8A starlocalmedia.com Flower Mound Leader Sunday, March 31, 2019

ALL-AREA★ 2018-19 ★

BASKETBALL BOYS TEAM

A four-year varsity mem-ber and multiple-time all-district performer, Aman upped his game to another level as a se-nior and led a generally inexperienced Coppell roster to the 6-6A title. The Cowboys’ unques-tioned leader on and off the court who is still weighing his collegiate options, Aman was named the district’s MVP after scoring 16 points per game to go along with three assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Cook emerged as a stand-out scorer during his junior campaign while helping the Trojans to a second-place fi nish in district and a berth in the area round of the play-offs. For the year, Cook racked up 20.8 points per game while shooting 37 percent from long range and 78 percent from the charity stripe. Cook is no one-trick pony, however, and contributed on the defensive end to the tune of 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest.

The 6-6A Defensive Play-er of the Year, Pruitt de-fi nes what a “fl ex” player should be. The junior, who arrived as a transfer from Little Elm follow-ing his sophomore sea-son after going to middle school in Lewisville, is a guard by trait that was also one of the Farmers’ top rebounders and interior defenders. For the year, Pruitt logged averages of 13.5 points, fi ve rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

At 6-foot-9, Basey pres-ents one of the more physically imposing presences on the inside. The Central Oklahoma signee was solid on the offensive end, where he averaged 12.9 points on an eye-popping 76 percent shooting. But it was on the other end of the court where he made an even larger impact, as he was named 13-5A Defensive Player of the Year, blocking 3.8 shots and pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game.

SECOND TEAMFIRST TEAMTARIQ AMAN

G, Coppell, Sr.Stevens, named 9-6A co-MVP, helmed the Eagles to the best regular season in program history. The point guard’s season-long averages of 20.0 points and 4.8 assists per game stack up among the po-sition’s elite, but it’s the Colorado State signee’s shooting splits that separate him from the pack. Stevens shot 54 percent from the fi eld, 46 percent from beyond the arc (on more than 6.5 attempts per game) and 88 percent from the free-throw line.

ISAIAH STEVENSG, Allen, Sr.

JARREN COOKG, Newman Smith, Jr.

Richardson is coming off arguably his best season yet as a Red-hawk, as the star se-nior closed out his high school career with a bang by being named 9-5A MVP for the sec-ond straight year. On top of leading Liberty to a share of the district title, Richardson also led the district in scoring with 20 points per game, along with fi ve rebounds and four assists per contest.

ZION RICHARDSONG, Frisco Liberty, Sr.

KJ PRUITTG, Lewisville, Jr.

Leblanc had a breakout season a year ago and followed that up with a stellar senior campaign, averaging 18.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals on his way to 11-6A Offensive Player of the Year honors. One of the best shooters in the state with unlimited range, Leblanc shot 41.8 per-cent on 3-pointers (117-of-280), knocking down nearly four per game. He was also clutch at the free-throw line, where hit 84.1 percent (74-of-88).

CODY LEBLANCG, Mesquite, Sr.

DJ BASEY, F, Mesquite Poteet, Sr.

For the third consecutive season, Stastny has led Celina as the Bobcats’ top offensive playmaker and is coming off yet anoth-er district MVP. He also led Celina to a second consecutive district title and another trip to the postseason, where the Bobcats faced a tough opening draw against state-ranked Lincoln. Nonetheless, the program remains in good hands next season as Stastny is poised for another monster campaign on the hardwood.

KARSON STASTNYF, Celina, Jr.

Despite playing on the same squad as 9-5A MVP Zion Richardson, there were many instances in which Abii was the best player on the fl oor. His 6-foot-7 frame allowed him to dominate oppo-nents in the paint while also utilizing his dazzling ball-handling ability to take players off of the dribble as well. In his ju-nior campaign, he averaged 16 points, seven re-bounds and three assists per game and is in line to take over as the Redhawks’ leader next season.

MICAIAH ABIIF, Frisco Liberty, Jr.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Hampton’s absurd numbers speak for itself – 32 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.4 as-sists and 3.9 steals per game this season as just a junior with Little Elm.

Throughout the district slate, the fi ve-star recruit ramped up his scoring num-bers to another level by averaging just over 35 points per game while also com-ing through in the clutch in key moments – one of which came in a fi erce show-down against The Colony where Hampton nailed the game-winning jumper as time expired to seal the 62-61 overtime victory.

