Wonder what the odds would have been on Nederland being the last basketball team standing in Jefferson County? Given the presence of Memorial, Ozen and Central, I’d think you would start at about 100-to-1. Maybe higher. So congratulations to Brian English and the Bulldogs who are headed to a third- round showdown against Brenham Monday night in the 4A playoffs.  Ever since English beat one of Andre Boutte’s Ozen teams three teams in one season when he was at Vidor, I’ve thought he was a rising star in the coaching profession and he’s proving it with the Bulldogs. What should really be exciting for Nederland’s fans is that the team’s three best players — Dionte Forney, Kelvin Smith and Chris Cunningham — return next year, along with some key reserves and a sharpshooter named Zack English coming up from the ninth grade . . . Memorial’s early exit from the playoffs was disappointing on a lot of levels for a veteran team that went 27-3 in the regular season and looked to have everything necessary to make a run all the way to Austin. Look no farther than 15-of-29 free-throw shooting in an overtime loss to explain the one-and-done for Terrul Henderson’s best Titans’ team. Gut-wrenching losses over missed free throws will become a familiar refrain as the schoolboy and NCAA playoffs unfold. Nederland might take note, since it made only 15-of-26 in ousting Magnolia Friday night

On the subject of free throws, one guy who rarely missed from the foul line was long ago Nederland deadeye Jerry Johnson. Johnson, the brother of former Bulldogs football coach Pat Johnson, once made 66 consecutive freebies over two seasons, and shares the Texas schoolboy record with Tim Hobby of Alvin. Available records indicate the 66 stragiht ranks 14th best all time at the high school level. Johnson made his last six free throws in the 1963-64 season, then started the ‘64-65 campaign by burying 60 in a row before missing. He went on to make 102-of-112 (91 percent) his senior season. The Nederland team Johnson played on was good enough to go 9-3 in district, finishing second behind 12-0 Beaumont French. But in those days only the champion advanced to the playoffs. . . . From what I’m told, Dallas Cowboys football coach Wade Phillips wasn’t all that good a basketball player during the years he was PN-G’s quarterback and linebacker in the mid 1960s. But, according to Lamar basketball coach Steve Roccaforte, the Dallas Cowboys head coach gave a rousing pep talk to his Cardinals before their game Wednesday night in Arlington. “It was a helluva talk about focus and taking their effort to another level,” said Roccaforte, who is a first cousin of Wade’s wife, Laurie. Roccaforte said Phillips’ dry sense of humor really came through when he told Wade to ignore point guard Anthony Miles because he liked the Philadelphia Eagles. “Hey, I liked them all three times we played them this year,” Phillips told Miles . Wade, who was Dave Hofferth’s halftime guest on the KLVI’s radio broadcast of the game, also posed for photos with LU players.     

Sad news out of Bryan for folks in Port Neches who remember an overachieving offensive lineman named Jim Bob Helduser who started for Doug Ethridge’s team that went to state semifinals in 1974. Helduser,  the assistant head coach at Bryan High School, died of cancer Friday, one day before his 53rd birthday. Prior to taking the Bryan job, he’d been Dennis Franchione’s offensive line coach at Texas A&M and Alabama and had succeeded Franchione as head coach at was then Southwest Texas State in 1992. Jim Bob was a first class individual who left a lasting impression on me when he and his SWT quarterbacks coach, Craig Stump, made a home recruiting visit to a TJ quarterback named Damon West after the 1993 season. As the lead in Dave Campbell’s Saturday story in the Bryan Eagle said: “Jim Bob Helduser never had to command respect. He just got it.” . . . Bad news for the University of Houston could turn out to be a bonanza for Ray Woodard’s fledgling football program at Lamar. Cougar coach Kevin Sumlin announced last week that he was dismissing Dayton freshman star A.J. Dugat for unspecified team violations A Parade All America wide receiver/defense back, who was also recruited  hard by Texas and Nebraska, Dugat is familiar with Woodard because Lamar made a run at him, even though there was little chance he’d sign with a school that wasn’t fielding a team until 2010. So why would Dugat consider Lamar now? First of all, he could play immediately at a 1-AA school, rather than having to sit out a year at the highest level. Second, he reportedly chose Houston because he wanted to stay close to home. If that thought process has changed, he’ll probably wind up at Nebraska, where his Dayton teammate, Cody Green, is the starting QB. Woodard says he’s aware of the situation but can’t comment until UH officially releases Dugat.

It was no secret that Houston Astros veterans like Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman were not all that enamored of ousted manager Cecil Cooper. That’s why it’s not surprising to hear ringing endorsements of new manager  Brad Mills coming from spring training. Oswalt, in particular, has given a hearty thumbs up and really seems committed to re-establishing himself as one of the National League’s top pitchers. Oswalt, by the way, is one of only three NL pitchers to have authored back-to-back seasons of at least 19 wins in the past decade. The other two —  Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson — have retired . . . It was nice to see Jim Gilligan’s Lamar baseball team beat up on No. 9 ranked Rice last week. With a doubleheader sweep Gilligan, who has been around so long (33 years) he sometimes gets taken for granted, ranks No. 6 in wins (1,147) among active Division 1 coaches. He’s been a long-time treasure for Lamar, and is a good guy to boot. When we put on the recent fund-raising golf tournament for Belle Oaks pro Bryan Jackson, he quickly agreed to play, recruited Larry Dierker and David Clyde, and tried to pull in Kevin Millar and Jay Bruce. If you are a baseball fan, watching Gilligan’s Cardinals play would be time will spent. He’s got Penn State, McNeese State and a very good Dallas Baptist team coming in for the YMBL Cardinal Classic next weekend . . . Astros fans  can’t be too encouraged by pre-season predictions. Most of the ones I’ve seen have Houston No. 5 in the NL Central, ahead of only the always awful Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s hard to be optimistic about a team that got outscored 770-643 last season and lost three significant contributors — shortstop Miguel Tejada, closer Jose Valverde and setup man LaTroy Hawkins .

After putting problems led to another missed cut Friday in the Phoenix Open, Chris Stroud plans to turn to noted sports psychologist Bob Rotella for help this week in Florida. Rotella, who is considered one of the leading performance consultants in America, has written a book titled Putting Like a Genius and has worked with many of the top players on the PGA Tour. Getting with somebody like Rotella was a must for Stroud, who has seen strong tee-to-green efforts sabotaged by struggles on the greens. Enroute to shooting 71-72 in Phoenix, he took 62 putts. That ranked 132nd out of 143 players. As most golfers understand, continued bad putting ultimately breaks down other parts of the game . . . Hard to believe anybody in these parts will get too worked up over the Southeast Texas Mavericks staging their playoff games in Lamar-Port Arthur’s Parker Center. The Mavericks, who are exiting Beaumont’s Ford Park to play in a rodeo arena in Winnie next year, are used to seeing less than 100 in the stands for their games. They play in something called the ABA, which is so robust the league hasn’t updated its official website since Jan. 14, and has seen 17 or 18 of the franchises that started the season either fold or cut back on their schedules. All too often in the ABA, teams advertised as opponents don’t show and replacement teams are rushed in. Meanwhile, Ford Park and Jefferson County taxpayers are stuck with a $63,500 basketball court. Bottom line on this, as with all bush league operations, is let the buyer beware . . . A closing reminder for baseball fans. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. will be speaking at the Parker Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge.

Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net.