WHS makes change
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

The uniforms may look the same. So will the players who wear them.

But the Watauga Pioneers will introduce a new look Friday night when they host South Caldwell in a Northwestern 4-A Conference showdown at Lentz-Eggers Gym.

Pioneers coach Rob Sanders likes his team’s speed and its depth. So, he’ll try to blend the two together against the Spartans by using a faster tempo on the court.

It’s a departure from the halfcourt game that the Pioneers (7-10, 2-4 NWC) have used this year. Watauga, which did not play Tuesday, had the entire week to implement its new offense.

“We’ll pick up the tempo and try to force teams to run with us,” Sanders said. “We’ll also use our bench. It seems that every team has a dominant post player or wing player. When it comes down to crunch time, we have not been able to stop them.”

“So, we’ll try to stay out of the halfcourt game.”

Sander said he and assistant coach Jerry Moretz looked at the “pros and cons” of the Pioneers and decided that depth and speed were the team’s best assets. He’s also counting on the Pioneers’ intelligence to help with the change in offense.

“We feel we’ve got guys who understand the game and know basketball,” Sanders. “We feel it’s time to take the leashes off of them and let them go play.”

Watauga has lost some close games during the first rotation of the NWC schedule. Their latest was a setback to Alexander Central in a game that saw 6-foot-6 Ryan Hargrave score 35 points for the Cougars.

Watauga’s last victory was an 85-83 win at A.C. Reynolds. In that game, Will Watson converted an offensive rebound into a game-winning basket as time expired.

Sanders is not taking the Spartans lightly.

“They’re better than their record,” Sanders said. “They’ve got good size and they’ve got good shooters.”