|  03-27-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
The Harrisburg Bulldogs were clearly the top team in Southern
Illinois and therefore they deserve some postseason awards from
ABV.
The ones
from this web publication are as follows.
The top
two players and the top coach in Class 2A reside with the state-champions.
Capel Henshaw
and Tyler Smithpeters have been
playing basketball since grade school and they carried on with
an outstanding run on the high school hardwood in the past four
seasons.
The success
began in grade school where the two were on a SIJHSAA Class
L state championship team in eighth grade back in 2008-09.
The tandem
continued their success all through high school.
With Henshaw
and Smithpeters on the roster, the Bulldogs won four-consecutive
regional championships.
They took
one step up the ladder in each of the next two seasons; winning
a sectional game in 2011 then winning a sectional championship
in 2012 before rolling to a state championship in 2013.
Henshaw
finished as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,884-points
while Smithpeters finished with 1.641-points.
Tyler's
numbers were a bit better this season as he led the team with
a 16.4 points per game average, including a big post season
run. He had 25-points in the supersectional win over Teutopolis
and 23-points in the title game win over Seton Academy.
When Smithpeters
wasn't scoring he was dishing assists as this 6-foot-4 senior
averaged nearly five a game.
Henshaw,
a 6-foot-3 senior, averaged 14.8 p.p.g. and led Harrisburg in
rebounding with over seven a contest.
Between
these two, Coach Randy Smithpeters received over 1,000-points
this season in their quest for a state championship, which ended
with a 50-44 win and a 34-1 final mark.
The ABV
2A “Player's of the Year” are Henshaw and Smithpeters
in the Deep South.
Coach Randy
Smithpeters
has quietly won a lot of games in the athletic-rich school in
Saline County.
The Bulldogs
run this season was a culmination of a long journey that began
with a toughening up of the non-conference schedule in the past
four seasons and setting very high goals.
 Coach
Smithpeters put together this game plan and stuck to it, despite
seeing his team suffer some losses during that run.
It is one
thing to have a lot of talent to work with. But it takes the
right attitude and teaching to make it all work.
Coach Smithpeters,
by far, earned this ABV 2A “Coach of the Year” award
for the Deep South.
Andrew Drone
has
been a starter for the 1A Gallatin County Hawks since he was
a freshman and each year he got stronger and better.
At 7-feet
tall, Drone stands out in a crowd. In the Southern Illinois
basketball circles, he stood even taller.
Behind his
scoring and rebounding, the Hawks advanced to the 1A Carbondale
Supersectional where they lost an overtime decision to Nokomis.
However
this shouldn't dampen the outstanding season that everyone in
Gallatin County had.
Drone numbers
were something else in 2012-13 and the career stats were also
astonishing.
The Rice
University signee scored 24.4 points a night as a senior, leading
the Hawks to a 27-4 record, a school record number of wins in
a season.
He averaged
6.8 rebounds a game, a number that probably would have been
higher if he didn't have a lot of help from 6-foot-6 senior
forward Patrick Lowe, also an ABV 1A Deep South first-team pick.
For his
four seasons in Gallatin County, Andrew scored 2,459-points,
a school record, and hauled in 712-rebounds.
His freshman
season they reached a regional title game, losing to rival Carrier
Mills.
They wouldn't
lose another regional championship contest again, taking home
three straight between 2011-13.
In 2011
the Hawks flew past Hardin County to win their first regional
in the school's boy's basketball history.
They followed
that season up with another regional championship in 2012.
 Each
of those wins, however, were followed by crushing defeats at
the hands of Mounds Meridian. Once at Norris City-Omaha-Enfield
and again on the Hawks home floor.
With those
stinging defeats fresh in their minds, Gallatin County was on
a mission in 2012-13.
The Hawks
only suffered three defeats in the regular season, losing to
Harrisburg twice in two tournament games (Harrisburg Invitational,
Eldorado Holiday Tournament) and a shootout loss at Nashville
against the host Hornets. Both teams are 2A.
But the
Hawks saved their best run of the season for February. Gallatin
won its regional and then outlasted Steeleville to win its sectional
semifinal at Hardin County.
Then it
was the ultimate revenge as Coach Robert “Radar”
Patton's club defeated Meridian, 75-58, for a second time in
the season (Eldorado Holiday Tournament semifinals).
Coach Patton
had his troops eyeballing the big prize this season and but
its goal of reaching Peoria fell just a bit short.
Nevertheless
the job that he did, getting all of the kids in the program
to buy into the system and understanding each of their rolls
should not be overlooked.
They beat
nearly everyone that they faced in 2012-13 and they were about
two minutes away from a regulation win in the supersectional
before foul trouble and a defensive effort from Nokomis eventually
wore down the Hawks.
Coach Robert
“Radar” Patton is the ABV 1A “Coach of the
Year” for the Deep South.
All-in-all
it was a great season for Southern Illinois boy's high school
basketball and each of the individuals listed here deserve this
recognition.
Henshaw,
Smithpeters and Drone are all three deserving on the ABV honors
as are Coaches Smithpeters and Patton.
EDITOR'S
NOTE:
As with the previous year's - the ABV lists will be scrutinized.
But as always I stand by my selections. Most importantly these
awards are about the kids and the two coaches listed.
If you -
as a fan - have a comment that is disparaging to the ones chosen
then send it to me. Don't post it on some message board and
embarrass some young man. If you have a complaint send it ABV.
Like Harry
Truman said - "The Buck Stops Here."
Someone
could probably make a case for several others to be on the list.
I believe
50 players in each class - 1A and 2A - is enough.
There are
over 100 schools in the ABV Area.
Harrisburg
gets three players on the list.
They got
the job done in the postseason.
No other
team gets more than two players listed.
Each list consists of a 10-Player First Team; 10-Player Second
Team and 30-Player Special Mention.
Names are
listed in alphabetical order. I'm sure there will be one or
two of them with misspelled names or the wrong heights or class.
I can fix those later.
I hope you
enjoy.
Jack. |
