|  03-14-16
BY JACK BULLOCK
The ABV POY's and COY's were on TV this past weekend. And FYI
these two awards were never TBD, just TBA.
In case
you didn't understand all of the acronyms, the “Player
of the Year” awards in both 1A and 2A for A Baseline View.com
were really not in doubt at any point of the 2015-16 season.
To Be Announced
was just waiting on career stats after the final day of the
season at the state tournament.
For both
Ross Owens of Woodlawn and Logan Kohrmann of Breese Central,
their contributions to their team's getting to Peoria this season
are easy to explain.
It is of
certainty that neither of these teams reach the promised land
of Carver Arena without these kids in a uniform.
The numbers
are easy to add up, but the impact they have had on their team,
teammates and communities are immeasurable.
Leading
by example these two senior guards got the job done, leading
their respective powerhouse programs to the Final Four of both
1A and 2A.
Woodlawn
lost two heartbreaking decisions at Peoria in 1A to finish fourth
while Breese Central rebounded from a semifinal loss to win
the third place game in 2A.
For Ross
Owens, this 6-foot-5 senior guard, he has had success
on the hardwood at every step up the ladder.
As an eighth
grade standout, his Woodlawn Grade School team won the SIJHSA
state tournament.
As a freshman
he was part of a regional championship team for the Cardinals.
Two straight
seasons, though, he and his teammates suffered through the disappointment
of watching their rivals and football partners Sesser-Valier
win regional titles at their expense.
That feeling
helped spur he and his cohorts into a very motivated 2015-16
season that added three more state tournament plaques and another
large state tourney trophy for the school to display.
This season
Owens led the Cardinals in every category, offensive and defensive.
He averaged
16.3 points per game this season and had he played in a more
free-wheeling offensive style that number would have been much
higher.
But if you
look at the way he came about these numbers, you can understand
how his senior season became so special.
Owens hit
100 3-point shots in 34-games, hitting 43.9 percent of his long
range attempts.
Add to it
the fact that he was an 81.5 percent free throw shooter (97-of-119)
and hit 51.1 percent for all of his field goal attempts showed
he was one of the best offensive threats in the South.
He also
dished out 188 assists (5.5 a.p.g.).
 On
the other end of the floor, Owens led the Cardinals in rebounding
(6.3 r.p.g.) and steals (2.9 per game) while blocking 50 shots
in 2015-16.
For a player
who handled the ball nearly every trip down the floor, his assist
to turnover ratio was nearly 3-to-1.
For his
career, he became the only player in the long history of this
school to score over 1,000-points, grab 500-rebounds and have
over 500-assists.
The exact
numbers read 1,381-points, 588-rebounds and 510-assists.
Owens broke
the school record for assists in a season (188), steals in a
season (101) and his career assist total is also a school record.
Owens excelled
on the defensive end with 259-steals in his prep run, also the
most in school history.
This postseason,
Owens stepped up his game.
Woodlawn
is unbeaten in five sectional title games and Owens helped bring
home number five as he hit for 28-points in the sectional championship
game win over Christopher at Gallatin County.
He finished
the supersectional win over Patoka with 21-points in leading
the Cardinals back to Peoria for the fourth time.
He ended
up with 18-points against Chicago Leo in the semifinals at Peoria
and his 3-pointer gave the Cardinals a lead late in the game
before a Leo score at the buzzer sent Woodlawn into the third
place game.
"Although
he is a very skilled and athletic player it is his understanding
of the game, his ability to make players around him better,
and his versatility that makes him special," said Coach
Shane Witzel. "He is a great player but he is an even better
person."
Owens' head
coach for the past four seasons gets the nod as the ABV 1A “Coach
of the Year” after taking yet another fine squad to Peoria.
Although
they lost two very close games at Carver Arena, the fourth place
trophy will sit next to the other three state tournament trophies
won from the previous trips in Class 1A.
If you look
at this in baseball terms, the Woodlawn Cardinals have hit for
the cycle with a first, second, third and a fourth.
Although
I'm sure everyone involved would have liked another home run
last Saturday.
When it
comes to the coaching career of Shane
Witzel, the numbers speak for themselves.
In his 20-seasons
as the head coach, this former Woodlawn High School sports standout
has led this program to nearly unimaginable heights.
Seven regional
championships, five sectional championships, four supersectional
titles and the previously mentioned hardware haul from the finals.
This season,
after the disappointment's of two previous regional title game
losses, the Cards stayed focused for the run at Peoria.
Even a brief
hiccup of a weekend back in February, where they lost back-to-back
games to Christopher at home and Flora on the road, couldn't
derail the Woodlawn momentum towards the state finals.
Coach Witzel's
team rolled through the postseason to get to Peoria, winning
six-games by an average margin of 20.1 points a game, outscoring
the opponents 329-204.
