Warriors find their spark

Page 2 of 2 -- ''Once he knew he belonged, he took off," Okiwe said. ''Maybe he was observing and feeling his way around his sophomore year. But he's got the bat in his hands now, and he's taking his hacks."

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With the graduation of nine seniors, including last year's leading scorer, Troy Johnson, Okiwe was forced this winter to make wholesale changes to his undersized, inexperienced roster. His first move was to shift Wilson, a guard since grade school, to forward and center. The experiment has been a huge success.

Wilson, a three-year varsity football player, immediately opened Okiwe's eyes with his strength and toughness. Asked to box out forwards and combat centers dwarfing him by five and six inches, Wilson has won more battles in the paint than he has lost.

''It was hard at first, but I like to play physical," Wilson said of the switch. ''I use at least four out of my five fouls a game. Sometimes Coach has to sit me, but that's the way I play."

Okiwe likes to describe his team as a solar system. Wilson may be Lincoln-Sudbury's sun, but he isn't the only star.

Ryan Brown was a recent Globe Player of the Week after a 24-point outburst against Weston. The junior guard went 9 for 9 from the floor, 3 for 3 from the line, and 3 for 3 from behind the 3-point arc.

Six other players -- Sanford, senior Nick Stanton, and juniors Aaron Burdette, Will Silton, Rob Kindell, and Dan Ollquist -- have scored 10 points at least once this season.

That scoring balance has allowed Okiwe to shuffle his lineup like a poker dealer. Nobody, not even Wilson, has started every game for Lincoln-Sudbury this season.

''Everyone's contributing," Stanton said. ''That makes us difficult to defend because you never know who's going to get hot and start scoring."

But as Lincoln-Sudbury gets set to make its fourth straight state tournament appearance, it's clear that this is still Wilson's team. He's the one who leads the cheers at practice. He's the one who won't stop shooting jumpers until Okiwe has to call him off the court. He's the one who selflessly volunteers to play anywhere and everywhere his team needs him.

''At the start of a season, every coach looks for where the heart of their team is going to come from," Okiwe said. ''You could say that our heart is Jamel Wilson."

James Whitters can be reached at whitters@globe.com.