ABV ALL-SOUTH TEAMS - 2016-17
Frederking, Marcotte earn ABV "POY's"
Coaches Rincker, Buss are "COY's"

03-22-17
BY JACK BULLOCK
MT. VERNON - For the second consecutive season, the two winners of the A Baseline View.com “Player of the Year” awards both played on television in the state finals.

Both Noah Frederking of Okawville and Jackson Marcotte of Mount Carmel led their respective teams to the promised land of Carver Arena and to near the top of the mountain in both 1A and 2A.

Unfortunately for both winners, their respective teams that they led all season long ended up in second place.

This Rocket Shinned Bright

For Frederking, a 6-foot-4 senior guard-forward for the Rockets, his four-year prep career was special to say the least.

He is now one of the top all-time scorers in boy's high school basketball in the State of Illinois.

His career total is 2,844. That is a 21.1 points per game average in his four seasons of starting basketball for head coach Jon Kraus at Okawville. Frederking was also a stalwart on the defensive end, grabbing nearly 1,000 rebounds (977) in his career.

He has received multiple other awards from the different tournaments that he has appeared in and he led his club to a phenomenal 108-27 won-loss mark in that span of time.

As for 2016-17, he and his Rocket teammates were on a mission after three season's of postseason disappointments.

He scored 845-points this season, including a 40-point performance in a title game blowout win over New Berlin to win the Okawville 1A sectional.

Frederking came up big in a supersectional win over Mendon Unity with 16-points in a 46-40 victory.

In two games at Peoria against Newark and Effingham St. Anthony, he scored 50-points.

He netted 26-points in the heartbreaking 49-46 overtime loss in the title game defeat to St. Anthony.

During one point in the second half, Frederking scored 17-consecutive points for his team, rallying the Rockets from a ten-point deficit.

Shooting the ball was never a problem for this young man, having another great season as his offensive numbers attest.

He hit 294-of-559 from the floor (52.5 percent) while canning 70-of-179 from the 3-point arc (39.1 percent).

Frederking was “money” from the foul line as well.

He nailed 187-of-224 free throws (83.4 percent) including 12-of-14 in his two games at Peoria (85.7 percent).

Frederking has inked a letter of intent to attend Evansville University to play basketball for former Illinois high school phenom Marty Simmons.

“Noah is a great player with an excellent basketball IQ,” Coach Simmons told the Peoria Star-Journal. “He has unbelievable range and is able to shoot from anywhere on the floor. He does a good job of getting everyone on the floor involved and makes the team better as a whole.”

Golden Ace Trumps The Rest

Jackson Marcotte has been a part of the Mount Carmel Golden Aces' basketball program for just three seasons but he has already made his mark.

For a high school sports program that has been far more known for its football prowess over the last few decades, this basketball program has been on the rise and Marcotte has been a huge part of its ascent.

Marcotte showed this season that when his team needed points or a key rebound, the 6-foot-8 junior power forward "delivered the goods."

His numbers aren't as gaudy as some in the 2A area but his consistency and being able to do it against the best in his path stood out.

Jackson put up 601-points and 309-rebounds as his team went 29-5 this season, finishing in second place in 2A.

His averages were stellar at 17.7 points and 9.1 rebounds.

He and teammate Justin Carpenter, both of whom are 6-foot-8, made it difficult for teams on the “Road to Peoria.”

He scored 21-points and grabbed 13-rebounds in a 67-55 win over Kankakee Bishop McNamara in the state semifinals and he was the lone bright spot (17-points, six-rebounds) in a 59-39 loss to Chicago Orr in the title game.

In a 61-40 supersectional romp over Alton Marquette, Marcotte added 17-points and eight-rebounds to the resume.

Night after night, Marcotte didn't disappoint.

And the good news for the Aces and head coach Tyler Buss is that Marcotte will return for his senior season in 2017-18 while sporting already impressive career totals.

His three-year numbers are 1,505-points and 704-rebounds. Those numbers will likely to rise much further.

If he matches his junior year numbers next winter, the 2,000-point and 1,000-rebound marks will be reached.

"Jackson epitomizes what we want in an Aces Basketball player. He is a relentless worker that eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball," said Coach Buss. "Each year he has added something to his game and that has turned him into the complete player he is today. He sets the tone for our team with his work ethic and determination and his teammates really enjoy playing with him."

Load Up The Buss

For the ABV “Coach of the Year” in 2A, Coach Tyler Buss led his club all the way to the state finals by keeping his club on a even keel for most of 2016-17.

He not only had a pair of dominating players in the frontcourt but he helped with the continued improvement of some young backcourt players that will make the Aces a threat to reach Peoria for the second time in as many seasons in 2017-18.

This program hadn't won a state championship in boy's basketball since 1927 and the last state appearance in boy's hoops occurred in 2007, the last season of two-class basketball.

Coach Buss has won four regional titles in six-seasons (109-73 overall) and has this town thinking about high school boy's basketball as a winning program for the first time in a decade.

Much of what has been accomplished has come about because this coach and his hard work.

