Calm, yet determined.

A proficient shooter, yet a tough defender.

North Callaway senior Sam Pezold can be described in many ways as a basketball player but can be simply referred to as the Thunderbirds’ all-time leading scorer. Before the North Callaway were eliminated in the districts semifinals, Pezold cemented his all-time scoring record at 1,395 points while also owning the single-season steals record at 95 this season, the all-time steals record at 253 and a tie for the all-time 3-pointer record at 209.

The 3-pointer record is shared with the program’s previous all-time leading scorer and Pezold’s former teammate Matthew Weber, who set the record a year before Pezold emerged on top of the leaderboard. 

“It's just an amazing accomplishment of what he did in four years of varsity basketball,” head coach Matt Miller said. “In the last four years, we played 107 varsity basketball games, and Sam played 106 of them. Everything has improved. His scoring has improved every single season, but then his overall basketball — his IQ, his rebounding and his defense.”

The one game Pezold missed was the opening round of districts last season against New Bloomfield.

“He was sick against New Bloomfield,” Miller said. “He wanted to play, and I wouldn’t let him.”

Miller said the recent history of North Callaway basketball is certainly notable with two players setting the all-time scoring record, along with other records, the past two seasons. Pezold, obviously, garners attention because of his scoring, but Miller is amazed how much Pezold has improved. For example, he remembers telling Pezold to play better defense his sophomore year and then he eventually set the all-time steals record.

As a freshman, Miller said Pezold had the “talent, attitude and effort” that usually earns a player a varsity spot, and Pezold only needed one half of a junior varsity game to remain with varsity the rest of the season. He started as a “deadly spot-up shooter” but became a huge threat to score in multiple ways from anywhere. In the regular season finale at Bowling Green, Pezold officially became the record holder halfway through the first quarter on a pull-up midrange jumper.

“It was a big weight off my shoulders,” Pezold said. “I just felt satisfied and fulfilled because all of the hard work just paid off.”

For a moment, Pezold admitted his concentration was compromised once he realized what he just did from all of the loud cheers in the audience. The Thunderbirds wanted to press Bowling Green on defense, and Pezold joined back in their defensive formation after taking a moment in his mind to appreciate it.

“Everybody got really loud,” Pezold said. “I didn’t even press. I just ran back to the other end, hooping and hollering and yelling with my teammates because they were excited for me too.”

In that victory, Pezold went on to have 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for his eighth game this season of at least 20 points. There were only five games this season where Pezold didn’t finish scoring in double figures.

Pezold was named a unanimous first-team all-Eastern Missouri Conference player after finishing with career-highs of 16.4 points per game, 64 3-pointers and 95 steals. Scoring seems to come easy for Pezold, and for him, that doesn’t start on the court.

“My mindset on scoring is it will come to you,” Pezold said. “The more you try to force it, the less you’re going to score. You’ve got to just take what the game gives you, and sometimes, that’s two or three points and sometimes it’s 25.”

There is a difference between creating opportunities and trying to force offense to happen, Pezold said, as it largely depends on what the defense is doing. He said having confidence obviously applies to taking shots but also when a player is struggling and can’t knock down shots. A player should know that the scoring slump is temporary.

His initial role as a spot-up shooter helped give him confidence early since Pezold, as a freshman, remembers playing with point guard Cody Cash. Whenever Pezold was open, Cash would find him and usually knock down the shots and increase his confidence. Over time, Pezold has learned to affect the game in other areas while he irons out his scoring.

“I went through a slump this year and probably every year too,” Pezold said. “I know I’ve made thousands of shots, and I made over a thousand points so I know I can do it. That’s the confidence I needed to have. I still have to be contributing and putting myself in the best position to win, and other people can score and are basketball players too.”

The team aspect of basketball is Pezold’s favorite part of the sport. Winning a district title last season is still his favorite memory and accomplishment of his career despite all of the individual accolades and accomplishments for him this season. That is what has kept him on the court since he was five or six years old playing in YMCA leagues.

From there, Pezold said he played in grade and middle school at St. Peter Catholic School in Fulton, where his fundamentals and shot started to develop.

“Individuals can stand out like in any other sport, but if the five guys on the floor are all on the same page and when everything finally comes together with the team, that’s why I kept playing,” Pezold said. “Basketball is a long season that is hard on the mind and hard on the body. Those moments with my best friends (like the district title), that’s why I kept playing.”

When it comes to scouting reports, Miller said Pezold definitely stands out as the defenses the Thunderbirds have seen over the years, and especially this season, pay a lot of attention to Pezold. It isn’t difficult to see why Miller is, if he said he had the uneviable task of being on the other side and defending against Pezold, he would employ the same strategy.

Miller said Pezold can’t be given any breathing room. The problem is Pezold can score in multiple ways, adding in a 78 percent season mark and 75 percent career mark at the free-throw line, but doesn’t let intrusive defense affect him mentally.

“He definitely would be at the top of the scouting report,” Miller said. “What makes him awesome is really two things, one is he doesn’t get frustrated by the defense he is facing or by guys being in his face all the time and two is he moves great without the ball. Early in the year, some team came out and played a diamond and 1 on us, and he was scoring like the defense didn’t even matter.”

Pezold will miss his teammates and the “honest” and close relationship he has with Miller, but Miller said Pezold will be missed just as much because of the valuable leadership that will be hard to replace. That quality of Pezold leaves as indelible a mark as his name on the school record boards.

“All of my teammates throughout my career have been really supportive,” Pezold said. “The coaching staff, especially coach Miller, our relationship isn’t your typical coach and player relationship. We both have a lot of respect for each other. My family — my mom, my grandma and my grandpa especially — have supported me for years and my whole life and never doubted me.”