The Nocona Indians have quite the challenge ahead of them matched up with Brock in the bi-district round.
The Eagles are the second ranked team in the state and has been one of the premiere programs in the area the past decade if not longer.
This year’s team is different than other Brock teams. Whereas in recent years the team has leaned heavy on either its post play or guard play, this year it’s a bit of both.
The big challenge in the post for Nocona is trying to slow down big Nathan Jones inside. He is surrounded by good guard play and shooters, making any type of defense geared to stop Jones a risky proposition.
“We need to do a good job of defending Nathan Jones,” Coach Colby Schniederjan said. “I don’t think we can stop him. He’s very talented, but we need to limit him. Then we have to get out and contest shooters and make sure their guards have a hard time getting the ball to Jones.
Brock does not do anything fancy on defense. The Eagles play straight man-to-man defense. The Indians will be the smaller team at most positions, meaning clean looks could be a rarity during the game.
“Offensively we want to be patient and take good shots,” Schniederjan said. “They are big, bigger than we are as far as height. We are going to have to make sure we are very smart on offense. Just make sure we do a good job of handling the game play.”
The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Feb. 20 at Chico High School.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.