BTW, he is the older brother of a pretty good basketball player.

Tyra Buss is the all-time leading scorer in the State of Illinois high school history with 4,897 as she also prepped at Mount Carmel.

A Lot Of Fight In These Bulldogs

Effingham St. Anthony head coach Cody Rincker took over the Bulldogs job before the 2013-14 season and he knew that the expectations were very high.

Afterall this is a school that has accumulated over 1,300-victories and a near .700 winning percentage.

But this coach not only carried on this trend of winning, he helped improve on the legacy.

Effingham St. Anthony won the 1A title with an overtime win over Okawville, a championship game win that was long overdue for a program that had came so close but never got to the final game.

This program over the years made five trips to the state finals, with a fourth place finish in 1978 the best showing.

After winning 21-regional titles and six-sectional championships, the big prize was waiting for them this past March at Carver Arena.

Behind a strong defensive performance, a key element in all great programs, the Bulldogs got the job done to win the school's first boy's state basketball title.

This was a team that fell on some hard times in the final weeks of the regular season, dropping 4-of-6 games to end the regular season and then not playing very well in the postseason at the beginning.

The won a regional title in pretty easy fashion at Louisville North Clay and then the stepped it up for a pair of nine-point wins over Altamont and Patoka to reach the first supersectional for the team since 2001.

At the beginning of the supersectional game against Woodlawn, nothing went right as they trailed by double-digits at halftime against the Cardinals and were definitely on the ropes.

But Coach Rincker got his club to settle down and behind 32-points from senior Drew Gibson his club rallied to win 52-50 to advance to Peoria.

They then upset Chicago Hope Academy 43-34 in the 1A semifinals and then used the same defensive philosophy and hard-nosed play as they won the title game over Okawville.

All of these things that happened this season came about because of the players and coaches working together with one mission in mind.

The Bulldogs recovered from their slump just in time to make the championship run.

Coach Rincker should get a lot of the credit for this title run.

He gets it from ABV as he is the 2016-17 A Baseline View.com 1A “Coach of the Year.”

There were several other players who put up numbers that were worthy of consideration this season.

Jered Cain of Patoka springs to mind.

He was a no-brainer first team ABV pick with 2,817-points and 869-rebounds for his career.

Cain scored 786-points (23.8 p.p.g.) as a senior as the team reached its second consecutive sectional title game.

Here is a deja vu moment for ABV fans.

Gallatin County's Seth Ramsey also scored 786-points as a senior, leading the Hawks to a sectional final appearance as the 5-foot-11 senior averaged 26.2 points a game.

Gallatin County finished 21-9 on the year.

Six-foot-three senior Drew Gibson of St. Anthony netted 720-points as a senior (20.6 p.p.g.) while hitting 56.1 percent from the field.

The career numbers were not as high for Gibson but his senior season was stellar.

St. Elmo-Brownstown senior Landon Feezel might not be as familiar to most fans outside of the Effingham area but his numbers stack up.

The 6-foot-5 forward and four-year player for his father, Coach Greg Feezel, scored 1,647-points and grabbed 964-rebounds for the Eagles in his prep run.

His senior season ended on a sour note as he tore his ACL in the regional opening game against Mulberry Grove.

He suited up for the next game but couldn't make a go of it as his team lost to eventual regional winner Altamont.

In 2A 6-foot-8 Mount Carmel senior forward Justin Carpenter put up impressive numbers for his career with 1,259-points and 670-rebounds.

For this season Carpenter, who will play basketball next season at D-I Southeast Missouri State University, averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds.

With that sort of size and ability on the floor at the same time, Mount Carmel was able to make its state tournament run.

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 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.

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.
ABV Class 1A All-South Team
ABV Class 2A All-South Team

