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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL
Senior guards fixtures in Graham's starting lineup
Schuler and Jones have teamed up as leaders since the seventh grade
Friday, December 12, 2008
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THAT WAS THEN ... Graham guards Josh Schuler and Austin Jones (shown here in 2006) are three-year starters and back for one more season. Their hairstyles may have changed, but their affinity for each other has not. Staff photos by Bill Lackey (top) and Marshall Gorby (bottom)
THIS IS NOW ... Schuler and Jones in 2008.ST. PARIS — Growing up together with the common link of basketball, Josh Schuler scored the points and Austin Jones rallied the team. It's been this way since they were in the seventh grade.
They played on Graham High School's varsity boys basketball team as freshmen and started as sophomores. As juniors, they were major players in the Falcons' run to the state tournament.
Now Jones and Schuler, 6-foot-2 guards and three-year starters, are seniors and back for one more sprint through the basketball season. Graham opens the season at home at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, against Tippecanoe.
"(Jones) knows exactly when I want the ball or when I should have it, because we've been playing together for so long," Schuler said. "Same for me with him. ... We make a pretty good combo."
Schuler is the Falcons' top scorer and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Last season, he scored 19.3 points per game and was named the Springfield News-Sun's All-Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He will play for the University of North Dakota next season.
Jones can play either as a point guard or a shooting guard, and has a knack for media interviews. He averaged 10.7 points and 4.6 assists last season.
"I'm more of the vocal leader, telling everyone what they should be doing and helping with advice and keeping everybody pumped up," Jones said. "(Schuler's) the one who's always doing things the right way so that they can't say, 'Josh isn't doing it, so I don't have to do it, either.' "
Of course, those roles overlap. Jones is more physical with the basketball. Schuler works as a leader behind the scenes. The mixture is a winning combination that led Graham to a 26-1 record last season.
"These guys have definitely taken it to a different level," Graham coach Brook Cupps said. "The expectations are a lot higher, and that's how they want it to be. That's not something that's going to change. Their level of commitment to basketball is a stamp they've put on the program."
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ontact this reporter at (937) 328-0366
or bplasters@coxohio.com.
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