Tuesday, March 4, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.
They all tasted prep basketball ambrosia at different Las Vegas Valley schools, filled with tons of playing time and shots, and plenty of accolades and exposure.
Yet they all traded it in for bread and water at Cheyenne. Once stars at places like Clark, Palo Verde and Sierra Vista, players like Kevin Woodruff, Maurice Andrews, Jamar Rankin and Eddie Coulson became the bench warmers for the stacked Desert Shields.
They are the unknown transfers, the opposite of stars like Lorrenzo Wade and Chris Fuller. With a state title to show for their unselfishness, the group feels it is all worth it now.
"Even though I sacrificed a lot, I just liked getting a state ring before I left high school," Woodruff, a senior, said Monday.
That state title, capped by Friday's 63-53 triumph against Palo Verde at the 4A State Tournament in Reno, dulled the pain of watching from the Cheyenne bench when they knew they could be making a name elsewhere.
"In order for us to get to where we are now, everyone had to accept their roles," Coulson said.
Eight transfers in the past two years certainly bolstered Cheyenne's state championship roster this season, but five of those players have not seen any significant action for the Desert Shields.
"A lot of the newcomers accepted their roles, which a lot of people said they wouldn't," Cheyenne coach Larry Johnson said.
The transfers of Wade (Green Valley) and Fuller (Centennial/Palo Verde) in the past two years helped transform Cheyenne from pretty good into state champions. They also stirred the ire of many in the prep basketball community. Accusations of recruiting and payoffs -- the same ones that trailed Durango, Bishop Gorman and other schools in past years -- dogged the Desert Shields throughout the season.
That criticism stung Cheyenne, and Johnson said he rallied the team around what they saw as constant negative attention from media and opposing teams. Fuller's father even sported a custom T-shirt in Reno, with the tongue-in-cheek message "Cheyenne #1 - The Best Team Money Can Buy."
Johnson denied that any recruiting occurred, but he does admit that basketball motivated many of his transfers.
"When you have a good program, kids are going to want to come," Johnson said. "If any other coach in the city had these transfers, they'd have played these kids too."
Basketball did not pan out for all of them, though. For every Wade, there is a Woodruff.
"It was not much of a choice I had, actually," Woodruff said.
Once an All-Southwest Division pick at Clark, family issues prompted Woodruff to move with his father, which meant giving up star status as a Charger for fierce competition at Cheyenne. Gone were the open looks in practice, and there were the long arms of Wade and the air-tight defense of Fuller.
"It was kind of an adjustment because I had to change my style a little bit," Woodruff said. "It got a little tough playing with players like them."
Said Wade of his new teammates: "Coming from programs where they were starters, getting a lot of time, it was a tough transition for them at first."
Woodruff spent his final year mired deep in obscurity, stuck as the Shields' third-string point guard behind Gregg Barlow and Elgin Williams. He played about five minutes down the stretch of the title game, but gave way to Barlow in the end.
"Everyone knew they had to change their roles because we had a very talented team," Fuller said. "I want to thank them for making that sacrifice, for the team, for the championship."
Coulson found himself even farther down the bench than Woodruff, seeing action strictly in garbage time. That came as a huge change from his prominent place in an up-and-coming Sierra Vista backcourt as a sophomore.
With another year to play, Coulson focuses on the potential of next year instead of the loss of this year.
"Everyone had to make sacrifices," Coulson said. "I just had to take a backseat and hopefully get a chance next year."
Woodruff said that despite all the standouts on one team, winning and chemistry overcame any potential problems among teammates.
"There was nobody that disliked anybody," Woodruff said. "Obviously, it translated onto the court."
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