The spectacular manner in which Kael Combs has vaulted his game in his first go-around as a point guard this season can't help but make one wonder if that's where he could have been sooner.
Colin Ruffin established himself as a very consistent, sure-handed and winning point guard for two-plus seasons for Nixa from 2019-2022. He helped the Eagles to a Class 6 state runner-up finish and was All-State his senior year.
All that duly noted, point guard has brought about the best in Combs and that arguably is better than anyone else in the state.
Coach Brock Blansit feels if Combs had been at point guard last season, Nixa would have been just as successful
"Kael could have run the point last year and Colin could have been at shooting guard," Blansit said. "It would have been fine either way."
Combs was content to be a swingman the past three seasons, while averaging 15.5 points as a junior, 13.6 as sophomore and 7.7 as a freshman. He played alongside more star-studded teammates the past two seasons than this winter.
'I knew my role my freshman, sophomore and junior years and did whatever coach told me to do," he said.
As a senior, Combs is averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists a game. His assists to turnover ratio is off the charts at 4-to-1 for a point guard who is also a rapid-fire playmaker.
He surely has raised his stock in the eyes of college coaches, who now have every reason to project him as a point guard at the next level.
Combs' legend at Nixa has grown, as well. He has carried the Eagles to an 18-0 record entering this week's trio of home games versus Neosho on Tuesday, Kickapoo on Wednesday and Joplin on Friday.
Considering Combs' current drawing power, the date with Kickapoo may easily attract a legit packed house. There's your warning, sports fans.
Over the weekend, Combs nailed a game-winning jumper with :0.3 remaining to beat Troy 66-64 in the championship game of the Nixa Invitational Tournament. He tied things up at 63 on a running jumper with :15 left.
He exploded for 46 points against New Madrid County Central in the semifinal round. It ranks second on the Eagles' all-time single-game scoring chart.
He totaled 94 points in the Eagles' three NIT games.
"I knew we would have some good things with him running the point," Blansit said. "Honestly, though, I couldn't have predicted how the season has gone so far.
"The biggest thing I try not to do is overcoach," he added. "Sometimes I want to do different things. But when Kael's making plays, you've got to just let him go."
It's more ironic than anything else that Blansit's decision last summer to make a point guard out of Combs came on the heels of perhaps his poorest game as a ball-handler. He had seven turnovers against Christian Brothers College's stout defensive pressure in the Class 6 state championship game.
Combs had proven himself long ago as a capable ball-handler, even as a swingman. He showed no hesitation toward the move to the point when Blansit broached the subject with him.
"We played in the summer with him running the point and after the third or fourth game, I asked him, 'How do you like it?' He smiled and said, 'I love it,'" Blansit said.
Combs relates his confidence about playing the point stemmed from the positive vibes concerning the move he sensed around him.
"I definitely felt good coming into this season bringing the ball up the court," he said. "I was extremely confident because my coach was extremely confident in me and my teammates were extremely confident in me. We knew basically our game plan was I was going to get the ball, push it and try to get it to our shooters. We had a plan coming into the year and it's been successful so far."
