TUSCOLA — Having spent most of his basketball time at the point guard position, Jim Ned’s Cade Ford has been steeped in unselfishness. He’s been trained to find the open man and he’s been thoroughly schooled in directing the show, rather than playing the lead. 

Now as a senior, he’s being asked to take center stage. 

The transition hasn’t been easy — leading to coach Eric Phelps giving some not-so-friendly encouragement to the 18-year-old when he has overlooked open shot attempts.  

“There was lots of yelling in practice, telling me to get shots up — if I’m open, just let it go,” Ford said. “So it has come (gradually) through the summer and into this season.” 

Diligence, however, has had its rewards. And entering Friday’s district game with Merkel, Ford is 18th in the Big Country with a scoring average of 15.5 points per game — tops on a Jim Ned club that is currently 19-5 overall and 5-0 in District 5-3A.