Warriors find their spark

SUDBURY -- Practice was over, but Jamel Wilson wasn't leaving the court.

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Instead, the Lincoln-Sudbury senior jogged to the baseline, cupped his hands around his mouth, and hollered encouragement as the Warriors' JV basketball team closed out the session with a set of lung-busting sprints.

Clapping and smiling, Wilson led the applause as the younger players, gasping and perspiring, finally shuffled off the court. After mastering three positions this winter -- guard, forward, and center -- the multitalented Wilson can now add another to the list: cheerleader.

''He does everything," Lincoln-Sudbury coach Ben Okiwe said. ''He rebounds, he takes charges, he distributes the ball. I'm serious. He's a juggernaut. I don't even put a G, F, or C in front of his name any more."

Which is just fine with the strong, compact 6-footer from Dorchester, who entered the Lincoln-Sudbury school system as a Metco student when he was a kindergartner.

An excess of labels would only slow him down.

''I play wherever Coach needs me," Wilson said. ''Spots one through five, I've played everything. I'm all over the court."

Part Troy Brown, part Ginsu knife, the multifaceted Wilson routinely slices, dices, and chops up Dual County League defenses. Alternating among three positions, he recently lit up Newton South for 33 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, and four assists in a 76-60 victory. A few nights later, Wilson scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out five assists, and plucked three steals to lift Lincoln-Sudbury to a 66-62 win over Tewksbury.

Heading into the Feb. 4 game against Bedford, Wilson was leading Lincoln-Sudbury (11-4, 11-3 DCL) with 18.5 points and 11 rebounds per game, making him one of only a handful of players in the Dual County League averaging double digits in both points and rebounds.

''Jamel's a special player," senior cocaptain Chris Sanford said. ''He can shoot, he can rebound, and he can block shots. Any way you look at it, he's a compete player."

Wilson hasn't always been so polished. In fact, he is the first to admit that most of his sophomore season, his first on varsity, was spent adjusting to Okiwe's demanding practices, strict rules, and high expectations. It wasn't easy. And both Wilson and Okiwe admit it wasn't always pretty.

''I didn't know how to work hard," Wilson admitted. ''I was just happy to be on a varsity team."

''He was a little overwhelmed," said Okiwe, a former Brandeis University player who is now in his sixth season at Lincoln-Sudbury. ''He's always had that competitive nature, that fire, that drive. But as a sophomore, he deflected a lot to the older players."

That changed last year when Wilson showed up to preseason practice noticeably bigger, stronger, and more confident. He immediately staked a claim to a spot in the starting lineup and finished the season averaging 12 points and seven rebounds a game, play that helped the 12-8 Warriors earn a place in the Division 2 North quarterfinals.

''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."

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.