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CLOUDY Temp: 44 °F Wind: W at 4 mph Thursday, February 20, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 7, 2003 Hard work and dedication have made Crater High�s Andrew Norum one of the top players in the Southern Oregon Conference this season. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Under construction Not one to be satisfied, Crater’s Andrew Norum works hard to hone his craft on the basketball floor By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — If you want to put a face to the concept of hard work and intensity, Andrew Norum is as good of a place to start as any. The Crater High senior is 195 pounds of pure aggression. That emotional makeup, combined with a 6-foot-4 frame, has been a blessing and a curse for one of the Southern Oregon Conference’s top all-around basketball players. Being intense in all he does has made Norum the force he is today in the SOC. It’s also occasionally slowed him down in his pursuit of becoming even more than he already is. "Andrew’s very emotional and plays with a lot of emotion and we love that about him," says sixth-year Crater coach Matt Meunier. "The great thing about him is all his energy is in the game." "Sometimes he gets carried away with it and loses a little mental focus," adds Meunier, "but it’s unbelievable how hard he plays and how much he cares." One look at Norum’s statistics and you can rest assured he’s not taking time off while on the court. He’s averaging 16.3 points overall and a conference-best 16.9 per game in eight SOC games. Throw in another nine rebounds, three assists and a couple blocked shots per game, and it’s easy to see why Norum is vital to Crater’s success. "A big focus for us to win a few more games this round (of SOC play) will be that we don’t rely on Andrew for everything," says Meunier. "He’s been doing his job, but we need other players to up their role as well." The Comets take a 7-11 overall and 3-5 conference record into tonight’s home game against Grants Pass (13-5, 6-2 SOC). In other action at 7 tonight, Ashland (10-8, 3-5) is at South Medford (16-1, 8-0) and North Medford (9-7, 5-3) plays host to Klamath Union (11-7, 4-4). Norum, 18, entered this season as the only Crater player with varsity experience. His teammates have slowly made the adjustment needed to take the load off Norum, who has seen it all in his four years on varsity. "You can see in every game that our starters and the people coming off the bench are getting more experienced and understanding how high the intensity is out there," says Norum. After Norum’s near-17 points per game, Crater’s scoring drops around the seven-point range for first-year starters like Jay Slezak, Colin Schoonover and Preston Tate. "We’re a lot like North, where you worry about (Ryan) Lucas," says Meunier, "or Grants Pass and you worry about (Kory) Mahr. When you play Crater, you worry about Norum. That makes him a marked man, but he’s been very patient." Even with his team’s reliance on his output, Norum has shown great maturity in not forcing the issue this season. He takes about 12 shots per game and is converting 52 percent overall and 60 percent in conference play. "When the opportunity is there, he takes it, but Andrew’s not out to score a billion points," says Meunier. "He’s a good team player." But as good of a team player as Norum is in games, he’s that much better in practice. Once again, this is where the intensity comes into play in a positive way. "He is the hardest-working player I’ve ever coached," says Meunier, "and that’s in games and every single day at practice. He’s never taken a drill off, a wind sprint off or anything. He plays full-boogie, all the time." Which is a blessing when trying to get a team up to speed. "He’s an unbelievable leader by example," adds Meunier. "Our young kids get to watch him and know how hard they have to work, too. Here he’s our best player, and he works the hardest of anybody out there." To hear Norum tell it, that all-out effort is just all in a day’s work. "My motto is you get out of it what you put into it," he says. "You earn your shots during the week in practice. If you work hard in practice and work hard in games, good things are going to happen." Good things also happen for Crater when Norum’s on the court, which is an area he has improved on this season. Prone to foul problems earlier this season, which in turn left his inexperienced teammates pondering who to turn to, Norum has done well to maintain his poise in conference. "There’s been times when things haven’t gone my way and I’ve blown the teapot off the stove," he says, "but that’s one thing coach Meunier has worked on with me. He’s always telling me to be calm and collected and I’ll have more success that way. "He’s right, it’s just hard for me. I’m just really competitive." Fortunately for Norum, the Comets wouldn’t have it any other way. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S