Before we get to the Outside the Huddle All-Area Team and our end-of-year awards, Bounce wanted to take some time and take a last glance at area conferences and hand out some league-specific hardware.
We move on to the SAC boys.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jevon Lewis, Wayne
There was simply no answer most of the time for Lewis, who somehow just kept getting better on his way to an Indiana All-Star nod.
For the second straight season, Lewis was basically untouchable as Wayne surged through the area and lost just four games all season, none of which came to Northeast Indiana foes. Throughout the season, Lewis almost coasted, averaging a SAC high 19.4 points and an area high 7.6 assists while also pulling in 2.3 steals per game.
Its one thing to do it as a junior and step into a bigger role; it is another thing to be so dominating as a senior when teams kind of know what to expect from you. But after hitting his 1,000 career point early in the season against Leo, there was just a different kind of smoothness and calming confidence about Lewis and his game this season.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jaxson Fugate (North Side), Eugene Young (North Side), Dereon Truesdale (Bishop Luers), Drelyn Truesdale (Bishop Luers)
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Eugene Young, North Side
If you know Bounce’s awards and OTH history, you know MVP means something different than Player of the Year. MVP to us is someone who is legit the most valuable to their team and overall success of that program.
Young had tremendous value for the Legends as they won a second straight Sectional title. Young was a super steady hand with eight games shooting 60 or more percent from the field, 19 double digit scoring games and 15 games of 10 or more rebounds. That totaled out to 12 double doubles including six in the last eight games before a sending ending loss to Wayne. Down the stretch, few compared to Young’s contributions.
HONORABLE MENTION: Caleb Lehrman (Bishop Dwenger), Jaxon Pardon (Carroll), Trey Dillard (Wayne), Cadell Wallace (South Side), Cole Hayworth (Concordia), Qualyn Clopton (Snider)
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Jaiyre Sampson, Carroll
The thought going into the season was that Carroll would come in with two heavy hitters and potential All-Star candidates. There were thoughts that Sampson, who had been a steady hand with flashes of athletic strengths would not play; in fact, he didn’t even participate in the team’s scrimmage games against Leo.
But one thing led to another and Sampson had a stellar season, immediately making an impact and often being Carroll’s leading scorer. He wasn’t just steady, sometimes he was dominant. And there wasn’t flashes of athletic strength, but more like flashes of athletic superiority. And with two stars by his side, Sampson became one of the most talked about players in the SAC all season.
He finished the season with a team second best 14.5 points per game to go with 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
HONORABLE MENTION: Javion Davenport (North Side), Danny Kelly (Bishop Luers), Ben Bentz (Concordia), Trell Hogue (Snider), Ketron Paschall (Snider)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Anthony Brewer, Wayne
Taking on a team that is coming off a deep postseason run and returns almost every significant player may seem like a dream scenario. But it wasn’t going to be easy for anyone at Wayne, even now-former assistant coach Anthony Brewer when he took the reigns. There are a lot of expectations and therefore a lot of pressure for any coach, especially a first time varsity head coach. Brewer never wavered.
In fact, he helped keep Wayne in tip top shape, making another deep tournament run while capturing a second straight SAC title. It proved that Wayne had made the exact right hire in replacing Byron Pickens as Brewer thrived in his new role as the head man.
He was able to hop into a bigger role, keep his players’ respect and make sure that Wayne didn’t drop off under his watch.
HONORABLE MENTION: Gary Andrews (North Side), Seth Coffing (Bishop Luers)
GAME OF THE YEAR: Bishop Luers at South Side, February 6
This may seem like an off game here, but the middling Archers and the SAC second best Knights put on a great show kind of out of nowhere, with South Side taking a 75-71 win, that ended up being their last victory of the season. But if you aren’t going to win another one, they at least went out with a bang.
South Side brought the energy from the get go, including a nice three point play early when Jayvon Irby grabbed an offensive rebound, hit a midrange jumper and drew a foul. Those kind of hustle plays were things that South Side played off of so well throughout the night. South Side was also able to get downhill better than most teams did against Luers all season and actually built up an 11 point lead.
Dereon Truesdale was really good for Luers on this night, as he was throughout the season; he and brother Drelyn each scored 22. But the Archers did something bigger, putting four scorers in double digits scoring with Irby’s 20 leading the way, Cadell Wallace scoring 17, Demarcus Barr adding 15 and KJ Alexander scoring 14. With Alexander shooting 83 percent and Irby shooting 73 percent, the Archers’ success rate on the night was just too much to overcome.
EARLY 2025 SAC CHAMPION PREDICTION: Wayne
The Wayne Generals will lose more after the 2023-24 season than they did after the 2022-23 season.
But can they once again replicate the success and capture a third straight season of SAC and postseason titles? The early answer has to be yes.
That is because, while they lose leader Jevon Lewis and a couple of other incredibly pieces in Zaire Sullivan and Kharrington Terry, they will return 4/5ths of their starting lineup and the experience that these kids have is incredible as three of them have been together with the Generals for the entirety of these last two runs.
Trey Dillard is already one of the best big men in the area, Preston Comer is an ideal inside-out worker, Chase Barnes has Division I upside and Khalyn Williams-Thomas is a true duel threat as a scorer and defender. Don’t look now but its likely that the entire SAC is still playing chase with Wayne throughout 2024-25.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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