Big ’Dogs Lead Way

Seniors Give Fayetteville Big Size Advantage

Tyler McCullough, left, Fayetteville senior post, and senior forward Caleb Waitsman apply pressure Jan. 25 on Bentonville freshman guard Tyrik Dixon at Fayetteville High.
Tyler McCullough, left, Fayetteville senior post, and senior forward Caleb Waitsman apply pressure Jan. 25 on Bentonville freshman guard Tyrik Dixon at Fayetteville High.

— Tyler McCullough and Caleb Waitsman have always been the two tallest kids on the basketball court.

As second graders, the two Fayetteville youngsters teamed up for the first time. As point guards.

“We could handle the ball best of anyone else on the team at that age, I would say,” Waitsman said. “But we’ve always been the two tallest guys, absolutely.”

Waitsman and McCullough’s time out on the perimeter didn’t last long. Growing up alongside one another throughout grade school, in summer ball and eventually at Woodland Junior High, the two teens became the Twin Towers of Fayetteville basketball.

Class 7A Tournament

at Fayetteville

BOYS

Wednesday’s Games

GAME 1: C4 Conway vs. W5 Van Buren, 2:30 p.m.

GAME 2: W3 Bentonville vs. C6 Little Rock Central, 5:30 p.m.

GAME 3: W4 Bryant vs. C5 Cabot, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

GAME 4: C3 West Memphis vs. W6 Rogers High, 2:30 p.m.

GAME 5: W1 Fayetteville vs. Winner Game 1, 5:30 p.m.

GAME 6: C2 Fort Smith Northside vs. Winner Game 2, 8:30 p.m.

Friday’s Games

GAME 7: C1 North Little Rock vs. Winner Game 3, 5:30 p.m.

GAME 8: W2 Springdale High vs. Winner Game 4, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

GAME 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 1:30 p.m.

GAME 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.

Championship

at Barton Coliseum, Little Rock

GAME 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, date and time TBA

And today, the 6-foot-10 McCullough and 6-8 Waitsman will begin one final journey together, leading Fayetteville High into the Class 7A State Tournament at Bulldog Arena.

“This is our final push,” McCullough said. “We didn’t get the job done last year and that really hurt, so I don’t see how we could possibly let ourselves do that again.”

While the two senior post men stand out with their overwhelming size, their basketball games aren’t exactly identical. Waitsman — a rebounding, ball of energy who averages eight points and seven rebounds— possesses speed and can move out away from the basket. And McCullough, who averages 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks with his long wingspan and nice touch, is a difficult matchup for opponents close the basket on both sides of the court.

“With us two, we’re both big guys but we have strengths on different areas of the court,” Waitsman said. “We can guard different people. We present different things offensively. So for two guys to have that many different talents, it’s a good deal to have against the other teams.”

Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams believes his two big men have learned over time to play well off of one another. Despite being on the court alongside each other for some time, the chemistry didn’t come overnight.

“It’s actually gotten better and better since they’ve come along,” Adams said. “It wasn’t always easy but they’ve been playing together for a long time and they understand each other’s strengths.”

The Bulldogs have every intention of making a run to a possible state championship this postseason. After finishing as state runner-up during Waitsman and McCullough’s junior season, the goal is simply to send these two Twin Towers and the other Bulldogs seniors out on top.

“In this tournament we need to use the height advantage that we’ve got, because we’re going to have the height advantage on a lot of teams coming up from the Central conference,” Waitsman said. “So if we can use our height advantage against their speed, it will be a big factor.”

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