very good basketball team, Bailes said, Tomball will have a say in who wins District 13-5A this year.
“Tomball is probably the toughest team in the district. They’ve got a real good post guy back and a scorer back,” Bailes said.
But defensively, Bailes said the Lions can match up well against most district teams.
Spring runs man-to-man and run and jump, and is versatile enough to adapt to various situations.
As the season unfolds, Bailes said, it will become clearer if Spring can make it back to the playoffs. Rallying to overcome adversity will take a team effort, but nothing this 20-year coach hasn’t seen before.
spring boys basketball 2008-2009 schedule
Date Opponent Time
Dec. 8 MacArthur 7 p.m.
Dec. 11-13 Cy-Fair Tournament TBA
Dec. 19 Langham Creek 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 A&M Consolidated 1 p.m.
Dec. 29-30 Boerne Tournament TBA
Jan. 3 Klein Forest* 2 p.m.
Jan. 6 Dekaney* 7 p.m.
Jan. 9 Westfield* 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 Klein Collins* 7 p.m.
Jan. 16 Klein* 7 p.m.
Jan. 20 Tomball* 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 Klein Oak* 7 p.m.
Jan. 27 Klein Forest* 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Westfield* 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 Klein Collins* 7 p.m.
Feb. 10 Klein 7 p.m.
Feb. 13 Tomball* 7 p.m.
Feb. 17 Klein Oak* 7 p.m.
Home games in bold
* denotes District 13-5A games
The Lions did well in the district that produced two quarter-finalists and one final four team. District 16-5A, which has been changed to 13-5A, was considered one of the toughest, if not the toughest, teams in Houston, producing three all-state players.
Spring will be returning two first team all-district players in point guard Don Thomas and Cyril Lewis.
To keep to their winning ways the Lions will need to play well-rounded basketball in order to rise above their stacked competition.
“We’ve got to be consistent and play extremely hard on the defensive end of the court and execute on offense, a pretty simple formula,” head coach Chris Bailes said. “We’ve had no practice time since opening night, so I haven’t been able to stress anything the last couple of weeks.”
Relying on weathered players like Lewis and Thomas in this early stretch will be crucial to the Lions’ pre-district play.
Lewis is a senior wing who loves to get up and down the floor, Bailes said. He is athletic enough to play power forward and quick enough to play shooting guard and will be asked to do a lot for his team, all of which are well within his abilities, Bailes believes.
So far Lewis hasn’t shown any rust this season, scoring 33 points on Nimitz and 28 against Clear Brook.
“He’s an all-around basketball player; he’s not a pure shooter, just a basketball player who can do it all,” Bailes said.
Thomas is a junior point guard who controls the game for the Lions, Bailes said. He is very physical and loves to take on contact going to the basket. He also has a range on his jump shot that goes well beyond the three-point line.
“Don has that rare ability to make everyone on his team better with his leadership and the ability to make the right pass at the right time,” Bailes said.
Known for its lack of height, Spring’s post game is already in trouble. The team’s only post presence, center Devon Brown, broke his wrist just before the start of the season.
With the junior out for the year, the Lions’ offensive strategy will need to be adjusted, Bailes said.
“Hopefully we will be all right. We run a lot of ball screens. We run motion offense, a few sets, but motion, predominantly,” Bailes said.
Returning a very good basketball team, Bailes said, Tomball will have a say in who wins District 13-5A this year.
“Tomball is probably the toughest team in the district. They’ve got a real good post guy back and a scorer back,” Bailes said.
But defensively, Bailes said the Lions can match up well against most district teams.
Spring runs man-to-man and run and jump, and is versatile enough to adapt to various situations.
As the season unfolds, Bailes said, it will become clearer if Spring can make it back to the playoffs. Rallying to overcome adversity will take a team effort, but nothing this 20-year coach hasn’t seen before.
spring boys basketball 2008-2009 schedule
Date Opponent Time
Dec. 8 MacArthur 7 p.m.
Dec. 11-13 Cy-Fair Tournament TBA
Dec. 19 Langham Creek 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 A&M Consolidated 1 p.m.
Dec. 29-30 Boerne Tournament TBA
Jan. 3 Klein Forest* 2 p.m.
Jan. 6 Dekaney* 7 p.m.
Jan. 9 Westfield* 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 Klein Collins* 7 p.m.
Jan. 16 Klein* 7 p.m.
Jan. 20 Tomball* 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 Klein Oak* 7 p.m.
Jan. 27 Klein Forest* 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Westfield* 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 Klein Collins* 7 p.m.
Feb. 10 Klein 7 p.m.
Feb. 13 Tomball* 7 p.m.
Feb. 17 Klein Oak* 7 p.m.
Home games in bold
* denotes District 13-5A games
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