Friday, March 05, 2010
Christian leads EastMont into tournament
Ray Cox covers recreational, high school and college sports in the New River Valley. If you have information you’d like featured,
e-mail ray.cox@roanoke.com or call 381-1672
Ray Cox
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Shawn Christian once wondered when his high school basketball season would start.
Now the only question is when the campaign will end.
It's bonus basketball again for Christian and his Eastern Montgomery colleagues, who are for the second year in a row the VHSL Group A Division 1 Region C champs.
The Mustangs dispatched Galax 63-47 in the final last weekend to complete a trio of smashing regional wins.
The upshot of the deal is Saturday's 12:30 p.m. clash with Region D runner-up Appalachia High at Salem Civic Center. It's going to be an acute case of deja vu for both squads, also quarterfinal opponents a year ago with a combined seven starters returning, four of them for the team from the far Southwest.
A year ago, EastMont cut down the Bulldogs on the way to a berth in the state final at Richmond's Siegel Center. The Mustangs lost 77-75 in a championship game classic to Colonial Beach.
Nobody is more thrilled to be a member of one of the classification's last eight teams still playing than Christian, who wondered if he'd be playing basketball at all this year.
The gifted quarterback of the EastMont football team, Christian injured his knee late in the season and underwent surgery when the campaign ended.
"After the surgery, I didn't know whether I was going to be able to play basketball this season or not," the 6-foot-3 junior said.
Fear may have been a strong motivator. EastMont coach Jeff Myers noticed how jumpy Christian was having to sit and watch practice.
"He didn't like it," Myers said. "He wanted to play."
So Christian would always be doing something to stay involved: asking questions, stretching, icing, handling the ball in solitary exercises.
He missed three games, making it back sooner than some early estimates.
Did he ever make it back. Right out of the gate, he dropped 28 points on Bland County in an 86-30 dismantling of the Bears.
The game didn't pass without a certain amount of anxiety for him.
"I was kind of scared that I might hurt my knee again running up and down the court," he said. "But as the game went on, I learned what I could and couldn't do."
If there's something he can't do now, it hasn't been readily apparent.
During one practice prior to regionals, he looked as explosive as ever on the fast break and as intent on making plays at the rim as if he'd never been grounded by injury. His scoring average tops 20 per game.
The Mustangs are rolling right now for a number of reasons. Point guard Brad Wooten, and wings Julian Stewart and Christian have played well all year.
Lately, post Joseph Vishneski has come on strong and that's a good sign going into the game with Appalachia. He's 6-6 and his size will be a factor in the matchup with the imposing Bulldogs frontcourt.
Another plus for EastMont is a switch to a mostly zone defensive scheme.
"Our back line of Shawn, Julian and Joseph are all 6-3 or taller and that really helps us close out shooters and get rebounds," Myers said. "I also think that it helps our fast break because we're already in our lanes and that helps us get out quicker."
Myers didn't have to do much of a high pressure sales job to convince Christian about the merits of the zone.
"I love it," Christian said. "It's much easier for us to communicate and know where the shooters are."
Which isn't to say he isn't ready to switch back to man-to-man at some point.
"We'll have to go back to man-to-man if we keep going in the state because we'll come up against some teams with real good shooters and we're going to have to get up on them," he said.
Playing man defense of course puts a premium on quick feet and hands.
Myers said Christian's hands are as quick as anybody's on the team. As for his feet, to the casual observer, he doesn't look as though he's slowed down in the least.
"My knee still hurts, but in the game, I never even think about it," he said.
Christian's credentials as a clutch player are secure no matter what sport he's playing. When the Mustangs beat Twin Valley 67-63 in last year's state semifinals, he scored a game-high 29 points.
If he's struggled at any point this year, it hasn't been readily apparent. He says his shooting has been off at times, though.
"But it's getting back to where it needs to be right now," he said.
Which should not be encouraging for EastMont's future opponent the next week or so.
