WEST FORK -- Cody Roebke has become a go-to player in the paint for West Fork this season.
The 6-foot-4 junior and the Tigers have made adjustments throughout this season, which helped West Fork earn the 3A-1 West conference title on Tuesday.
Cody Roebke
School: West Fork
Class: Junior
Height: 6-4
Weight: 240
Notable: Leads team in scoring (15) and rebounding (8). … Earned all-conference honors as a two-way starter for the West Fork football, which also won a 3A-1 district title. … Finished with 71 tackles (33 solos), five tackles for loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery. … He also scored a 31 on the ACT and carries a 4.0 grade-point-average on a weighted scale.
Roebke scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Tigers' 51-45 win over Haas Hall to clinch the regular-season crown. He did so despite being a focal point for the Mastiffs' defense.
Haas Hall utilized a matchup zone to keep the ball out of Roebke's hands, but he has learned to work with his guards and more specifically his cousin, Ryan Roebke, to make teams pay for double-teaming him
It showed up at a key moment in Tuesday's game against Haas Hall. Cody muscled inside for a stickback to pull the Tigers within 39-38 with less than three minutes left. After a Haas Hall turnover, West Fork worked the ball in to Roebke on the block, but the Mastiffs collapsed two defenders on him.
He fired a bounce pass to Ryan in the corner, who drilled a 3-pointer to give West Fork the 41-39 lead it would not relinquish.
Roebke and West Fork coach Cody Vaught said that chemistry didn't come overnight. The 240-pounder was a standout and two-way starter on the offensive and defensive line for the Tigers football team, which also won a district title.
"He was a little rusty coming out of football," Vaught said. "He hadn't picked up a basketball much, so he did have a slow start.
Roebke started to blossom in late December with a few games under his belt. A big key was Roebke becoming more proficient with his left hand, Vaught said.
"Teams started noticing he would go right every time," Vaught said. "But he's gotten much better with his left hand, and it's really changed his game because teams don't know which way he's going to go.
Roebke said dealing with his third coach in three years and a change in system had an effect on him early in the season, but the team has come together well. He spends time in the summer working on academics, too, and is involved with the Upward Bound program, designed to help prepare him for college.
He also excels in the classroom, carrying a 4.0 grade-point average on a weighted system and scored a 31 on the ACT.
That made it impossible for him to be with the team during summer camp, which also slowed his acclimation to the new coach. Roebke endured a similar acclimation process a year ago as a sophomore but worked his way into the starting lineup by the end of the season.
Another change this year meant more adaptation. However, Vaught's system was built around his two 6-foot-4 junior post players, Roebke and Harrison Johnson.
Even that took time since the previous coach ran an offense that was more guard oriented.
"Oh yeah, the guards would just shoot it at first and not look inside," Roebke said.
Even Vaught agreed.
"We took more outside shots than I wanted us to early, but the kids have completely bought in now. When you win, it opens the kids' eyes a lot faster."
The Tigers (16-8, 9-2 3A-1 West) reached the state tournament a year ago, and Roebke likes their chances to get there again, if they continue to play together like they have recently.
"The more games we play, the better we get," Roebke said. "We are working together as a team now, and it's a lot better."
Sports on 02/12/2015