One-two punch is back: Reunited, Cooney and Jones lead Sanford to top-seed in boys hoops tourney

The Sanford School boys basketball team has secured the number one seed for the 2010 state basketball tournament that began on March 3. A big reason for their success has been the reunited one-two scoring punch of junior stars Trevor Cooney and Deon Jones.

Both players have been heavily recruited by Division One college programs. Cooney recently made a verbal commitment to attend Syracuse University, while Jones is still undecided on his collegiate destination.

Both started for the Warriors as freshman two years ago, leading the team to a 16-7 record. But Jones moved with his family to Virginia prior to his sophomore year, where he attended Paul VI.

Without him, the Warriors finished with a 14-9 record last season. Such a mark would be welcome at most schools, but at Sanford, which ranks second all-time in state history with four state championships, the nine losses and an eventual opening-round state tournament exit, were a disappointment.

Then Jones came back to Sanford. The result: a state-best 19-1 record, with their only loss coming in the regular season finale to archrival Tatnall.

“When they were together their freshman year, I knew that if they continued to improve that they would be one heck of a combo,” Sanford coach Stan Waterman said. “When Deon left, it didn’t look like that was going to happen, but I’m very happy that he came back. Any time that you can add a player of that caliber it’s a blessing, especially when there is this kind of familiarity involved.”

“It was great coming back to Sanford,” Jones said. “I love the environment here. The people in school, the teachers, and the coaches are great. I really missed that.”

With Jones back in the mix, opponents were no longer able to focus their defensive game plan on stopping Cooney. This season, Jones has averaged 16.4 points per game, with Cooney pumping in 16.2 points per game.

“They’ve both played a whole lot of basketball,” Waterman said. “They’re both very competitive. They’re both very versatile and they can both play a couple of different positions. Trevor was our main scorer last year and it was a lot easier for teams to defend us. He saw a lot of junk defenses and a lot of special defenses. Now having Deon back, it makes us really tough to defend. He’s a scoring threat from anywhere on the floor. He can post up, he can shoot from the perimeter, and he can handle the ball. And now defenses have to play Trevor honest.”

“If we’re both on, it’s really great,” Jones said. “But if I’m off one night, he can pick us up. If he’s off, I can pick us up.”

For all of Jones’ basketball ability, Waterman says his biggest impact has been provided by his personality.

“It’s done more for us with chemistry,” Waterman said. “He’s very popular and well-liked. He’s one of those kinds of kids that can blend in with all different types of groups. Last year I thought we had some cliques on the team and when Deon came back, he sort of brought everybody together.”

Cooney agreed.

“Having Deon back has not only helped us win more games, but it has improved us in every aspect of the game,” Cooney said. “Last year we were not as close as we are right now. I think that is the changing point in why we’ve been so successful.

“It also definitely takes a lot off of you going into games knowing that you have a guy that can do the same exact things that you can [offensively]. But as a team it’s not just me and Deon. Everyone has gotten better since last year. You can have all the talent in the world but if you’re not working as a team, you’re not going to accomplish anything.”