Jordan tops my individual list
Coach Driggs wins COY
After the top three teams, I really feel like each team has one or two top-15 players. These teams dropped in the standings because they did not have the overall depth; however, many of them had some all-league talent leading the way.
With coach of the year, I go with Cyndy Driggs. I realize she was loaded this season, but I give her credit for how her team played together. It isn’t always easy to get high school kids willing to give up individual stats to accomplish the great team things that they have accomplished (and still are going to accomplish in the postseason). Plus, no team really finished much higher or lower than I expected entering the season.
My POY is Ashley Jordan of Adena. After a slow start she really carried this team. I will not argue with a person who says that Shiann Ray is the most talented basketball player in the league, but Unioto’s overall top four players have more to do with where they finished That is why I have those four owning half of my top eight spots.
I also felt like Heather Burns of Piketon had to be on the first-team. Piketon had various times where some of her key supporting cast members were out, and she proved to be a great scorer who could carry her team.
Unless you believe Unioto deserved three on first-team (and I did think about it), probably the biggest first-team snub is Paint Valley’s Tristan Rumfield. The senior averaged a league-best 10.4 rebounds and was a top-10 scorer as well. In the end, I gave the nod to Jess Roepke because her overall numbers were comparable, and she played on an 11-3 team – a team that does not have another player on my list.
Bridgette Neighbors of Huntington and Holly Brabson of Piketon take two spots on my second-team. Neighbors averaged double-figures on a team that played an extremely slow tempo, and she is one of the league’s great defenders and competitors. Brabson is averaging close to a double-double posting a league’s third-best rebounding total.
With the third-team, I think the theme with these players is many of them have had great seasons, but they have all flown under the radar so to speak. Abbie Walls of Paint Valley has had a solid year. The sophomore averaged 10 points per contest, and Westfall’s Makenzie Wippel has had a consistent season averaging 11 points and eight rebounds per game. Catherine Dresbach of Southeastern averaged a league’s fourth-best 12.1 point per game, and Madison Vickers of Huntington has been a top-10 scorer and rebounder throughout most of the season.
My final spot brings me back to my Zane Trace and Adena situation. I went with Brytan Givens from Adena. I have been through enough SVC voting procedures to know that there is no way Adena and Zane Trace – both at 11-3 and tied for second-place – will not get a second player in the official voting, but in my opinion (for this article), they are both where they are at because of great play from their star and incredible depth of athletes. For ZT, after Roepke the Lady Pioneers have five players averaging between five and nine points.
Individually, teams like Huntington, Piketon, and Paint Valley matched up fairly well with Adena and Zane Trace in terms of their top two or three players, but where Zane Trace and Adena found a way to avoid some really close calls came from their ability to get contributions from so many different people. They were able to survive injuries, foul trouble, and other adversities that the middle-of-the-pack teams could not overcome. This is why I say ZT and Adena could have many honorable mention selections. In the old voting style, I could see three, maybe even four, players from both teams earning this honor.
As for other selections, Paint Valley's Erica Barker has had a solid career and a good senior season. I also think Mika Bowles from Huntington is worthy of mention, and Piketon's Alex Southworth is one of the league's best young players. I also have to give Unioto's fifth starter, Taylor Corcoran, some mention with her giving so many "little things" to an unbeaten team.
Shiann Ray, Unioto
Mackenzie Arledge, Unioto
Heather Burns, Piketon
Jess Roepke, Zane Trace
Janae Driggs, Unioto
Chloe Cottrell, Unioto
Bridgette Neighbors, Huntington
Holly Brabson, Piketon
Makenzie Wippel, Westfall
Catherine Dresbach, SE
Madison Vickers, Huntington
Brytan Givens, Adena
Mika Bowles, Huntington
Erica Barker, Paint Valley
Alex Southworth, Piketon
Taylor Corcoran, Unioto
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