The Evening Sun will produce its “first team” basketball all-stars in an edition later this week. Today, we present our 2009-2010 second-team and honorable mention selections for boys and girls:
Boys
Casey Edwards, sr., 5-foot-9, Norwich
Edwards did a little bit of everything for Norwich, and was a perfect complement to Norwich’s dribble-drive offense that often times spotlighted good outside shooting – an Edwards specialty. He was third on the prolific Tornado offense in scoring, chipped in decent rebounding and steal numbers, and he turned it over less than one time a game and had nearly a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He canned 23 three balls at nearly a 40 percent rate, and above all, is one of the brightest kids around with the number five ranking in his senior class. Edwards was consistently in the double figures scoring range, and had a high of 15 points in a blowout win over Windsor.
Justin Pepper, sr., 6-foot-3, Bainbridge-Guilford
Pepper was a dual threat on offense for the Bobcats. A bulky 6-foot-3 forward, Pepper was equally adept at the power inside game as he was stroking three-pointers. He led B-G in scoring at 12.8 points per game, was a second team MAC Division II player, and had multiple double-doubles. He reached a season-high of 24 points on two separate occasions, and was in double figures scoring in 11 of 16 games played this season.
Mark McDermott, sr. 6-foot-4, Greene
A first team MAC Division One all-star, McDermott averaged 13.8 points per game, pulled down 7.5 rebounds, and shot nearly 50 percent from the field for the Trojans. He was a consistent offensive presence, and primary inside threat reaching double figures scoring a team-best 16 of 19 times this season. He reached 20 points on two occasions, and scored a career-best 24 points in an overtime victory at Deposit.
Scott Gorton, sr., 5-foot-11, Greene
Gorton was second among Chenango County boys with 55 three-pointers, and at 13.9 points per game, led the Trojans in scoring for the second straight season. A streaky outside shooter capable of putting up a lot of points in a hurry, Gorton had five games where he scored at least 20 points. He had a high of 27 against Unadilla Valley, and reached double figures scoring in 12 of the Trojans’ 18 games. Gorton was a second-team MAC division one all-star, and finished his three-year varsity career with 719 points.
Booker Davis, jr., 6-foot, Oxford
Davis was just a few-tenths of a point shy of averaging a double-double in his first season as a member of the Blackhawks. Davis led the 2010 MAC champions in rebounding at 10 per game, and finished with a 9.7 points per game average. Undersized as a forward, Davis’ strength and defensive positioning played a key role in the MAC title win over Walton. He was in double figures scoring 10 times, and reached a high of 18 points in the season finale at Unatego.
Honorable Mention Picks
Bainbridge-Guilford: Ryan Porter, so.; Steve Patten, jr.
Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton: Andrew Delmar, jr; Jon Scofield, jr.
Norwich: Andrew Austin, sr.; Seth Thomsen, so.
Otselic Valley: Dusty Davis, jr.
Oxford: Jeremy Nelson, sr.
Unadilla Valley: Justin Hofer, fr.
