The Lions returned nearly everyone from last year’s team that advanced to the TAPPS playoffs for the second straight season, yet even coach Nuni Venegas admits, “It’s a whole different team.”
The reason for the change in philosophy was simple - the Lions’ guard-oriented style, geared around 3-point shooting, just wouldn’t work when you add a true center to the mix.
So Venegas tinkered with the offense to take advantage of forward Brent Reynolds, a 6-3 transfer from Rogers who has 13 double-doubles in 18 games.
With their newfound inside-outside threat, the Lions, ranked eighth among the state’s small private schools, have kept on winning and are on track to equal last season’s success.
The Lions (20-3, 7-0 TAPPS District 6-2A) can clinch their second straight district title with a win at 7 tonight over Cedar Park Summit Christian Academy.
“Now we’ve got every element,” point guard Nash Ingram said. “We’ve got the inside game. When that’s not working, we’ve got the 3.”
The 3-point shot and strong guard play, led by Ingram and Clay Crews, was CTCS’ best option on offense last season. Crews and Ingram combined to account for just over 72 percent of the scoring for a team that fed off turnovers created by the guards’ quick hands.
That fast-break, guard-oriented style worked, helping CTCS win the school’s first basketball district title and playoff win.
Adding Reynolds, who wasn’t eligible to play or practice last season because of TAPPS transfer rules, to the mix has given the Lions a consistent scoring option in the paint.
The Lions still look to create turnovers and get out in transition, but Reynolds’ presence has made CTCS a much more balanced, improved team.
In fact, it’s made CTCS nearly 15 points per game better, along with increasing the Lions’ shooting percentage by 5 percent.
“For how big he is and what he can do,” Crews said, “it’s helped everything. It’s opened everything up and given us an inside presence.”
Instead of looking for the first open jump shot, Reynolds is now CTCS’ first option, letting opposing defenses decide whether to focus on the Lions’ big man or sharp-shooting guards.
Most of the Lions’ opponents, especially fellow TAPPS schools, have played zone defense to keep the ball out of Reynolds’ hands.
That plan, though, plays right into the Lions’ strength.
Waiting on the perimeter for the easy kick-out pass are Crews (18.3 points per game), Ingram (12.3) and Scott Rizvi (9.0), along with forward Jordan Togami (6.4), four of CTCS’ top five scorers.
“Once they collapse on him, it opens everything else up for the guards,” Crews said. “We’re more balanced now.”
When opponents have chosen to focus on taking away the Lions’ guards, Reynolds has gone to work, mostly against opponents who can’t match his size.
“It pulls everything off me and it opens everything up,” said Reynolds, who’s the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 15.6 points per game.
Aside from scoring, the other boost the Lions have gotten from the addition of Reynolds has been much-improved rebounding.
Last season, the 6-2 Crews was CTCS’ leading rebounder, pulling down just over six per game.
This year, Reynolds averages an area-best 14.5 per game, including four offensive rebounds per game.
“He gives us big rebounding opportunities,” Venegas said.
After Reynolds pulls down one of those rebounds, the Lions still look to push the ball up the floor as fast as possible, just as they’ve done in past years.
It’s a fast-paced style that came naturally - “They pretty much made it an easy transition,” Reynolds says - after playing together in pickup games and various tournaments throughout the summer.
The Lions have successfully mixed their quick pace with a potent inside-outside threat.
“With Brent, he’s big, but he can get up and down the court,” Ingram said. “Unlike your average big man, he’s going to be able to play our style of basketball.”
