Last season, no team created more buzz or was more polarizing in high school sports than the Yates boys basketball team.
En route to a second consecutive Class 4A state title, a journey that included the Lions smashing state and national records and adding to what is a 58-game winning streak, the team collected fans and critics. The most visible and polarizing figure — coach Greg Wise – was at the center of it all.
As he prepares to lead a new band of Lions — 12 players from last year’s team have graduated – when Yates hosts Dickinson at Delmar Fieldhouse at 7 tonight in its 2010-11 season opener, Wise said he feels better than ever.
Though the Lions were in the national rankings at the start of last season, they emerged into the national consciousness after their 170-35 win over Lee on Jan. 5. The win broke the state’s single-game scoring record and sparked a national debate about sportsmanship, creating a firestorm around Wise and the team.
National sensation
The team pressed on, breaking national records for scoring average (116.2 points per game) and consecutive 100-point games (15). The Lions finished 34-0 and were ranked No. 1 nationally in five polls, giving them the mythical national championship.
Fans across the area, state and nation shared their opinions about Yates’ wins, its margins of victory (50.7 points per game) and style of play (full-court press) and Wise’s coaching abilities.
Wise defended his team, saying the Lions backed off their press in the second half when the margins got out of hand, but none of the national criticism bothered him.
“It didn’t affect me,” he said. “I know who I am and the kids know me. I don’t pay attention to all that stuff. I’m not going to listen to something from someone that I don’t know.”
What bothers Wise, who has taken a team to the state tournament four times since 2002 and is 96-4 in three seasons at Yates, is the criticism from other high school coaches. Specifically, he said some coaches who thanked him personally for not running up the score in some instances later made public comments against the Lions.
Then there are the accusations of recruiting. As some players have transferred to Yates since the Lions’ recent success, coaches have accused Wise of wrongdoing. Four athletes who played for different schools last year are at Yates: Tre Bennett (formerly at Milby); Shai Fields (Pearland); Brandon Fagan (Fort Bend Austin) and Maurice Letcher-Ellis (Cypress Springs). Letcher-Ellis was ruled to have changed schools for athletic purposes by the District 21-4A Executive Committee and the decision was upheld by the University Interscholastic League’s state executive committee, making him ineligible for this season; the others are cleared to play.
Wise scoffs at the accusations by other coaches that he recruited those or any others.
“To me, that’s the dumbest, stupidest thing in all of this,” Wise said. “I would be willing to bet that we had more homegrown players (on the 2009-10 championship team) than any other program in the state. They don’t want to give me credit for what we’re doing here.”
Transfer vs. recruit
But changing schools for athletic purposes and recruiting are separate issues, according to the UIL. Players transferring is nothing new to the high school basketball world and at least a dozen potential Division I prospects across the area changed schools this offseason. Wise said he had six players leave his program and that he signed off on all of them.
“The UIL was created for us to play on a level playing field,” said Cypress Springs coach John Harmatuk, “If three, four or five new players every single year that are some of the best players in the area end up on the same four or five high school basketball teams, it’s not a level playing field.”
Some coaches don’t have as much of a problem with it.
Comes down to wins
“If the kid and the parent are willing to move for basketball, let them,” La Marque coach Cedric Mason said. “In the end the kid loses out if he’s a senior (and he’s ruled ineligible). It all boils down to you winning. Kids don’t want to move into Yates if you’re not winning state championships.”
Wise points to how many students he has sent to play college basketball and his style of coaching as reasons for the success — and the criticism. According to Wise, at least eight of his players have offers from college programs and some of his freshmen won’t be far behind.
As for the high-scoring, full court-press style, Yates will stick to it. Even though the core of last year’s team moved on, Wise said he does not expect a drop-off in play.
“We finished as the best team in the country last year,” Wise said. “I think we can be just as good as last year and that’s what I want my guys to believe.”
sam.khan@chron.com
