The action on the court was pretty good, too.
Without further ado, I give you the 2012 Wizard Awards, hoops edition:
Best game: I can think of at least five great games I saw this season, including three involving the Tecumseh boys, but I’ve got to go with the very first game I saw this season — Southeastern at West Liberty-Salem girls.
The Trojans trailed the entire game until Olivia Lloyd, the last person the Tigers expected to take the final shot, nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer — her only field goal of the game — to give Southeastern the 38-37 victory on Dec. 8.
Best performance (1.0): Last weekend, Urbana’s Trischa Lacy hit 12 3-pointers, scoring 41 points in a win over Indian Lake to help the Climbers clinch their first league title since 2007. That was the most 3-pointers in a game by one player since 1992, when Marlene Stollings hit a state-record 13. A crazy number from Lacy.
Best performance (2.0): Yellow Springs’ Roland Newsome poured in 44 points in a double overtime loss to Middletown Christian on Jan. 13. He made 15 field goals and had 21 rebounds. That’s doing some work.
Best turnaround team: Greenon. The Knights boys have struggled for years, so seeing Tim Lacy’s team have success this season has been fun to watch.
Best breakout player: Greenon’s Anthony Colletti. He didn’t play as a sophomore, but put up huge numbers this year, averaging 18.8 points and a conference-best 12.2 rebounds per game. Pretty impressive for a kid who didn’t play varsity basketball a year ago.
Most exciting team: Catholic Central. The Irish love to use pressure on defense, and that’s something you don’t see a lot across our area. Clark County has become engulfed in halfcourt basketball, and that’s not a bad thing. It is, however, fun to watch a team pressure up-and-down the floor for four quarters — something the Irish do very well.
Most impressive team: Urbana. The Hillclimbers are becoming one of the top programs in the area, earning their fourth straight winning season. Against Shawnee, the Hillclimbers never took their foot off the pedal, and I was impressed with how well they played as a team. There’s a reason they’ve won 15 straight. Jeremy Dixon has done a great job, and his team won’t be an easy out in the tournament.
Best student section: The students keep getting more and more creative every year. I only heard the dreaded “Let’s play football” chant once this season.
The best student section this year belonged to Tecumseh. They filled their entire section of bleachers at Reynolds Gym each and every game, and the markerboard material was classic.
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