MAKING HIS OWN CHOICE RELIGION ALWAYS CAME FIRST FOR SOLAN WOODEN: IT STILL

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992                   TAG: 9202130409
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-14   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long
MAKING HIS OWN CHOICE RELIGION ALWAYS CAME FIRST FOR SOLAN WOODEN: IT STILL
BUCHANAN - John Shotwell, the dean of Pioneer District boys' basketball coaches, says Solan Wooden would have been the best player he's ever coached - if Wooden would have played four years under him.
That's putting Wooden, a 6-foot-2 senior, in some fast company. Wooden would be better than E.D. Schechterly, Maurice Davenport, his cousin Dana Waldron and many others who have made the Knights the dominant Pioneer District basketball program the past 20 years.
Until this season, though, Wooden sat on the sidelines because of his religion. Wooden's family worships with Jehovah's Witnesses, and Wooden's father, Donald, thought his son shouldn't play basketball.
Donald Wooden's reason for not letting his son play was over Wooden's spiritual life. "You're concerned about devoting his time to his spiritual life. School takes up enough of his time, when you add basketball, that takes up more time," said the father.
Wooden wanted to play basketball since the third grade. His family always decided against it, including last year when he was a junior and nearly came out for the James River basketball team for the first time.
"My dad made the decision. He felt that my playing would take away from being a Jehovah's Witness."
Donald Wooden played basketball for William Fleming in the 1960s, so he knows about the feelings of athletes. He became a Jehovah's Witness in 1976.
He recalls naming Solan after Solum Helms, a basketball player at old Lucy Addison High School. "His name was misspelled at the hospital and we left it that way," Donald Wooden said.
Wooden turned 18 this year, and his father decided he was old enough to make his own choice.
"I decided I was going to play. I don't think my father's for it, but he's going along with it," said Wooden, who is a forward for the Knights. "Last year he was going to let me play and then decided against it. That was disappointing because I've been looking forward to playing since I was in elementary school."
The family discussed the matter. One of the drawbacks was that high school basketball games are played on Tuesday night, which is one of the three times a week the Wooden's congregation holds meetings.
"I'm his friend regardless of what he does," said Donald Wooden. "There were some heated moments when he first started to play, but I realized that wouldn't be for the best overall.
"It was hard for other people to understand [about Wooden not playing]. The point of the scriptures is that it tells us to put the kingdom of God first. So many other people put other things first."
"The way my parents felt," the younger Wooden said, "there was no sense in having a distraction from my religion if I can help it."
The decision was traumatic for his father. "I didn't want to see him play," Donald Wooden said. "When I came in from work, I wanted to see him here, but he wasn't. It took me a while to get used to that, but we're still friends. We want him to stay close to his family. The family circle is where you get your support.
"I support him as my son as I always had. As far as playing ball, I have the same feelings I've had since he was in third grade."
Solan says his playing has not affected his relationship with members of his congregation . "They've talked to me about it, and they haven't stressed whether to play, but to remember who I am and what I stand for. I haven't felt guilty because it's something I've wanted to do for a long time."
He is averaging 13.9 points a game for the Knights. Wooden sprained his ankle in early January and sat out two games. Since returning, the Knights have won six straight games to stay in contention for second place in the Pioneer District.
The ankle injury didn't help in Wooden's development. At first, Shotwell feared his leading scorer had broken it. "I felt it would be OK. It wasn't as sore as I thought it would be," Wooden said. "But I was leery of playing [again because of the injury], but it wasn't a question of whether I thought I should play. I wasn't second-guessing myself."
His father added: "It was depressing when he got injured. We were concerned. Some of the things we had talked about were injuries."
Wooden's success is even more amazing considering his first contact with organized basketball came last summer when he joined his teammates at camp in High Point, N.C.
"I didn't feel like I was behind [when the season started] because I had gone to camp with the team. I knew how to play. It took me a while to learn the plays while the other players had run them for two-three years," said Wooden.
"He had so much ability, but the fundamentals were weak," said Shotwell, who started talking about Wooden after the Knights lost in the 1990 Group A finals to Fluvanna.
"He played 17 games at High Point, and we were surprised he played so well. Even now, he still gets mixed up sometimes. But he's picked up the offense a lot better than I thought he would."
Wooden's goals are what you would expect of a good player. He says he'd like to make all district, but more importantly wants the team to do well in the postseason.
But, Wooden makes this point: "I'm very devoted to my religion. Nothing has changed since I started to play basketball."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB