No. 10 ranked Wildcats open season with pair of wins
Halloween has come and gone, and you know what that means. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Okay maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, Thanksgiving is still right around the corner, we can’t celebrate Christmas just yet, but what we can do, is celebrate the beginning of the Texas High School Basketball season.
The Sulphur Springs Wildcats have made themselves a mainstay in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches rankings over the better part of a decade now, and this year is no different. After dropping to 4A, the Wildcats find themselves entering the season ranked No. 10 in the TABC preseason rankings, and with that comes high expectations.
Coach Shaver and his Wildcats were given an opportunity immediately to prove their Top-10 spot, going up against No. 22 ranked Wilmer-Hutchins Saturday. They also followed it up with a road match against Commerce Tuesday, walking away with a pair of wins.
@ No. 22 Wilmer-Hutchins
A Top-25 matchup is the most exciting thing you can get during the preseason of the Texas High School Basketball season, and for Coach Shaver and his Wildcats, they got their first one out of the way as quickly as possible. The Wildcats traveled to Wilmer-Hutchins Saturday to face the Eagles, and were eager to prove themselves immediately.
Sulphur Springs not only was able to grab a win, but did so in style, winning by double-digits in a 67-55 battle. Offensively the Wildcats were led by senior Parker Whisenhunt, a player who averaged 10.3 points per game last season, on an efficient 48.5% from the field.
Saturday saw more of the same from Whisenhunt, as he led the team with 19 points. He did so by shooting 7-11 from the field, including 1-2 on 3-pointers and 4-7 from the free throw line.
He was followed closely behind Kordrick Turner, another player with very high expectations entering the season. Turner had a great showing in the season debut, putting up 18 points and pulling in 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the year.
Turner was 8-14 from the field, and perhaps his most impressive contribution was his six blocked shots. He also forced one steal and committed just one turnover in the 12-point victory.
Also finishing in double-digits was Malachi Myles, a player who is taking on a larger role this season. Myles had 11 points and was just about as efficient as could be, making five of his six field goal attempts. Myles also led the team with three steals, something he was great at a year ago. After shooting a jaw-dropping 64% from the field last year, Myles is well on track to have yet another very efficient season.
Senior point guard Branson Lynn also had a solid opening night, adding eight points with a pair of 3-pointers. Other scorers for the Wildcats included Maculin Rollison, Cole Theofiledes, DJ Wilkerson and Theo McKelvey. Rollison, Theofiledes and Wilkerson each had three points, while McKelvey had two points.
The win was a great way to open the season for the Wildcats, opening the season 1-0 and preparing themselves for a number of other ranked opponents they will face this preseason.
@ Commerce
The Wildcats turned around Tuesday and hit the road again, traveling to Commerce and looking to open their season 2-0 for the second season in a row. Sulphur Springs went up against the Tigers of Commerce, a team who went 26-14 a season ago and made a deep playoff run.
Coach Shaver’s Wildcats controlled the entire game, showing how dominant of a team they can be. Sulphur Springs walked away with a 78-37 win, taking down yet another postseason team from a season ago.
This time it was Lynn who paced the offense, putting up 17 points and shooting 60% from the 3-point line. Lynn also dished out a pair of assists and forced a pair of steals in just 18 minutes of action.
Behind him, once again, was Turner, who had another strong showing. Turner had 15 points and only missed two shots in the game. The senior big man also had six boards, and led the team with four assists and had an incredible +39 +/- (+/- is a stat measuring the teams point differential when that player was in the game).
The double-digit scorers didn’t stop there, however, as McKelvey, Whisenhunt and Rollison all had 10 or more points. McKelvey had his first double-digit game as a varsity player, scoring 14 points, 12 of which came in the paint. He also led the team with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Behind him was Whisenhunt who had 12 points. Despite shooting 5-12 from the field, Whisenhunt was great inside the 3-point line, making four of his seven attempts on 2-point field goals. The senior wing also had four steals, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks, filling the stat sheet in a number of ways.
Rollison, much like McKelvey, also had his first double-digit game at the varsity level. The sophomore had 10 points, and shot an impressive 80% from the field, going 4-5 and knocking down a pair of free throws. Rollison also had three rebounds and three assists to go along with it, as well as a pair of steals.
Other scorers for Sulphur Springs included Theofiledes, Wilkerson and Myles. Theofiledes had six points, making three of his four 2-point field goal attempts.
Wilkerson had four points, and posted a +30 +/- in just 19 minutes of action. With four rebounds and two assists, the junior guard showed how impactful a player can be, without a jaw-dropping box score.
Myles also added two points, as well a tying for the team-high with four steals. He also had four rebounds and one assist.
“It’s been a great start to the season,” Coach Shaver said. “Opening up against Wilmer-Hutchins was a big win. We had a 20-point lead going into the fourth quarter.”
“Our seniors are playing great and being great leaders on and off the floor,” Shaver added. “Our juniors and sophomores are gaining really good experience against tough competition so that they are ready when it comes to district. I’m proud of our players and how they have responded early.”
The Wildcats have another game this week, where they will travel to Hampton Prep Friday. After that, they will host the Chad’s Media Invitational, Monday Nov. 21 and Tuesday Nov. 22. All games of the Chad’s Media Invitational will be aired live on Front Porch News and Chad’s Media Youtube.
Shaver also spoke about his excitement for the Chad’s Media Invitational. “They are ready to play a home game,” Shaver said of his team.
“We started out pretty much every game heading to the DFW area so being able to play in front of our home crowd is exciting. We are playing great competition against another ranked 4A team and another really good DFW school. We are ready to show how well we compete.”
See below for a full schedule of the Chad’s Media Invitational:
