(Players listed by team)
Cody Hall, sr., G-MU, 6-foot-3
The second leading scorer in the area at 19.8 points per game, Hall led the Raiders in nearly every important offensive and defensive category, and was a first team All-Tri-Valley League selection. He made an immediate impact from his freshman season, said head coach Cody Hall, and blossomed over the next three seasons. He scored over 800 points from his sophomore through senior seasons, and highlighted his final season with a pair of 30-plus point nights. “ I honestly believe he was the most versatile player I watched all year, and I had an opportunity to watch some special kids,” said Raiders coach Bill Hartman. Hall led G-MU in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals, deflections, he managed the press, and routinely defended the other team’s best player. “Throughout his last two years, he had moments of unselfishness, singular athleticism, and always quiet leadership,” Hartman said. Hall had 20 or more points 10 times scoring a career-high 33 points against Franklin.
Dan Carlin, sr., Greene, 6-foot-2
Carlin is the type of player who does all the little things, and they add up to one big thing. In Carlin’s case, that big that was his varied and important contributions on offense and defense. He was second on the team in scoring at 12 points a game, but was also among the team leaders in just about everything else. “He does everything you need, and we got some key defensive games from him as well,” said Greene coach Jeff Paske. “He started to do some things that he hadn’t done in the past, and he kind of set the tone for our team taking a charge at the beginning of the year.” Carlin was in double figures 14 times this season to lead the Trojans, and was almost a sure bet to score 10 to 15 points night in and night out. “He was our most consistent offensive player, and he’s one of those typical three-sport athletes,” Paske said. “He’s good at everything he plays, and he probably would be good in a couple other sports.”
Scott Gorton, jr., Greene, 5-foot-11
Gorton was the embodiment of a streaky, dangerous offensive weapon. The final game of the year against Sidney, everything came together for the junior guard. On his way to a career-high 36-point game, Gorton nailed six three-pointers, and finished the season with 48 treys to give him well over 80 three balls for his career. “I liked what I saw from Scott the last game,” said Greene mentor Jeff Paske. “He let the game come to him, and I hope it’s a good sign for the future.” Every few games, Gorton would mix in a red-hot shooting night around his usual 13.3 points-per-game average. He canned five threes and scored 27 against Afton, and in early February, found a home for seven three balls scoring 27 in a tight victory over Unadilla Valley. “We ask him to take on a lot for us,” Paske said. “He had to handle the ball and push the ball up the floor, but he also had to be one of our scorers night in and night out. He understands the game as a coach’s son, and he knows our game plans to a tee.”
Tim Clark, sr., Norwich, 5-foot-9
About the only thing Clark didn’t do in abundance for the Tornado was shoot the ball. As a prototypical, unselfish point guard, Clark’s presumption of pass first, shoot later definitely paid off for Norwich. “With as many weapons as we had this year, Timmy was a distributor, and at times a scorer,” said Norwich coach Mark Abbott. “But he didn’t care about scoring, just winning.” Clark did just about everything possible to ensure Norwich’s success on the floor. He had a 3.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio finishing with 161 assists and just 51 turnovers. He set a new free throw percentage record under Abbott at 84.5, shot the ball at a high percentage, and drew a team-record 16 defensive charges. Not just that, he averaged close to four rebounds and three steals a game, the latter category also leading Norwich. “If you look at player in terms of physical and mental toughness, Timmy is second to none,” Abbott said. The number nine ranked student academically in his class, Clark not only was a STAC all-division player, but also and New York State Scholar-Athlete, a NYS All-Academic Team member, and NYS Academic All-Star. “Timmy is one of those guys you don’t replace, you just hope a couple of guys bring to the table what Timmy brought,” Abbott said.
Vaughn Labor, sr., Norwich, 6-foot-5
A three-year player for Norwich, Labor grew by leaps and bounds each successive year as a member of the Tornado varsity club. He was second in scoring at 11.3 points per game, was first in field goal percentage at 51 percent, led in rebounding at 8.5 per game, and improved his free throw shooting to 69 percent, a marked improvement over last year. “Vaughn is that rare combination of not only leading by example, but also leading with his words,” Abbott said. “Effort-wise, he was consistent throughout his three years, but in terms of confidence and being a leader, watching him grow was incredible. He went from shy and reserved, to without question, the most vocal team leader on any team we saw this year.” Labor was Norwich’s number one inside threat, but seldom did teams allow Labor much room to operate. When they did; however, it was lights out as Elmira Southside learned in the Section IV, Class A title game. “Vaughn put in a lot of time to broaden the aspects of his game, and he was one of the top two or three post players in our league,” Abbott said.
