Bolyard & Wasson...the pursuit of 1,000.

Slowly but surely, we've got 2 Red Rider hoopsters closing in on 1,000 career points, a mark that not too many have achieved. We'll talk some history of the group and see where Jake and Zach stand, and how far they have to go.

We haven't inducted a member of the 10-century club since Marcell Denson waaaay back in 1996 (his career total was over 1700, so he probably eclipsed the mark in his junior season, and if that were the case, the most recent entrant would be Renauld Ray)....so it's a big deal, and worthy of some individual focus for just a second.

Jake
Through the Madison game this past weekend, Jake has 767 career points, leaving just 233 points shy of 1,000.  He'd need to average 19.4 points per game over the final 12 games (11 regular season games and at least 1 guaranteed tournament game) to achieve the goal.  Obviously, the deeper the Riders run into the post-season, the more likely Jake eclipsing 1,000 points becomes.

All the data used to compile Jake's stats were courtesy of the Daily Record archives.  Yes, I went through each games boxscore over the past 3 seasons...I have no life.

His point breakdown is as follows....

Sophomore - 190 points (8.63 points per game)
Junior - 420 points (20.0 points per game)
Senior...so far - 157 points (19.63 per game)

What's odd is his total from his junior year. Going through the game by game boxscores, I come up with 420 points over 21 games, or EXACTLY 20 points per game. But the Daily Record's own end-of-season stats only have him for 410...and I think last March in my wrapup post, I had him at 413 points. So, we've got 3 different numbers...420, 413 and 410.

In an ideal world, Jake getting this record on his home court would be extra special.  The last home game is Feb. 20th against Wadsworth and to get that mark at home, Jake would need to average right around 22 points per game over the next 10 games to get him within 15 points going into the Wadsworth game.

Jake has scored in double figures in 35 of his 51 career games at Orrville, his career high was 35 last season against Cleveland John Marshall. He has scored 20 points or more an impressive 15 times in his career, including 4 times this season already.

The only thing we need is a catchy name...we've got the "Wasson Watch" copyrighted (not really)...but we need something for Jake. What about the "Bolyard Board?"  I'm using that unless someone has a better one.

Wasson
I figured Wasson would be a shoe-in for 1,000 after a freshman season that saw him average 13 points a game. What never really crossed my mind is Zach potentially hitting this mark in his JUNIOR year. I'd wager that only Marcell Denson has reached 1,000 in his junior season....so Zach getting to 1,000 would put him in very exclusive company.

Through the Madison game, Zach has 742 career points, needing to average a little over 21 points per game over the final 12 (11 reg. season and at least 1 tourney game).

I think Zach can get it this season, but it will take the Riders getting to at least the district finals, maybe even a game in regionals. His career average is 14.5 points per game, but over his last 4 games, he's averaging 20 ppg. If he splits the difference and averages 17 ppg the rest of the season, it will take him 15 games to reach 1,000 for his career. Barring injury, he'll play in at least 12 more games this season. So unless he has a few breakout games (25+), he might have to wait until the first game or two of his senior season.

Should (when) Jake & Zach reach this milestone, I'd love to see the game put aside for a few minutes so that he could receive special recognition of his accomplishment, maybe a quick announcement, presentation of a special ball, and maybe even a listing of the other members of the 1,000 point club.

Who are they you ask??.......It's in the program...but I'll add it here as well.

Marcell Denson.....1722
Kevin Summers......1681
Renauld Ray........1360
Ron Wachtel........1279
Tom Bolyard........1277
Bob Knight.........1104
Chris Royer........1091
Rufus Johnson......1076
Ralph Winters......1055
Anthony Durden.....1046

While we're here, Durden and Denson are the only 2 members of the 1,000 point and 1,000 rebound club.

It sure would be something if we had the pleasure of watching 2 kids reach 1,000 points for their careers in the same season. The last time that happened, we were busy hanging state title banners (Denson & Ray in 95-96). In fact, the last 2 times we had two 1,000 point scorers on the same team, we won state (Summers & Durden in 91-92).

Hopefully the track record continues.