NATCHEZ — The two of them, coach and player, helped lead Cathedral to one of the best seasons in school history.

So it’s no surprise that Green Wave coach Peter Arnold and point guard Juan Gray are the 2008 All-Metro Coach and Player of the Year.

Arnold, Cathedral’s fourth-year coach, led the Wave to a 26-6 record and an appearance in the South State Tournament.

The 26 wins is the most in school history and the South State Tournament appearance was the first in recent memory.

The catalyst for the Wave on the floor was Gray, who averaged 25.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game.

“This was a real fun year for me because I had more responsibility than I used to have,” Gray said. “I had to step my game up and help my team do better.”

Gray was the focal point of the offense, having the ball in his hands most of the time, either shooting it or passing to an open teammate if the defense collapsed on him.

“On offense, we ran everything through Juan,” Arnold said. “We forced the other team to run gimmick defenses to stop him and they still couldn’t. That causes so much strain on a defense that it creates opportunities for others.

“We’ve got to use our best players to our advantage and Juan would come through time after time. Even on a bad night he would score 18 points.”

Gray, who said he plans to play basketball collegiatly at Tougaloo College in Jackson, gave credit to his teammates for helping him out on the court by doing the little things, such as setting screens.

“They played a big role,” Gray said. “If I had the ball, I knew I could give it to someone who knew what to do with it. It didn’t matter who scored the most or who took the most shots, we just wanted to win.”

And win the Green Wave did, thanks not only to Gray’s offense but a smothering defense and a team commitment instilled by Arnold.

“There’s the old saying that offense sells tickets but defense wins games,” Arnold said. “We talked all year about team defense without fouling and rebounding the ball. That’s the reason we had so much success. We had five guys on the floor at all times totally committed to defense.”

The high point of that commitment came in the Region 8-1A Tournament championship game against West Lincoln.

The Wave swarmed around the ball all night and held the regular season region champions to just 25 points in a 51-25 win.

“To me, that was the most gratifying game we’ve had as a team,” Arnold said. “To not only win the district championship, but to do it in the way we did it, playing team defense was outstanding. To hold a team like West Lincoln to 25 points is incredible. That was the pinnacle of our season right there.”

Not only did Arnold get his team to play solid defense, he also was able to get every player on the team to adapt to a role without any jealousy against Gray, who was taking most of the shots.

“We were a very close-knit group,” Arnold said. “Six of the players are seniors who have been here four years. They really cared about each other and getting better as a team. There was no jealousy with Juan. The only thing that mattered was what we did as a team.”

Arnold was obviously touched by his honor, but said the team deserved the credit for the outstanding season.

“It is a privilege to coach and when you are even nominated for a coaching honor it’s a special recognition for the success the team had,” Arnold said. “I don’t know if I’m deserving, but the team played well enough and earned the award.

“This award means more to me than anyone will ever know because of the success this team had. This is a season to remember at Cathedral.”