Quality depth keying another strong season for state-ranked Seven Lakes

No. 23 Spartans are buoyed by a handful of playmaking reserves capable of contributing big nights at any time

A deep roster has buoyed Katy Seven Lakes' boys basketball team to a 23-5 record as it pursues a fourth straight district championship. / Photo by Dennis Silva II

KATY — Walk into the Seven Lakes boys basketball locker room and open the locker of a varsity player.

Outlined in that locker, for that specific individual, is the player’s role for the season. Three or four things coach Shannon Heston expects from that person.

“Before they come to that first practice, they know their role and that’s when buy-in is established,” Heston said. “We have a talk and see where they are about what we want.”

Since 2009, Heston’s Spartans have won seven district championships—including the last three in a row—with four regional tournament appearances. Seven Lakes, ranked No. 23 in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Texas high school basketball rankings, is 23-5 so far this season, in good shape for a fourth straight 30-win campaign.

Heston’s program is a respected and admired one in the Greater Houston area.

A byproduct of that success is the buy-in Heston champions. Seven Lakes has had its share of star hoopers, like A.J. Bates, Nasir Price, Trey Pinkney, Princeton Onwas, Atif Russell and, today, Isaiah Santos, but it’s the others that make the Spartans complete.

Depth is program-defining. That’s been the case for Seven Lakes in the past, and it’s the case again this season.

Take Wednesday’s 79-67 District 19-6A win over a 22-4 Katy team. Heston played 10 players in the first quarter of a five-point game. Seven Lakes’ reserves accounted for 18 total points.

The Spartans come at opponents in waves; it’s not rare for Heston to make five-in, five-out substitutions early in games.

There is buy-in from players, certainly. Obviously. But there is also a standard and commitment demanded of each one, from freshmen to seniors.

Against a quality Katy program, the Spartans swept the Tigers on all levels Wednesday, with all five teams earning wins.

“You have to have a great staff, coaches who are willing to work with and develop the younger levels,” Heston said. “Our goal at the beginning of the year for all our teams is a district championship. That’s the first step. Kids know that’s the expectation, and they compete their butts off for that, year in and year out.

“Because we’re so competitive and always in the mix for those, I think those guys develop and buy into the idea of winning and doing whatever it takes to help the team.”

Junior Jose Martins is one of many. Martins is often the first guard off the bench for the Spartans.

During the first quarter against Katy, Martins hit two 3s to ignite a 15-7 run to close the period and turn a three-point deficit into a five-point lead.

“Just read the game and play off what the other team is doing,” Martins said. “Try and find a way to impact the game in positive ways.”

There’s also sharpshooting senior combo guard Jaden Nelson. Versatile senior wing Ayden Clark. Springy sophomore forward Alex Teahan.

Junior guard Hudson Smith doesn’t see consistent playing time. But in a district win earlier this season, he came in and knocked down four 3s.

“Coach lets us play free,” Martins said. “He lets us play our game. If anybody has an off night, there’s always somebody else to step in.”

And there is typically a late bloomer or two, a credit to, one, a player’s work and effort to earn more minutes, and, two, coaches attending to every single guy on the roster.

One of those this season is senior forward Godtrace “GT” Ngoh, whose family moved to Katy from McAllen during the second week of school in August.

Ngoh is a pure athlete at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. He played tight end for the Spartans during the fall and has collegiate offers to play football and basketball.

“I haven’t decided what I’ll play yet,” Ngoh said.

If Seven Lakes, which lacks the physicality and size of previous years, wants to make another deep postseason run, Ngoh will have to make his presence felt.

Senior forward Godtrace "GT" Ngoh, a transfer from McAllen, is emerging as a potent talent for Seven Lakes. / Photo by Dennis Silva II

Against Katy, Ngoh had seven points and four rebounds, by far his best outing to date.

“One of the things with GT is he’s probably been the most physically gifted person most of his life on probably every team he’s been on,” Heston said. “Coming in and learning work ethic and showing up and how to be accountable, those things have helped him blossom into the player that you saw (Wednesday) and that we’re seeing in practice more and more.”

Ngoh said he feels he can help the team in a major way. While coming into the Spartans’ ways was a bit of a culture shock from what he was used to, he is finding his niche.

“Definitely the intensity and the work ethic,” Ngoh said of the difference from Seven Lakes compared to McAllen Memorial, his previous school. “The coaching staff, in general, is very much focused on the players and helping them get to the next level.

“Here, everyone has an opportunity to touch the basketball. At McAllen Memorial, only a couple guys got to touch the ball. Here, everyone’s more involved in the offense, and just playing the game, in general.”

Ngoh came into the program in poor condition, not exactly a boon for a team that loves to play fast. But he has put in the work to get in better shape and is now able to sustain his effort for longer periods during games.

“Knocking some rust off from football season, he’s getting his footwork down,” Heston said. “He’s starting to get that touch around the rim. He's an incredible athlete and a fantastic young man.”

Ngoh, who said he is at about “60%” of what he is capable of, is starting to understand what other Seven Lakes players must learn. Hard work will get them rewarded with Heston’s trust, and that trust will reward them with more playing time.

“Some of those light bulbs have clicked on for him, and some of those dominos are falling in the right way for him,” Heston said. “We’re expecting big things from him down the stretch.”

Heston and his staff preach confidence. His boys exude it.

Players know when they get their opportunity, they can go into a game, play fast, shoot open shots and be aggressive on offense and defense.

“We all get to show what kind of player we are,” Martins said.

Who will be the next Christian Follis?

Follis, a senior last season, was initially told he would not be playing much that year. But by the postseason, he was helping win a game against Clear Creek and hitting clutch shots in a regional quarterfinal win against undefeated Clements.

Any one of these Spartans has the capability of being a Follis, a once little-used reserve who emerges into a spot starter and big-time contributor.

“Though they’re probably outperforming our expectations,” Heston said of this year’s depth, “we did expect a lot from them.”

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