Jalan West and Zeek Woodley are accustomed to coming as a package.

On the Louisiana Roundballers AAU team in high school. As the 1-2 punch for Northwestern State. Even as the top two in the video game ranks on the team, according to West.

“We’re just like one of a kind,” Woodley said. “We’re like the same people.”

Despite the differences in height, age and position, West and Woodley’s chemistry off the court lends itself to success on it.

The junior point guard West leads the country with 7.6 assists per game, and the sophomore forward Woodley is third in the nation with 22.3 points per contest.

West, who averages 17.4 points per game as well, considers himself the distributor while Woodley handles more of the scoring, but head coach Mike McConathy said their roles are interchangeable. Regardless of which title each assumes, though, West and Woodley are spearheading the Demons’ (7-7, 2-1 Southland) push to keep pace with conference powerhouse Stephen F. Austin while ranking among the nation’s elite in their respective statistical categories.

“They could’ve played anywhere in the country,” McConathy said. “They are two of the best players that I’ve ever been fortunate enough to coach that compliment each other, but also compliment all the players around them on the team.”

When Woodley first came to Northwestern State, it was the then-sophomore West who took him under his wing since the seniors didn’t, Woodley said.

The two had known each other for a couple years, both coming from local Louisiana high schools, and they combined for more than 33 points and almost nine rebounds per game in their first year as a collegiate 1-2 combo.

This year, though, they’ve taken those numbers to another level yet still don’t get much recognition on the national spectrum. McConathy even said the duo’s defensive prowess, specifically Woodley’s ability to hard-hitch a ball screen and West’s to keep a ball-handler in front of him, are traits of theirs that go relatively unnoticed.

“Being under the radar is good when we play the high major teams because they can’t prepare for us,” West said. “During the game they’re trying to find a way to stop us but by the time (they do), it’d be too late.”

In the Demons’ most recent game against conference foe Incarnate Word, West and Woodley combined for 61 points on over 56 percent shooting from the field in a 103-101 win.

It’s that offensive output that McConathy has become used to, almost to the point where he doesn’t even have to diagram a set play when in need of a score.

“It’s not a deal where they’re just dribbling around for 10 seconds trying to figure out what they’re going to do,” McConathy said. “I think that they’re great at taking what our offense gives them to just go create and make buckets.”

The two will play one-on-one in the gym alone, joke around about anything and just “hang out.” Most of the time, though, they just play NBA 2K15 and NBA Live. Woodley says he wins all the time. West says Woodley “doesn’t suck,” but confidently put himself first in the rankings ahead of him.

And whether it’s in a video game setting or a real-life one, competition and cohesion are abundant with the pair whose roots are now paying major dividends on the hardwood.

“Once you get chemistry with a player, it grows,” West said. “They can be unstoppable and a dynamic force. That’s what me and Zeek got going on right now.”

Published on January 13, 2015 at 12:07 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman