NEDERLAND — District 22-5A is tough. It only takes one look at the state and Region III tournaments last season to figure that point out.
Beaumont Ozen reached the 2015 state tournament, and to do so the Panthers had to fight off 22-5A rival Beaumont Central to get there. Brian English and his Nederland Bulldogs are up for the challenge of trying to continue the tradition of the district.
Nederland went 24-11 in 2015 and was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by C.E. King, 68-53. The Bulldogs were 8-6 in the district standings.
“We are playing together,” senior guard Jase Miguez said. “We are playing good defense. This is a great district. The atmosphere and everything gets us into every game. Playing against the teams in our district prepares us for anything in the playoffs.”
English pointed to a good amount of experience back on his roster as the reason he thinks the Bulldogs have a shot to compete for the district title.
“Our kids have some varsity time,” English said. “Hopefully, they jell at the right time and we can make a little run.”
Seniors Garrett Ary, Colton English and Josh Hebert give the Bulldogs a strong leadership front while Coach English will also lean on juniors Kevin Howard and Darrell Jones to provide quality minutes on the floor.
Howard brings the most size to the Bulldogs at 6-foot-6.
Students both hurt and helped the Bulldogs since last year. Experienced guard Jaylon Ballou moved from Nederland to California and the Bulldogs also brought back in senior guard Adrian Nelson.
“We are just moving on,” English said. “We are going to do the same things we have always done. We are going to try and control the pace and take care of the ball. We have to share the ball.
“Over the last three years, our district has been real tough. Overall in the last two years, our district has won 20 playoff games. That is impressive. I don’t see that changing this year. Ozen starts at No. 2 in the state and Central is No. 3. It is always going to be tough.”
Miguez knows it will be tough, but he has confidence in his team.
“We have had success in the past,” Miguez said. “There is a great tradition here at Nederland. We keep filling in from the [Colton] Weisbrod days. We are going to continue with that.”