Clearwater Patch Athlete of the Week

With his team on the verge of capturing another district title, Clearwater senior guard/forward Joey Nungester is playing some of his best basketball.

The versatile 6' 3" swingman, averages 16 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds a game this season. He had a pair of big games this past week as the Tornadoes advanced to the district final.

With leading scorer Jon Hogan sidelined with an elbow injury, Nungester scored a team-high 18 points. He was close to leading his team to a comeback win in Clearwater’s 56-55 loss to Boca Ciega in the PCAC championship game last Saturday night.

But whenever his team needs a lift, Nungester is just as content to play the role of distributor as well as scorer.

“I just want to do anything I can to win,” Nungester said after Wednesday night’s 66-43 victory over East Lake in the 5A district semifinals. “I’d like to try to get 10 assists every game.”

He finished the game with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

“Joey’s good enough to go in there and get rebounds, he’s athletic enough to do other things, and he’s a pretty good passer,” Clearwater coach Allen Carden said after the game against East Lake. “If he doesn’t score, he can do a lot of other things.”

Most likely he’ll have to use his versatility to help his team go deep in the postseason. Which suits him just fine.

Asked whether he’d rather have 10 assist or 20 points in a game, he replied:

“Both would be nice.”