West Side's Armstrong playing for his departed grandfather this winter

GARY | They were like peanut butter and jelly. Laverne & Shirley. Rice and beans. The Captain & Tennille.

Simply inseparable.

West Side senior Rashaad Armstrong spent nearly every day with his grandfather, Bill Upshaw. It was a classic American story. The kind of scene that Norman Rockwell might've painted.

They went to the park. Grandpa taught Armstrong the basics of the game. Dribbling. Shooting. Passing. And in this case, rebounding.

As great as those moments were, it was the talks that still live to this day, which is about a year since Upshaw passed away.

"He taught me to stay humble," Armstrong said. "We were real close."

The 6-foot-5 Armstrong wears No. 33 for the Cougars. That was the hoops number that Upshaw wore when he was a three-sport star at Gary Tolleston.

"That was his number, I wear it for him," Armstrong said. "I heard he was a major rebounder when he played there."

Armstrong is putting up major numbers for West Side. He is averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds a game.

The Cougars upset E.C. Central last week and have won two straight heading into next Thursday's game against Munster.

"We started the season up and down," West Side coach Winston Garland said. "We're young but we're getting better. I feel a lot better right now about where we're headed."

Garland's first season was Armstrong's sophomore year. Garland saw talent but he needed to do some behavior modification.

"Rashaad's sophomore season he would play hard two or three times a quarter," Garland said. "He took a lot of plays off. We gave him constant nagging.

"Now he's playing hard most of the game. He's headed in the right direction."

Armstrong, though, misses seeing Upshaw in the stands this year.

"It was great seeing him before," he said. "I was proud to see him there. After the games he would tell me what I wasn't doing right. I miss that.

"I miss him."

West Side's opening game against Lake Central, there were four Cougars on crutches. It's been that kind of year. But the E.C. game, where Armstrong scored 17 points with 10 rebounds, shined some light on the Cougars.

West Side will host the Class 4A sectional. If the Cougars continue to dial it up, they could be a tough out in March.

"It took us awhile to get to know each other," Armstrong said. "We got the chemistry going. We started playing like a family."

Family is important to this group. Garland credits the turnaround to Armstrong and classmate Regan Atkins. They are the leaders. They have to lead.

"Emotionally our seniors have made this happen," Garland said.