Religious Beliefs Put Prep Star On The Pine

Noel West averaged 20 points a game for the Cape Coral Mariner High boys basketball team this season, yet doesn’t fit into the Tritons’ plans for the playoffs.

The decision has nothing to do with his athletic ability. He’s a Seventh-Day Adventist who chooses not to play between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday because of his religious beliefs.

The junior played 24 of 30 games before being told last weekend that his season was over.

Mariner faces St. Petersburg Lakewood in the state Class 5A regional semifinals Friday night.

Coach Frank Morris said West was dismissed because having him in and out of the lineup affected team chemistry and made it difficult to develop a consistent game plan.

“We can’t have him suit up one night and not the next,” said Morris, who is in his first season at Mariner. “We have to have someone ready to play on Friday.”

West sat on the bench in street clothes during Tuesday’s regional victory over Naples Lely, while his sister Lucresia, who also adheres to the same religious beliefs, played in the Mariner girls’ playoff loss to Naples.

“I guess our coaches have different points of view,” West said.