Murphy, Texas

Mens Basketball

… while West also grew during his years as part of PESH’s starting five

By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
gford@wylienews.com

Early on, Jon West didn’t think much about lacing up his sneakers and hitting the hardwood.

“When I was a toddler, I wouldn’t say basketball would have been the way I would have gone,” the Plano East senior said. “Soccer was probably the main thing I played until seventh or eighth grade. Then I made the switch when I had a pretty good growth spurt.”

Thanks to that quick jump in height, along with a solid work ethic and skill, West quickly became a force on the floor, and by his sophomore year he was a starter on a very raw but talented Panther varsity team.

During the last three years, West and his teammates grew together into a cohesive unit that produced two playoff appearances (2007, 2008) and a District 9-5A title this past season.

West played a pivotal role in his team’s success, especially as a senior, leading the Panthers with 15.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He also averaged more than two assists a contest.

For that reason, as well as many others, West was recently named Plano East’s Male Athlete of the Year.

“I was actually honored to be named for that award, especially at Plano East with the athletes we have there. There are really good athletes, so I was pretty honored,” West said.

His dedication and performance have also resulted in him being named Plano East’s top male athlete by the Murphy Monitor.

West’s road to high school success was not without its bumps, especially during his first few years in high school.
“It was a good growing experience,” he said. “Coming on when you are a freshman and sophomore, you’re getting banged up a little, (see) how things are done, the speed of the game, and just maturing mentally and physically.”

West added, “My junior and senior years were a lot easier compared to the first two. You could kind of see that on the court when you watched me play.”

It wasn’t a coincidence that PESH also started playing some of its best basketball during his final two seasons. In 2006-’07, they went two rounds deep before falling to Skyline.

This past winter, the Panthers tore through district and gobbled up four playoff opponents before falling to Klein Forest in the regional final at Baylor University.

“It was the best. I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” West said. “The guys on that team, Anthony (Hill), Kevin (Smith) Quincy (Diggs) and Mike (Uwaga), we’ve been together since our early days as freshmen and sophomores, and I think all of us were starting as sophomores. This last year has been great. We won 30 games, went deep in the playoffs and had a chance to go further. It just wasn’t meant to be that way.”

West will soon head east, specifically to the banks of the Hudson River and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“I hadn’t considered them or looked into it too deep until probably this last summer, when I got looks from them,” he said. “It was a pretty clear-cut match. That’s where I felt I should be.”

He’ll attend the academy’s preparatory school his first year and will not play basketball in 2008-’09. In 2009-’10 he’ll be the equivalent of a redshirt freshman athleticall, and plans to once again hit the hardwood.

When he does, West expects to see a familiar face opposing him in the form of East point guard Anthony Hill, who’ll attend Colgate University.

The academy and Colgate are in the same conference, and the two should face each other at least twice a season.

“I think the night he signed with them he called me and let me know that we are going to be seeing a lot more of each other than we thought,” West said. “Originally, he was going to Rice … The fact that I get to play him two times a year now, I’m looking forward to that.”

Unlike other college-bound students, West has a short summer break, as he’s required to report in mid-July for six weeks of basic training.

“That’s what my summer looks like. I’m not getting much of one, but I mean you’ve got to work hard for those things. I signed up for it, so I’m looking forward to it,” the senior said.
West added, “I’ve talked to a lot of people. You’ve just got to stay tough and stay mentally tough and know that it’s a game, per se, and you’ve got to stay strong. They’re not trying to rat you out; they’re wanting to make you stronger.”
The young man has tremendous respect for the institution and the “great people” who’ve passed through its gates.
Among the academy’s notable graduates are Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, opposing generals in the American Civil War, Dwight Eisenhower, military leader of the Allied forces in WWII and former President of the United States, Norman Schwarzkopf, commander in chief, central command, Operation Desert Storm, as well as Apollo astronauts Frank Borman, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Michael Collins and Ed White.

“You know the process is right, because if it wasn’t right it wouldn’t have (200 years of history),” West said. “I’m not scared. I’m little nervous. You have your jitters, just like any other student going off to college, they have their jitters.”
Of course, there will be some time off. West already has penciled in Thanksgiving and Christmas for trips home.
“I’m going to getting back as soon as I can,” he said.

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