He also led the charge in a thrilling win on the road against Northwest, as the Lobos were the only team this season to hand the Texans a double-digit defeat at their house this season.

More impressively, Hampton did much of his damage during the district campaign while nursing a groin injury that sidelined him for two games, one of

which Little Elm lost.

This is just an-other accolade to add to Hampton’s mantle after he was named the Gatorade Texas Boys Basketball Player of the Year and was also one of three fi nalists for the na-tional award as well.

The District 8-5A Offensive MVP led Little Elm to the second round of the postseason where it gave eventual state champion Timberview all it could handle after Hampton poured in a team-high 29 points in the 76-70 loss.

The Lobos should be in the mix for another successful year on the hardwood next season when Hampton comes back for his senior campaign before he is off to compete at ei-ther Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Memphis or TCU.

After showing signs that he had the potential to be a star who could consistently get buckets and carry a team as a junior, Schoby took his game to greater heights in the 2018-19 season.

Schoby worked hard over the summer to improve all aspects of his game and entered his senior season with the mentality of doing whatever his team needed to be successful. Whether it be scoring, re-bounding or fi nding the open man when he was doubled, Schoby con-sistently found ways to keep the Lions in games no matter the opponent.

McKinney’s star 5-foot-9 guard can hit shots from all over the fl oor, and when he has his shot

going can fi re up Lions fans similar to the way Stephen Curry gets Warrior fans going while he’s in the zone. Thanks

to his consistent offensive exploits, Schoby was

named the 9-6A Of-fensive Player of The Year after scoring 40 points or more eight times this season, including a 52-point

game against Lake Highlands where he

drained a mind-boggling nine 3-pointers.Although Schoby wasn’t

able to lead McKinney to the playoffs for the third consecutive

season, teams in 9-6A won’t soon forget his offensive exploits. Schoby

scored 20 points or more against every team in the district at least once while

averaging a hefty 28 points per game in one of the toughest districts in the state.

After having an outstanding year on the gridiron, Frazier came straight to the hardwood and began dominating immediately.

Despite averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds, the 6-foot 7 Frazier impacted the Bull-dogs as the anchor for a very solid defense. When the dust fi nally set-tled, Frazier had multiple games of fi ve blocks or more on his way to averaging four blocks a game on the season while grabbing 10-5A co-MVP honors.

With Frazier as the center-piece of their zone and match-up man-to-man defense, North was able to consis-tently play at a pace it was comfortable with while putting together one of the best seasons in program history.

In district play, Frazier was able to

put together six dou-ble-doubles, spearhead

a defense that only al-lowed 36.3 points per game

while going undefeated on their way to the district title.

For an example of how Fra-zier’s defensive prowess posi-

tively impacted a game, look no further than one of his dominant

sequences in North’s area-round playoff win against Carrollton New-

man Smith. With the game hanging in the balance in the second half, Frazier

got a key block on a Trojan after coming help side, only to fi nish on the other end by catching an alley-oop off the glass for a huge momentum swing in North’s favor.

By making consistent, winning plays on defense and being the catalyst to one of the best defensive units in the area, Frazier was tabbed as Star Local Media’s Defensive Player of the Year.

The Mustangs have established themselves as one of the top all-around athletic programs in the area. Last season alone, they sent seven of the eight teams in standing-based sports to the play-offs.

The only team to fall short of the standard was in boys basketball, where Sachse endured a midsea-son coaching change and limped to a 2-25 overall record.

As an assistant coach across town at Lakeview, Mikesell saw a program that had untapped potential and when the head coaching position was offered, he jumped at the chance.

Mikesell set about implementing a belief in his players that they could be successful and it took less than two weeks for the Mustangs to double their win total from a year ago.

Though undersized compared to many teams, the Sachse staff was able to develop a

guard-oriented approach that was adding up to wins.

Building on a strong non-district run would mean nothing, however, if it did not translate into

district play, and Sachse re-fused to have a letdown, es-

tablishing itself as a true contender with a 63-62 buzzer-beating win over Wylie, who was state-ranked at the time.

