BOYS` BASKETBALL: PIECES FALL TOGETHER : KNIGHTS PLANNING TO CONTEND.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Coach Devin Thomas' Desert Christian High boys' basketball team picked up the moniker (1) A name, title or alias. See alias. (2) A COM object that is used to create instances of other objects. Monikers save programmers time when coding various types of COM-based functions such as linking one document to another (OLE). See COM and OLE. ``Thomas Tots'' last season with its abundance of underclassmen players. This season, the third-year coach's team is becoming known as ``Thomas' Towers.'' With a front line built around 6-foot-4 junior Phil Parker, the Desert Mountain League most valuable player, and 6-5 sophomore Brian Waugh, Thomas has put a ``big package'' lineup A criminal investigation technique in which the police arrange a number of individuals in a row before a witness to a crime and ask the witness to identify which, if any, of the individuals committed the crime. which includes no player shorter than 6-3. Desert Christian (5-0), winner of the Bethel Bethel, in the Bible Bethel (bĕth`əl) [Heb.,=house of God]. 1 Ancient city of central Palestine, the modern Baytin, the West Bank, N of Jerusalem. Christian tournament, has also put up some big numbers, scoring more than 90 points three times. Parker averaged 16 points, 16 rebounds and 6.6 rebounds as a sophomore. This season, Parker's contributions have been measured by more than just statistics. ``He has a working knowledge of the game,'' Thomas said. ``He is like a coach on the floor. He knows basketball.'' Waugh, who averages 11 points and five rebounds, has complemented Parker as a versatile role player. Waugh can give the Knights a formidable double post with Parker. Waugh also has accuracy from 3-point range or the touch to connect on the short jump shot. Sophomore Mike Spears, a 6-3 guard, earned all-league honorable mention honors as a freshman with averages of 6 points and five rebounds. Desert Christian started 0-4 last season before Spears was moved to point guard. The Knights went on to finish 14-7 and tie for second in the DML A 4GL programming language from Ross Enterprise, the ERP division of CDC Software, Atlanta, GA (www.rossinc.com). DML is the primary scripting and form definition language for its GEMBASE runtime engine. to earn the first postseason berth in school history. The Knights took Sherman Indian to the limit in a wild-card game of the Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs before losing in overtime, 71-69. ``It was like putting a puzzle together,'' Thomas said. ``We felt we had all the right pieces. When Mike took over at point guard, it was like we turned the corner and started heading in the right direction.'' Senior Phil Seston moved into the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes after being used in a reserve role as a junior. The 6-2 Seston started on Desert Christian's first basketball team as a sophomore and led the team in scoring. This season, Seston has been playing with renewed confidence as a power forward and a shooting guard The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. . Tom Pickens, Jared Simmons and Joey Nelson and Tyler Downie have also received extensive playing time. The deep bench has allowed Thomas to shuffle his lineup from game to game depending on the need for size or speed. Pickens, a 5-9 junior off guard, is a flashy player with playground moves who has shown exceptional improvement after attending a UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX basketball camp during the summer. Simmons, a 6-3 sophomore, has been used as a sixth man at guard and forward. Simmons demonstrated great potential as a freshman but missed most of the season because of a back injury. Whatever lineup Thomas chooses, Desert Christian has gone heavily to the full-court press full-court press n. 1. Basketball An aggressive defensive strategy in which one or two players harass the ball handler in the backcourt while the rest of the team maintains a close man-to-man or zone defense. 2. . ``We have a good inside game and size but we have a lot of different packages and shooters,'' Thomas said. One unknown has been junior guard Jon Fluty. Fluty, a 6-0 guard who started last season, has not played while recovering from knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus meniscus /me·nis·cus/ (me-nis´kus) pl. menis´ci [L.] something of crescent shape, as the concave or convex surface of a column of liquid in a pipet or buret, or a crescent-shaped cartilage in the knee joint. suffered while playing baseball in the spring. He is undergoing rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. and may return within the next month. Thomas tabs Lone Pine as the favorite for the Desert Mountain Leaguetitle with Boron boron (bōr`ŏn) [New Gr. from borax], chemical element; symbol B; at. no. 5; at. wt. 10.81; m.p. about 2,300°C;; sublimation point about 2,550°C;; sp. gr. 2.3 at 25°C;; valence +3. , Lucerne Lucerne (l  sûrn`), Ger. Luzern (ltsĕrn`), canton (1993 pop. and Desert Christian as top contender.
The Knights prospects could improve greatly with Fluty, who averaged 11
points.
``With (Fluty) and four returning starters back, we feel positive about our changes to win league,'' Thomas said. AT A GLANCE School: Desert Christian Coach: Devin Thomas, third year 1998-99 record: 14-7, 10-4 in Desert Mountain League (tie for second) Top returnees: Phil Parker, 6-4, junior, center/forward; Brian Waugh, 6-5, sophomore, forward; Mike Spears, 6-3, sophomore, forward; Phil Seston, 6-2, senior, forward. Top newcomers: Tyler Downie, 6-3, sophomore, center/forward; Tom Pickens, 5-9, junior, guard; Jared Simmons, 6-2, sophomore, guard/forward; Joey Nelson, 5-11, junior, guard/forward. CAPTION(S): Photo, box PHOTO Starters for the Desert Christian boys' basketball team, left to right: Phil Seston, Brian Waugh, Phil Parker, Mike Spears and Tommy Pickens. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Box: At a Glance (see text) |
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