Shavon Shields is part of the 1-2 punch that has helped Olathe Northwest roll into the Kansas postseason with a chance to win a state title.
Photo courtesy of Justin Flor
If not for the 6, maybe 7–inch height difference, some fans at
Northwest (Olathe, Kan.) basketball games might think
Shavon Shields and
Willie Cauley are one in the same player.
They both love to push the tempo and run with the basketball, they dunk when the opportunity presents itself and they each play tenacious defense – all while getting Raven crowds stirred into a tizzy. And they both seem to admire the other one's game.
"Shavon can do it all," Cauley said about his 6-foot-5 teammate. "He can play the post, point guard and at the shooting guard – me and him both. We like to get out and run and dunk. He has the all-around game and can do anything, but I think he's at his best when we're in transition. We just give him the ball and let him go. He's very good at driving on people, creating contact and getting fouled."
Willie Cauley, another Division 1 commit,has a bond with Shields that has enabledthe two to take their team to a 37-6record over two seasons.
Photo courtesy of Justin Flor
Shields complemented Cauley's basketball ability, as well as his talents on a playing surface of another kind.
"He's a great athlete," Shields said of the 6-11 starting post/tight end. "He's real athletic and long. He went out on the football field and killed everyone. He was outrunning and outhitting guys.
"Willie's a great defender. He changes so much defensively with his presence. He knows how to run the floor too. When he gets the rebound, he just goes with the ball. He's a great basketball player and we love having him on this team."
Describing Olathe Northwest basketball as "fast and together", Shields was bound to have Mike Grove's Ravens basketball program on the rise. But the addition of Cauley last season may push Olathe Northwest over the top when the Kansas Boys State Basketball Tournament unfolds in Wichita next month.
The road to the Kansas 6A crown, however, could be rough. Hoping to win a fourth-straight state title is Kansas recruit Perry Ellis and Joe Auer's Wichita Heights Falcons. Also in the mix will be Blue Valley North and Blue Valley Northwest. The Ravens' lone loss during a 21-1 season so far has been a 61-44 setback to the Huskies.
"Until Heights gets knocked out they're still the champions," Shields said. "And Blue Valley Northwest scorched us the other night. I just hope we get the opportunity to play them. But we have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be."
Shields, Cauley and the rest of Grove's roster are well aware of the potholes that lie ahead should the Ravens slack ever so slightly for the rest of the 2011-12 season. A season ago, Olathe district rival Olathe East upset the Ravens.
"Coming into the season, our goals were to win the Sunflower League championship and becoming sub-state champions is next on that list," Shields said. "Last year we had it handed to us in the sub-state final and we didn't get to state."
Cauley foresees the basketball team that's best prepared entering the postseason winning the championship.
"Anybody can win it this year," Cauley said. "It'll come down to which team shows up."
Less than two years ago neither of these two basketball talents knew each other. But Cauley wanted to widen his horizons academically and was looking for some basketball exposure.
He eventually made the 300-mile move from Spearville (Kan.) to Olathe (Kan.) making it possible for him to compete for Robin Lucas' Mokan 17U Elite basketball team during the summer before his junior year.
After moving in with Lucas, one of the AAU basketball team's organizers, for the summer, Cauley was in need of a place to stay when Lucas had to leave town briefly. Shields came through and eventually the Shields family took the Kentucky recruit in for the remainder of his prep career.
"It's like I'm one of the kids," Cauley said of moving in with former Kansas City Chief All-Pro and Nebraska Cornhusker football great Will Shields and family. "I get punished just like everyone else and I have to do the same chores. I can't just do whatever I want to. I have to live within the structure of the family."
Having signed with Kentucky, Cauley said he sees basketball as his meal ticket. But, like Shields, Cauley considers himself a work in progress.
"I want to get to the league and that takes a lot of hard work," he said. "But that's what I want to do, so I have to work hard at it. I really don't think I have figured out how good I can be. I don't think I'm that good. I think I do awful in a game and then coach comes along and says that I did great."
Shields, who will play for Doc Sadler at Nebraska next season, said he's a work in progress as well.
"I still have a lot to work on," he said. "I have a lot to improve on."
Growing up the son of a football player, Shields did give football a try as a youngster. But it was short-lived and he eventually went back to playing the sport he is passionate about.
In a game against Olathe East earlier this season, Shields went off on the Hawks for 31 points, including three straight third quarter dunks in traffic and over people that stirred the pot in the 66-52 win. Cauley began that game with an alley-oop dunk.
Shavon Shields
Photo courtesy of Justin Flor
For the season, Shields has been averaging about 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals a game, and is Olathe Northwest's career leading scorer and rebounder already. He is shooting 68 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.
Cauley, on the other hand, contributes around 12 points and 11 rebounds an outing as well as four blocked shots and three assists. He is shooting 69 percent from the field.
"They play off of each other," Grove said. "They know each other so well. They each know what the other is going to do. They have a great relationship. They don't always hang out. They're close like brothers. They have a tight-knit bond."
Although he grew up less than three hours from Lincoln, Shields said he had been in Nebraska's second-largest city just once before. Shields said his father's success in Lincoln had nothing to do with his decision to move north and play for Sadler.
"I loved the coaching staff, the players and the atmosphere," Shields said. "And they were straightforward with me. They said, ‘We want you here, but only if you want to be here. If you don't, we hope you do well wherever you go.' My father left the decision up to me. He doesn't dictate what I do. Nebraska felt like the place that I needed to be. It felt like home.
"For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to play college basketball. It's a really good feeling that all of that hard work is paying off."
