01/03/2005
By: Brian Porter

PLANO - There aren't many paper differences between Plano and Plano East and that's the way it is for most of the teams in District 8-5A.

Plano (14-3, 1-0 in District 8-5A) and Plano East (15-4, 1-0) each have a win over No. 1 Cedar Hill. Plano East thrives off a highly-talented junior class. Plano has a highly-talented junior class.

Two other teams in the alignment have each eclipsed double-digit wins, while the alignment appears to be as balanced as ever.

Plano and East are among four teams with 1-0 district records. Plano West (8-9, 0-1) join four teams seeking their first district wins as play resumes in the alignment Tuesday.

Plano travels to Marcus (14-2, 1-0) and Plano East travels to Lewisville (6-6, 1-0). Plano West hosts The Colony (8-9, 0-1). All varsity games in the alignment begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Wildcats reenter the alignment on a convincing win over No. 1 Cedar Hill.

"I'm real pleased with where we are at," Plano coach Tom Inman said. "We've proven we can beat about anyone in the state. We're good enough to beat anyone, but bad enough to beat ourselves."

Plano West reopens the district slate on a win Tuesday and played Tyler Lee Friday. The team fell to Plano, 71-48, in its district opener. Plano West defeated Lake Dallas, 67-59, Tuesday in one of its best defensive efforts of the season. The Wolves only surrendered 21 points in the second half against the Falcons.

Plano West averages 74 points per contest. The Wolves surrender 75 points a game. Plano West has scored more than 60 points in 14 games, including breaking the 80-point barrier seven times this season.

Most of the remainder of the district teams are defensive minded. But physical, defensive squads like Plano still have to focus on scoring.

"I feel a lot better about the team in the last four games," Inman said. "We saw against North Mesquite that we needed to get balance on the perimeter. We starting attacking the rim with our guards. I like the balance."

Plano lost to North Mesquite and fell out of the state polls. The team demonstrated the ability to go seven to eight players deep during the Wildcat Holiday Classic. The sixth-man is Ryan Manack, a guard-forward combination that thrives on staying around the goal.

"He has some stability to him," Inman said.

Plano East has two of the district's most prolific scorers in Dallas Hunter and Anthony Smith. Both players have signed Division I scholarship offers.