A late losing skid put them in a precar-ious position, but the

Mustangs bounced back with wins over rival Rowl-

ett and Naaman Forest to se-cure their fi rst playoff berth since

2016.Though the road came to an end in the

bi-district round against Jesuit, Sachse set a program record with 18 victories on the season and raised the bar for future teams to meet.

On a squad loaded with talent from the likes of Isaiah Lewis, Marvin Mims and Julian Larry, it was an unsung hero who stepped up in the biggest way in the regional semifi nal this season against No. 1-ranked Lancaster.

Howard, Lone Star’s shooting guard, stepped in off of the bench in that contest and splashed in a whopping fi ve 3-pointers and fi nished with a team-high 18 points. He did most of his damage in the second half where he poured in 14 points, including four makes from downtown and a pair of free throws to ice the contest in the fi nal moments.

Without Howard’s hot shooting stroke from be-yond the arc that night against the heavily favored

Tigers, the Rangers probably don’t pull off that upset.Although Howard served as one of the go-to guys off

of the bench all season, Howard also displayed anoth-er masterful performance earlier in the postseason in Lone Star’s 52-46 triumph over McKinney North.

Head coach Keith Connor made a bold move that night by deciding to

start Howard for the fi rst time all season, and the sharpshooter did not disappoint.

He notched a team-high 16 points in a rare start that helped

propel his squad to a massive post-season victory.

Howard’s play off of the bench and his ability to rise to the occasion and

become a much-needed X-factor for his ball club in critical

moments is why he was named Star

Local Media’s Sixth Man of the Year.

For a quick indication of George’s imme-diate impact at Lewisville, look no further than the Farmers’ record.

In 2018, Lewisville fi nished in the cel-lar in District 5-6A and were winners of just one district contest.

Twelve months later, the Farmers were tied atop the 6-6A standings with one week remaining only to set-tle for second after dropping their last two games — both of which George missed due to illness.

The standout freshman was also ab-sent in the postseason for the Farm-ers, but Lewisville still managed a bi-district win over Southlake Carroll.

George — the No. 2-ranked fresh-

man in Texas, according to various recruit-ing services — was named the 6-6A Of-fensive Player of the Year after helping the Farmers to a second-place fi nish.

On the court, George appears to do things effortlessly and is blessed

with a 6-foot-3 frame and smooth jumper.

The freshman poured in a dis-trict-high 21 points per game to go with four rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 48.5 percent from the fi eld, 41.9 percent from

3-point land and 89.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Already holding numerous Divi-sion I and Big 12 offers, George also

displayed a knack for coming up in the clutch, including two buzzer-beaters to

force overtime in district and the go-ahead 3-pointer in a win in overtime on the road against rival Hebron.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR COACH OF THE YEAR

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEARNEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Okpoh was a fi rst-team all-district selection for the Cougars after leading The Colony to a third-place fi nish in a stacked 8-5A and a berth in the region-al quarterfi nals of the 5A playoffs. Okpoh graduates as one of The Colony’s winningest players and the second-leading scorer in program history behind Bracey Wright with more than 2,000 career points. Okpoh was a four-year starter for the Cougars and was named all-district each season, including multiple superlative honors.

BRYCE OKPOHF, The Colony, Sr.

RJ HAMPTONLittle Elm, Jr.

KEYONTE GEORGELewisville, Fr.

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mantle after he was named the Gatorade Texas Boys Basketball Player of the Year and was also one of three fi nalists for the na-tional award as well.

The District 8-5A Offensive MVP led Little Elm to the second round of the postseason where it gave eventual state champion Timberview all it could handle after Hampton poured in a team-high 29 points in the

The Lobos should be in the mix for another successful year on the hardwood next season when Hampton comes back for his senior campaign before he is off to compete at ei-ther Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Memphis or

After showing signs that he had the potential to be a star who could consistently get buckets and carry a team as a junior, Schoby took his game to greater heights in the 2018-19 season.

Schoby worked hard over the summer to improve all aspects of his game and entered his senior season with the mentality of doing whatever his team needed to be successful. Whether it be scoring, re-bounding or fi nding the open man when he was doubled, Schoby con-

McKinney’s star 5-foot-9 guard can hit shots from all over the fl oor, and when he has his shot

going can fi re up Lions fans similar to the way Stephen Curry gets Warrior fans going while he’s in the zone. Thanks

to his consistent offensive exploits, Schoby was

Highlands where he drained a mind-boggling

nine 3-pointers.Although Schoby wasn’t

able to lead McKinney to the playoffs for the third consecutive

season, teams in 9-6A won’t soon forget his offensive exploits. Schoby

scored 20 points or more against every team in the district at least once while

averaging a hefty 28 points per game in one of the toughest districts in the state.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

BYRON SCHOBYMcKinney, Sr.

