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Young Wildcats in middle of tough nondistrict slate
By MIKE TENNEY
Once again, the Westbury Christian basketball team is playing a rough nondistrict schedule to get ready for TAPPS District II-4A and the state playoffs.
It’s also an effort to get a group with just two seniors used to the rugged landscape that is varsity basketball in Texas.
“We’ve got a young team, and I feel like right now we have good chemistry,” said Russell Carr of his team, which began the week at 6-1, highlighted by the Charlie Thomas tournament championship.
The team’s only loss was to 5A Beaumont West Brook in overtime. “We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us and we’re playing some great public schools to get us ready for district and hopefully the playoffs. But I think we’ve looked very good so far,” said Carr.
They’ve dropped the hammer defensively, holding teams to an average of 33 points per game. West Brook is the only team that has scored more than 50 points in any game.
“We’ve been getting after it pretty good,” said Carr. “I think our players are buying into and understanding our system and we’ve been giving a great effort on the defensive end, so right now, I really like the progress we’re making as a team.”
Postman Kevin Perry (18 points, five rebounds a game) and guard Adam Boyd are the two returning seniors on the team with both off to excellent starts, according to Carr.
Two sophomores — guards Anthony Collins and Cody Glenn — along with junior postman Anthony Broncato make up the rest of the starting lineup.
“We’ve got some experience in there,” said Carr. “We’ve got some young guys in there. But I think they’re playing well together and hopefully, they’ll continue to improve as they get used to playing together.”
His rotation goes about eight deep on the bench with junior Nick Shepherd, junior guard Justin Foreman and junior guard Ashton Fontenot also getting their share of minutes.
Besides Perry’s scoring, the starters have all been averaging about 10 points a game, giving the Wildcats a very balanced attack.
“We like to see that,” said Carr. “Kevin has been our leading scorer but to get the other guys in there like we have been shows that we many different guys who can score, which is always a plus. Also, teams we play can’t really key on one player. If they do manage to stop Kevin, then we have other guys that are capable, so we’re encouraged by that because you don’t really want to rely on just a couple of guys for your points.”
He said the team wants to, long-range, defend its district championship and make it back to the playoffs where they were eliminated by league rival Second Baptist last year after beating the Golden Eagles three times during the regular season.
“We just want to get back to the playoffs, and we feel like we have a chance to do that,” said Carr. “But first we want to see this young team come together and play good basketball. I think we’re improving and every time we take the floor, we’re committed to being a better team than we were the last time we took the floor.”
The Wildcats are in the Texas Jamboree Friday and Saturday at Strake Jesuit School. They play Austin LBJ on Friday and a team from Louisiana Saturday afternoon.
It’s also an effort to get a group with just two seniors used to the rugged landscape that is varsity basketball in Texas.
“We’ve got a young team, and I feel like right now we have good chemistry,” said Russell Carr of his team, which began the week at 6-1, highlighted by the Charlie Thomas tournament championship.
The team’s only loss was to 5A Beaumont West Brook in overtime. “We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us and we’re playing some great public schools to get us ready for district and hopefully the playoffs. But I think we’ve looked very good so far,” said Carr.
They’ve dropped the hammer defensively, holding teams to an average of 33 points per game. West Brook is the only team that has scored more than 50 points in any game.
“We’ve been getting after it pretty good,” said Carr. “I think our players are buying into and understanding our system and we’ve been giving a great effort on the defensive end, so right now, I really like the progress we’re making as a team.”
Postman Kevin Perry (18 points, five rebounds a game) and guard Adam Boyd are the two returning seniors on the team with both off to excellent starts, according to Carr.
Two sophomores — guards Anthony Collins and Cody Glenn — along with junior postman Anthony Broncato make up the rest of the starting lineup.
“We’ve got some experience in there,” said Carr. “We’ve got some young guys in there. But I think they’re playing well together and hopefully, they’ll continue to improve as they get used to playing together.”
His rotation goes about eight deep on the bench with junior Nick Shepherd, junior guard Justin Foreman and junior guard Ashton Fontenot also getting their share of minutes.
Besides Perry’s scoring, the starters have all been averaging about 10 points a game, giving the Wildcats a very balanced attack.
“We like to see that,” said Carr. “Kevin has been our leading scorer but to get the other guys in there like we have been shows that we many different guys who can score, which is always a plus. Also, teams we play can’t really key on one player. If they do manage to stop Kevin, then we have other guys that are capable, so we’re encouraged by that because you don’t really want to rely on just a couple of guys for your points.”
He said the team wants to, long-range, defend its district championship and make it back to the playoffs where they were eliminated by league rival Second Baptist last year after beating the Golden Eagles three times during the regular season.
“We just want to get back to the playoffs, and we feel like we have a chance to do that,” said Carr. “But first we want to see this young team come together and play good basketball. I think we’re improving and every time we take the floor, we’re committed to being a better team than we were the last time we took the floor.”
The Wildcats are in the Texas Jamboree Friday and Saturday at Strake Jesuit School. They play Austin LBJ on Friday and a team from Louisiana Saturday afternoon.
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