It is one
thing to win games with talented players, but keeping everyone
focused on the big picture has been this coach's distinction
throughout a stellar career at Woodlawn.
Coach Witzel
has a staggering .748 winning percentage running this program.
He is 443-149
in his 20th season as the head coach, which is impressive indeed.
However
take a look at these numbers.
 Since
the state went to four-classes for the 2007-08 season, Coach
Witzel is 239-28 overall, a whopping .895 winning percentage.
He is one
of those coaches that could be named COY pretty much every year.
This season
he adds a second ABV plaque to the one from 2008-09.
Logan Kohrman,
a 6-foot-1 senior guard, is the 2A POY for many reasons.
But most
importantly his leadership role, leading by example, helped
will the Breese Central Cougars back to Peoria.
Kohrman
came up big all season long but he was especially “locked
in” during Central's postseason run.
In his seven
postseason games (6-1) he hit for over 20-points six times,
including 31-points in the Cougars third place win over Hales
Franciscan.
He averaged
17.8 points and 4.9 rebounds a game for the season. Kohrmann
also dished out nearly two assists a game.
If you throw
out a 13-point effort in a low scoring 38-34 win over Alton
Marquette in the semifinals of the Pinckneyville Sectional,
Kohrmann's postseason average was 25.1 points a game.
For his
career he finished with 1,645-points, 484-rebounds and 172-assists,
all of which are stellar stats against a strong 2A and 3A schedule
of games each season.
And they
were mostly accumulated in three seasons and he didn't play
much varsity as a freshman.
"Logan Kohrmann made himself into a complete high school
basketball player over the four years that he was in our program.
Logan's abilities to shoot the basketball and play defense were
a direct result of his hard work, determination and natural
athleticism," said Breese Central head coach Jeremy Shubert.
"Logan will go down as one of the top players to ever wear
a Central basketball uniform. He played the game the way all
high school players should play it! I want to wish him the best
of luck at the next level. Logan Kohrmann is a remarkable young
adult.
It isn't
easy replacing a legend in sports but head coach Jeremy
Shubert has done quite well after taking over for the
retired Stan Eagleson at Breese Central.
A long time
assistant to Coach Eagleson, Shubert took over the program and
the success has continued.
The Cougars
this season reached Peoria for the sixth time, finishing third
after a win over Hales Franciscan in the third place game.
Coach Shubert's
club ended up 31-5 on the season and his team played a very
tough schedule that would make most teams finish well below
30-wins.
 They
started their season by winning the Effingham St. Anthony Thanksgiving
Tournament with wins over three 3A programs and a 2A club, all
with relative ease.
An early
season loss at home to Teutopolis was avenged not once, but
twice later in the year.
Okawville
denied the Cougars a Mater Dei Holiday Tournament title in December,
but again Breese Central responded two weeks later with a win
over the Rockets at the Highland Shootout.
The ran
through a tough field at the Nashville Invitational Tournament
by beating 3A Mascoutah and Mater Dei along with 2A powers Nashville
and Teutopolis.
The beat
the Wooden Shoes 52-43 to finish 4-0 in the event.
They split
two games with Columbia, another 3A team that won a regional
this season, which forced them to share the Cahokia Conference
championship.
Central,
like Woodlawn, had the one bad weekend in February where the
lost games to Columbia and crosstown rival Mater Dei.
Following
the loss to the Knights, Central won their next eight games
before a semifinal loss to St. Joseph-Ogden kept them out of
the championship game.
They came
out ready to play in the third place game, topping Hales Franciscan.
Although
none of the players on this team were there, this was also a
revenge game for the program as Central had lost to Hales twice
previously at Peoria (2003, 2010).
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 here.
In other words, "Here's a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares."
Like Harry
Truman said - "The Buck Stops Here."
ABV probably
make a case for several others to be on the list. But I have
decided to get away from this notion that pretty much every
team deserves someone here.
I shortened the list last season.
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.
Woodlawn and Breese Central, with state finals appearances,
get three each total as they should.
Also teams
whose coaching staff provided me with information and were easy
to contact get bonus points in picking the teams.
Several
of the schools sent me nothing and got nothing in return.
All of the players listed below had things in common.
But the
biggest one is that they nearly all played for winning teams
(.500 or above).
The top
criteria for ABV All-South is whether or not this individual
player made a difference in his team being a winning team or
one below the mark.
Scoring
a lot of points on a team that wins a few games isn't going
to rate well in the land of ABV.
I hope
you enjoy.
Jack.
P.S. As
it turned out, there were some kids I managed to overlook this
past season and I added a handful of names to the Honorable
Mention. Not unlike the NCAA Tournament, I allowed for a couple
of play in games as the field expanded. None of the first or
second teams on the lists were effected.
|