After having an outstanding year on the gridiron, Frazier came straight to the hardwood and began dominating immediately.

Despite averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds, the 6-foot 7 Frazier impacted the Bull-dogs as the anchor for a very solid defense. When the dust fi nally set-tled, Frazier had multiple games of fi ve blocks or more on his way to averaging four blocks a game on the season while grabbing 10-

With Frazier as the center-piece of their zone and match-up man-to-man defense, North was able to consis-tently play at a pace it was comfortable with while putting together one of the best seasons in

ble-doubles, spearhead a defense that only al-

lowed 36.3 points per game while going undefeated on

their way to the district title.For an example of how Fra-

zier’s defensive prowess posi-tively impacted a game, look no

further than one of his dominant sequences in North’s area-round

playoff win against Carrollton New-man Smith. With the game hanging in

the balance in the second half, Frazier got a key block on a Trojan after coming help side, only to fi nish on the other end by catching an alley-oop off the glass for a huge momentum swing in North’s favor.

By making consistent, winning plays on defense and being the catalyst to one of the best defensive units in the area, Frazier was tabbed as Star Local Media’s Defensive Player of the Year.

BRANDON FRAZIERMcKinney North, Jr.

The only team to fall short of the standard was in boys basketball, where Sachse endured a midsea-son coaching change and limped to

As an assistant coach across town at Lakeview, Mikesell saw a program that had untapped potential and when the head coaching position was offered, he jumped at the chance.

Mikesell set about implementing a belief in his players that they could be successful and it took less than two weeks for the Mustangs to double their

Though undersized

district play, and Sachse re-fused to have a letdown, es-

tablishing itself as a true contender with a 63-62 buzzer-beating win over

ious position, but the Mustangs bounced back

with wins over rival Rowl-ett and Naaman Forest to se-

cure their fi rst playoff berth since 2016.Though the road came to an end in the

bi-district round against Jesuit, Sachse set a program record with 18 victories on the season and raised the bar for future teams to meet.

ZACH MIKESELL

Sachse

For a quick indication of George’s imme-diate impact at Lewisville, look no further

In 2018, Lewisville fi nished in the cel-lar in District 5-6A and were winners

Twelve months later, the

their last two games — both of which George missed due to illness.

The standout freshman was also ab-sent in the postseason for the Farm-ers, but Lewisville still managed a bi-district win over Southlake Carroll.

George — the No. 2-ranked fresh-

ing services — was named the 6-6A Of-fensive Player of the Year after helping the Farmers to a second-place fi nish.

On the court, George appears to do things effortlessly and is blessed

with a 6-foot-3 frame and smooth jumper.

from the free-throw line. Already holding numerous Divi-

sion I and Big 12 offers, George also displayed a knack for coming up in the

clutch, including two buzzer-beaters to force overtime in district and the go-

ahead 3-pointer in a win in overtime on the road against rival Hebron.

KEYONTE GEORGELewisville, Fr.

Isaiah Lewis, Marvin Mims and Julian Larry, it was an unsung hero who stepped up in the biggest way in the regional semifi nal this season against No. 1-ranked

Howard, Lone Star’s shooting guard, stepped in off of the bench in that contest and splashed in a whopping fi ve 3-pointers and fi nished with a team-high 18 points. He did most of his damage in the second half where he poured in 14 points, including four makes from downtown and a pair of free throws to ice the contest in the fi nal moments.

Without Howard’s hot shooting stroke from be-yond the arc that night against the heavily favored

bold move that night by deciding to start Howard for the fi rst time all season, and the sharpshooter did not disappoint.

He notched a team-high 16 points in a rare start that helped

propel his squad to a massive post-season victory.

Howard’s play off of the bench and his ability to rise to the occasion and

become a much-needed X-factor for his ball club in critical

moments is why he was named Star

ANDRE HOWARDFrisco Lone Star, Jr.