Tigers have winning formula

Bob Wilson’s formula for building a winning basketball team isn’t really all that complicated.

“We like to get guys who really enjoy playing basketball,” Wilson said. “If they enjoy it, they’ll work hard at it and learn everything they can.”

Wilson High School has had a long tradition of winning basketball teams, and the current Tiger coach is seeing the benefits of that.

“We’re really fortunate here at Wilson that a lot of kids have a desire to play basketball and put on that uniform,” Wilson said. “Because of that, they’ve been more inclined to put in the work off that court.”

Two years after capturing the school’s first state championship, Wilson and his Tigers are showing no signs of a drop off.

Despite losing seven of the top scorers from that title team, the Tigers have reasserted themselves as one of the top teams in Class 3A.

“I told the guys at the end of last year that we wouldn’t know if that season was a success until this year,” Wilson said. “So far, I think we can call it a success.”

The Tigers have followed up last year’s 12-13 campaign with a 16-2 start including a 5-1 mark in Region 6-3A.

“We aspire to be one of the top programs in the state every year,” Wilson said. “And in our region, you’d better be.”

Dynamic duo redux

Sam Muldrow and Dominique Lacy were two big reasons the Tigers were the last team standing in ’07.

Muldrow (6-foot-9) and Lacy (6-7) gave the Tigers an inside presence most teams can only dream of.

Their graduations obviously forced the Tigers to go in a new offensive direction, relying more on outside shooting than inside force.

But that doesn’t mean the Tigers have changed philosophically.

“We still want to get good shots, but we’ve redefined what a good shot is and where it can come from,” Wilson said. “You have to adapt to what your team can do, but you don’t have to change your philosophy.”

Perhaps no one better represents that than Wilson’s Alan-Michael Thompson and Shahmel Brackett.

One or the other leads the team in scoring on a given night, albeit from a little farther away from the bucket than Muldrow and Lacy. Thompson and Brackett have done the majority of their damage from the floor and behind the 3-point line.

“We looked up to Sam and Dominique when were sophomores,” Thompson said. “They were the team leaders and we followed them.

“Now it’s kind of shifted to us and that’s a good feeling.”

Thompson has been the beneficiary of a number of alley-oop passes from Brackett this season.

“We’ve been playing together for a long time, so we know each other pretty well,” Brackett said. “We usually dish it out to whoever has the hot hand.”

Lots of support

While Brackett and Thompson might grab most of the attention, the Tigers wouldn’t be where they are without role players.

“Fans will remember the big dunk on one end, but not the steal at the other end that led to it,” Wilson said.

Justin Kelley, Rodrea Brown and Caleb Davis have provided good secondary scoring options and have combined to provide solid rebounding and defense.

Trevonte Dixon also has stepped up as a viable option.

“We’ve really all started to gel together,” Dixon said. “Last year, we were kind of figuring out what the other person could do. Now it’s almost second nature.

“I’m having fun this year. I feel like I’ve gotten into the flow of a lot of games and I’ve been contributing.”

Said Brackett, “Trevonte can really shoot, and Justin and Rodrea have come up big rebounding for us. All of that helps with our transition and makes us a better team.”

Earning your way

Much like in their previous title run, if the Tigers make it back to Columbia, they’ll have earned it.

Games against Darlington, Camden, Marlboro County, Lakewood and Crestwood have nearly all come down to the wire.

And even if Wilson makes it the rest of the way unscathed, they’re likely to see one or more of those teams again come playoff time.

“This is kind of what we signed up for,” Brackett said. “We knew it was going to be a battle every night and that’s what makes you better.”

Recently, the Tigers came off a double-overtime win against Darlington only to turn around and play Marlboro, undefeated in region play at the time, the next night.

“You have to have a short memory,” Dixon said. “You can’t get too high or too low. There’s always another big game coming up.”