Barry Lewis: Owasso's Jaylen Lowe finds success in basketball as well
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2013
1/17/13 at 4:50 AM
Go to Barry Lewis' BlogOriginal Print Headline: Owasso's Lowe succeeding in basketball, too
OWASSO'S JAYLEN LOWE was an All-State football selection and has a chance to also achieve that honor in basketball.
Lowe, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, is averaging 21 points per game for Owasso, which is 8-1 and ranked No. 5 in Class 6A. For the second straight year, he was named the Skiatook Invitational's most valuable player.
On Tuesday night, he had 22 points in a 106-40 victory over Sand Springs.
In the 2012 football season, Lowe quarterbacked Owasso to its first district title since 1986 and to its third state semifinal appearance.
"Jaylen was a great player for us last year," Owasso basketball coach Mark Vancuren said. "He was a great player in football season night after night and he's doing the same thing in basketball. He plays extremely hard. He involves his teammates and shares the ball. Overall, he just makes our team better with the things that he does."
Lowe avoided a mental hangover from a disappointing end to the football season - a 49-42 loss to Norman North.
"Coach V does a pretty good job of keeping us focused on basketball," Lowe said with a chuckle. "I knew I had just had to get over football. It was a tough game we lost, but I've still got one more chance to get a (state championship) ring and that's my goal."
Owasso has a well-rounded team that has the potential to make a state title run. Shake Milton is one of the area's top sophomores and had 37 points in the Skiatook title game.
"Shake was great as a freshman last year," Vancuren said. "This year he has really come on, shoots the ball extremely well and passes well. He's a great finisher from every spot - layups, free throws and 3-pointers."
After basketball season, Lowe will have an interesting decision on which sport to play in college. His stock with college recruiters may turn out to be higher in basketball.
"I'm just trying to focus right now on basketball," Lowe said.
Lowe said he has talked with basketball coaches from Oral Roberts and Lehigh. The military academies also have shown interest. In football, interest has been shown from Division II schools.
"I think he's going to start getting more and more interest in basketball," Vancuren said.
The Rams visit No. 7 Bartlesville on Thursday night. It should be a stellar showdown as Bartlesville also has one of the area's top players, Brigham Young signee Jakob Hartsock.
Busy time for Fogle: It has been a very interesting past 12 months for Anthony Fogle since resigning after three years as Hale's head football coach.
Last month, Fogle was named as the new head coach at Southeast Prep Postgraduate Academy in Houston. Southeast is not a junior college but competes against jucos such as Northeastern A&M, where Fogle spent the 2012 season as wide receivers coach. Last Friday, he was the East's defensive coordinator in the Casino Del Sol College All-Star Game at Tucson
"This has been a whirlwind but I am enjoying it," Fogle said. "It's right in the middle of recruiting, but this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. This is taking me back to my college days when I played in the Hula Bowl."
Fogle is a former Oklahoma defensive back and is a Houston native. In 2009, he led Hale to its only playoff berth this century.
National rankings: Class 6A champion Jenks finished No. 46 in the National High School Football Rankings. Katy, Texas was the top-ranked team, followed by perennial powers John Curtis of River Ridge, La., and De La Salle of Concord, Calif. DeSoto (Texas), which defeated Jenks, was No. 8 after a loss to No. 4 Allen (Texas) in the Texas 5A semifinals. Euless (Texas) Trinity, which defeated Union, was ranked No. 45.
In USA Today's Super 25, Jenks also was ranked in the bottom half of the top 50. John Curtis was No. 1 in USA Today while Katy was No. 2.
Bixby's Miller honored: Bixby junior tackle Chandler Miller received honorable mention status for his performance at the U.S. Army All-American Combine on Jan. 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Miller was undefeated in his one-on-one drills.
"Being in the Alamodome surrounded by the nation's top talent was humbling and motivating," Miller said in a press release. "In order to improve and be the best you can be you need to compete with the best. It pushes you to be better and inspires you to be stronger. I was pleased with my one-on-one performance but left knowing that there's always something I can work on to make myself better."
One of the combine's top performers, quarterback David Cornwell, moved recently from Class 3A semifinalist Jones to 6A runner-up Norman North.
Edison remembers Sellers: Edison has moved its last home wrestling dual of the season, against Hale at 6 p.m. Thursday, to the Jim Sellers Field House. Wrestlers from Edison's 1965 state champions as well as other undefeated dual teams in 1962 and '71, are expected to attend the dual to show their support for coach Jim Harper and the current team, and honor Sellers, who was Edison's athletic director from 1956-91 and wrestling coach from 1956-67 and '79. He died in 2008.
"We're trying to bring back the wrestling tradition of the '60s and '70s," said Edison wrestling assistant and middle school athletic director David Slatton.
The Eagles, who revived their wrestling program in 2007 after a five-year absence, will be back at their new home, the Edison Preparatory Athletic Center, for a 5A regional on Feb. 15-16.
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