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Strong supporting cast

Wesley Chapel, expected to be one of the best teams in the county, adds a couple of talented, tall transfers to complement the county's top player, Sthefany Thomas.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published November 14, 2006

WESLEY CHAPEL - Coach Warren Jones couldn't help but notice Jeani Ducos and Janelle Mills walking the halls at Wesley Chapel.

There was nothing significant Jones can recall. He doesn't recall their hair style, eye color or smiles.

What he does remember is that everyone else had to look up to see those things.

And that was enough for him.

"When I saw them the first day of school, my eyes got real big; I attacked them real quick," said Jones, chuckling.

He didn't know if they had ever played a lick of basketball before that day, but he knew they'd be playing from then on.

"If they weren't going to play ...well, they didn't have a choice," he said.

Luckily for Jones and his Wildcats, the 6-foot-1 transfers had played. The coach says Ducos, a junior and transfer from New Jersey, and Mills, a sophomore from Ohio, are potential Division I recruits.

But best of all, they were the final building blocks for what may be the county's best team this season.

Already boasting the best player in Sthefany Thomas and top point guard Desiree Vizcaino, the Wildcats, who also added Wharton transfer Cree McGyver, are solid from top to bottom.

For a program that was 0-26 in 2001, it has improved in dramatic steps, winning at least three more games ever since. For the first time, the lineup doesn't appear to have any holes.

The Wildcats already had a 5-10 center in senior Jessica Scaife before Ducos and Mills showed up. But Scaife's more physical style suits her coach's grind-it-out mentality.

Ducos and particularly Mills, however, are effective running the court and can play on the wing. That will allow Jones to run without sacrificing size, which he said his team will do more of, but also settle in a halfcourt game when the situation calls for it.

Factor in Thomas, and the Wildcats can start a lineup of four players 5-10 or taller.

No one is happier about the team's improved supporting cast than Thomas, who led the county in scoring last year with 25.3 points per game.

The Clemson signee has her college choice out of the way and no longer needs to worry about carrying the team on her shoulders. She is as relaxed as she has ever been.

"I feel like everybody looks at Wesley Chapel like that, like they only have to stop me," Thomas said. "But we're not just relying on me. I feel everybody is more competent this year. Now my job is to make everybody better. That's something that's important to me."

So is winning. After 21 victories and a district title last year, the Wildcats have their sights set higher.

As high, in fact, as they can be.

"I have got high hopes for them," Jones said. "I'm a realistic guy. If I didn't think we could make it (to state), I wouldn't think it.

"But I think we have the talent this year to make a pretty good run at it."

[Last modified November 13, 2006, 23:46:26]