Wonder Boys Waiting On Football Season To End

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

With the A.L. Brown football team on another march toward Chapel Hill, boys basketball coach Shelwyn Klutz sometimes feels he'll have to wait for that other March to conduct a real hoops practice session.

Actually, Klutz will have his full complement of troops by mid-December, but just as it did last year, his team will spot their competition a huge headstart in hoops practice and preparation time.

"I remember how it was last year," said Klutz, who figures football players will comprise at least 80 percent of his 1998-99 basketball starting lineup. "It was football in Chapel Hill on Friday and basketball at North Rowan on Tuesday."

The roundball Wonders were 0-4 by the time the football cavalry arrived to help out after winning the state title, and the team was in an 0-7 hole before the ex-gridders found their basketball legs.

Somehow, Klutz pushed the team to a fifth-place finish in the South Piedmont Conference and a state playoff berth (the Wonders lost in the first round at High Point Andrews), but finishing fifth was not the kind of boys head coaching debut the former Wonder star had dreamed about.

"We never did really click in basketball,"Klutz said. "Maybe kids came in too bigheaded after winning the whole thing in football. But the chemistry was never right."

One reason the Wonders had a lackluster season was the loss of 6-foot-2 power forward Nick Gill in January for academic reasons. Gill was averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds when he temporarily lost the battle of the books.

"Gill was our warrior inside," said Klutz. "That was probably the key to the season the way we hoped. He was a main cog."

But the 6-foot-2 Gill, a Shrine Bowl selection in football who is built like an armored car, is back and is being counted on to produce big numbers off the glass.

"He should be one of the best power forwards in the league," said Klutz.

At least three more football stars are likely to start - Nick Maddox, Tramaine Robinson and Justin Chambers.

Maddox, one of the best prep running backs in the nation, is expected to handle point guard duties.

He has world-class quickness, making him a handful to guard man-to-man. He's a fine defender, outstanding passer and a flashy ballhandler.

"Maddox's only weakness is his outside shot," said Klutz. "People play way off him, and he has to be able to make them pay by making the medium-range jumper."

Klutz feels that Maddox's extraordinary athleticism would have made him a Division I basketball prospect, if he had concentrated on the indoor game year-round.

The Wonders' other starting guard figures to be Robinson, a football cornerback. The 5-foot-10 Robinson's strength is Maddox's weakness, which makes them a nice backcourt combination.

"Tramaine is a nice spot-up shooter," said Klutz. "He's our best returning 3-point specialist. He's got to step up and give us the outside threat we lost with Reid Chaney's graduation."

Tight end Chambers, a junior who is 6-2 and 200 pounds, should eventually take over at small forward.

"He showed in our summer camp at Catawba what he can do," said Klutz. "Justin's an outstanding athlete."

At least one Wonder, forward Heath Leggett, said that Chambers is the player to watch on this team.

"Some of the other guys are even quicker and faster," said Leggett. "But Chambers seems to be the one that really has the basketball skills."

Leggett has some skills himself. He played a good bit last year and showed the ability to rebound in the SPC.

"Heath will be in the fight for minutes," said Klutz. "He helps us because he's a 100 percenter. He's a hustler."

Muscular forward Jason Taylor, who doesn't play football, led the team in rebounding and scoring last year before the reinforcements arrived. He also figures to play plenty.

So does speedy junior Ryan Craft, another football cornerback.

"Craft causes problems for people on defense," said Klutz. "He's quick. To get playing time, he just has to improve his shooting."

Craft is another guard, which means the team's projected top seven players are four forwards and three guards. The team will usually play without a center. Six-foot-5 Laron Caldwell was lost to graduation, and the team will try to replace him with quickness, rather than size.

"We've got athletes," said Klutz. "No doubt about that. We've got kids who can run and jump. And we've got much more experience than last year. It should be a good season. We should be able to avoid all the peaks and valleys of last year."

More good news for Klutz is that assistants James Allen and Jeremy Ryan are back in harness. The bad news is that the conference season is slated to get under way on Dec. 2, while the football season could conceivably last until Dec. 11.