There’s something fitting about Oscar Banuelos and his lifelong interest in construction management.
As the point guard for North Medford’s boys basketball team, the 18-year-old Banuelos is responsible for building something from scratch each time he steps on the floor.
And, for the most part, the senior floor leader seems to create something special each time out for North Medford (13-2), ranked 10th in the Class 6A coaches poll and tied atop the Southwest Conference standings.
“He’s our motor and a highly competitive individual,” says North Medford head coach Scott Plankenhorn.
“When he plays well, we’re a handful,” adds the coach. “I know that’s a lot of pressure on kids but obviously he has that ability that when he’s playing well we are just a handful on the offensive end. And when he’s playing well on both ends, we’re a pretty highly competitive basketball team.”
The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Banuelos does it all for the Black Tornado as a valuable complement to 6-2 senior standout Kaison Faust, who leads the team in just about every category.
While Faust is averaging an eye-popping 25.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game, Banuelos has been right alongside him averaging 12.0 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Banuelos also has been the team’s top 3-point shooter, going 24-for-66 from beyond the arc (36 percent), to complement his mid-range game.
“Kaison’s obviously one of the best in the conference so having him on my team just feeds energy into all of us,” says Banuelos. “I can see that going into something very big for us if we all just play our part.”
At first glance, even Banuelos concedes he can often be overlooked when it comes to gametime. He’s not the flashiest of players, and there aren’t many on the court that he doesn’t have to look up at.
Banuelos can only laugh at such an oversight.
“I always like being the underdog,” he says. “I like showing people what I can do and I feel like I’ve done that so far.”
His coaches and teammates certainly know what they have in Banuelos, and they wouldn’t trade having him on the squad for anyone.
“He really is as tough as nails and has a huge heart for the game of basketball,” says Plankenhorn, “and he brings that every day. If we play one-on-one and put him against Kaison, he’s going to compete and battle and do whatever he can to win.”
“That’s the hard part because obviously playing next to a guy throwing outrageous numbers out there does put a shadow on a lot of guys that aren’t getting credit for what they’re doing,” adds Plankenhorn on outsiders focusing solely on Faust. “We have quite a few guys that are doing some great things that only the coaches really notice because it’s not all just about the boxscore, and we wouldn’t be where we are without them. We’re not going to win with one guy and these guys all know it.”
Among his duties, it’s also no surprise to see Banuelos often guarding the top perimeter players from the opposing team, regardless of how he matches up height-wise.
“He’s willing to do the tough things and has done a great job for us in whatever we ask him to do,” says Plankenhorn. “He wants to the best and that’s a great thing.”
That tenacity and work ethic have been instrumental in Banuelos’ tremendous development as a player. He initially started playing basketball for a team in seventh grade at Hedrick Middle School, and there wasn’t much of a sign to him or anyone else the level he might one day achieve as a player.
“My seventh grade year I wouldn’t say I was really that good,” laughs Banuelos. “I could barely make a layup back then, so being where I’m at now is always a good feeling.”
Helping North Medford take the next step and hopefully gain another trip to the 6A state tournament would be even better for Banuelos, who earned his first starting nod there in Portland last year.
“A goal I set for myself was just to bring my team to the level I know they can be at,” he says. “Our ceiling is high and we haven’t even reached it yet, and I’m looking forward to breaking that barrier.”
Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, khenry@mailtribune.com, www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry