By Todd Wills
Here at the halfway point of the district basketball season — or in some cases a little past it or a bit in front of it — a few things are certain.
Every Tuesday and Friday in District 21-1A for the boys is a dogfight. Four teams have been ranked this season.
Kerens is going to produce two playoff teams.
So might Hubbard.
Here are a few other highlights so far in this 2009-10 basketball season:
Best team: I’ll stick with the Hubbard Lady Jaguars, even though I’d lean to Kerens if the two teams hooked up say in a warmup game.
Hubbard is perfect in district. Kerens isn’t.
So I’ll base this selection on which one of the two I’ll pick to go to a regional tournament.
The lean here is with Hubbard — slightly.
Boys Player of the Year: If we were holding a draft tomorrow, Corsicana point guard Antonie Chaney would be the first player selected. The problem is he plays for an 0-20 team.
So for me that brings a bunch of guys into the picture: Pat Faulk and Trey Lindsey at Kerens, Jake Jones at Wortham, John Jones at Hubbard, Dustin Sanders at Dawson, Kevin Dozier at Mildred and Philip Page at Frost.
John Jones has proven to the most explosive player. Faulk at this point is the most complete player.
Faulk’s run as two-time Golden Circle football player of the year came to an end this season. Maybe Faulk can replace that with the boys basketball MVP.
Girls Player of the Year: Anna Keele of Kerens gets the edge with three weeks left in the girls season. She scores, she rebounds, she steals, she sweeps the gym floor and she carries all the bags to and from the team bus.
Keele has a bunch of teammates right there with her including Nicole Kelm and Taneque Williams.
Hubbard has a solid group with Africa Lang, Iesha Simmons, Rayven Cornish and Jordan Henderson.
I’d be remiss to leave out Corsicana’s Amber Ames and Dawson’s Alicia Simmons.
But I’ll stick now with the most complete player and that’s Keele.
Coach of the Year: Susan Henderson of Hubbard has come in and changed the culture in the Lady Jags’ locker room. It has brought out the best in her 21-4 team.
Her coaching mate, Hubbard boys coach Brian Coffman, also deserves mention.
Newcomer of the Year: Frost freshman Danial Steels has all the tools. He has tremendous potential.
The girls at this point is too close to call.
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