Player Of The Year
Noah Frederking - Okawville.
Coach Of The Year
Cody Rincker - Effingham St. Anthony.
ABV Special Mention
Joe Eddy - Patoka.
Doug Miller - Gallatin County.
ABV First Team
Jered Cain – Patoka – 6-foot-1 Sr.
Landon Feezel - St. Elmo-B'Town - 6-foot-5 Sr.
Noah Frederking – Okawville - 6-foot-4 Sr.
Drew Gibson - Effingham St. Anthony - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Seth Ramsey - Gallatin County - 5-foot-11 Sr.
ABV Second Team
Ryan Armstrong - Altamont - 5-foot-11 Sr.
Garrett Belcher - Patoka - 6-foot-5 Jr.
Kyle Smith - Marissa-Coulterville - 5-foot-9 Sr.
Braden Webb - Goreville - 5-foot-11 Jr.
Bradley Young - Christopher - 6-foot-3 Jr.
ABV Special Mention
Jackson Bennett - Woodlawn - 6-foot So.
Konner Blackerby - CH-BC - 5-foot-11 Sr.
Sam Childerson - Altamont - 6-foot-4 Sr.
Michael Chism - Valmeyer - 6-foot-4 Jr.
Noah Coddington - ME-Lutheran - 6-foot-7 Sr.
Kaleb Cox - Joppa - 6-foot-5 Sr.
Jared Curry - Christopher - 6-foot-4 Jr.
Chad Dickey - Wayne City - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Reid Frederking - Steeleville - 6-foot-4 Sr.
Shane Ganz - Okawville - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Brant Glidewell - Goreville - 6-foot-6 Sr.
Audie Goebel - Gallatin County - 6-foot So.
Andrew Grafton – Steeleville – 5-foot-11 Sr.
Eric Green – Wayne City - 5-foot-7 Sr.
Lukas Gunter - Sesser-Valier - 5-foot-10 Jr.
Christian Halverson - Century - 6-foot-2 So.
Jaxon Heinz - New Athens - 6-foot-5 So.
Jaxon Helm – Webber Township – 5-foot-11 Sr.
Nic Hutchinson - Windsor-Stew-Stras - 6-foot Sr.
Ja'Quan Jones – Mounds Meridian – 5-foot-11 Jr.
Zee Johnson - Elverado - 6-foot-2 Jr.
Courtlyn Latham – Mulberry Grove – 5-foot-7 So.
Luke Lawrence - Galatia - 5-foot-10 Sr.
Matt Long - NCOE - 6-foot-1 Sr.
Darnell Lowe - Mounds Meridian - 6-foot-5 Jr.
Trevor Markley - South Central - 5-foot-10 Sr.
Isaac McPhail - Waltonville - 5-foot-10 Sr.
Charles Neal – Webber Township – 6-foot-4 Jr.
Aquantez Penn - Elverado - 5-foot-10 So.
Ryan Radloff - Dieterich - 6-foot Jr.
Kase Robinson - Grayville - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Dave Taylor - Cairo - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Jared Taylor – Cisne – 6-foot-1 Sr.
Caleb Vaughn - Crab Orchard - 6-foot-4 Sr.
Brodie Walker - Carrier Mills - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Cade Walsh - Effingham St. Anthony - 5-foot-9 Jr.
Zane Wilson – Waltonville – 6-foot-3 Sr.
Tyler Winchester – Sesser-Valier – 6-foot-2 So.
Tyler Winters - Hardin County - 6-foot-1 Sr.
Blake Wollerman - Woodlawn - 5-foot-9 Sr.
Braden Woolsey - ME-Lutheran - 6-foot-5 Sr.

Player Of The Year
Jackson Marcotte - Mount Carmel
Coach Of The Year
Tyler Buss - Mount Carmel
ABV Special Mention
Steve Medford - Alton Marquette
Mack Thompson - Robinson
ABV First Team
Justin Carpenter - Mt. Carmel - 6-foot-8 Sr.
Mitch Hardiek - Teutopolis - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Grant Jausel - Pinckneyville - 6-foot-1 Jr.
Brogan Kemp - Nashville - 6-foot-6 Sr.
Jackson Marcotte - Mt. Carmel - 6-foot-7 Jr.
ABV Second Team
Dylan Dirks - Robinson - 6-foot-7 Sr.
Connor Toennies - Carlyle - 6-foot-4 Sr.
Collin Baumgartner - Southwestern - 6-foot-6 Sr.
Ryan Brink - Nashville - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Sammy Green - Alton Marquette - 6-foot Jr.
ABV Special Mention
Noah Allen - West Frankfort - 5-foot-10 Sr.
Braden Attebury - Eldorado – 6-foot-3 Jr.
Justin Bailey - Southwestern - 6-foot Jr.
Brant Bueker - Teutopolis - 6-foot-1 Sr.
Nick Cohorst - Newton - 6-foot-4 Jr.
Brandon Courtney - Wesclin - 6-foot-3 Jr.
Ben Daine - Vienna - 6-foot-1 Jr.
Trevor Davis - Waterloo Gibault - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Oakley Dial - Hamilton County - 6-foot Sr.
Brock Finkbiner - Marshall - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Braden Heape - Du Quoin - 6-foot-4 Sr.
Collin Kessler - Waterloo Gibault - 6-foot-5 Sr.
Kyle Lynch - Pana - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Jared Meyerhoff - Trico - 6-foot-4 Jr.
J.C. Moll - Pinckneyville - 5-foot-10 Jr.
Hunter Ottensmeier - Wesclin - 6-foot-4 Jr.
Drake Paden - Hillsboro - 6-foot-1 Jr.
Ethan Partridge - Eldorado - 6-foot-5 Sr.
Jake Parr - Anna-Jonesboro - 6-foot-1 Jr.
Nick Price - Gillespie - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Matt Rice - Carmi-White County - 5-foot-11 Sr.
Luke Richards - Casey-Westfield - 6-foot-5 So.
Walker Sandschafer – Robinson – 6-foot-5 Jr.
Isaiah Saulsberry - Harrisburg - 6-foot-3 Jr.
Nathaniel Schmittler - Edwards Co. - 6-foot-5 Sr.
Tyler Siever - Carlyle - 6-foot-3 Jr.
Brady Simpson - Greenville - 5-foot-11 Sr.
Savion Smith - Chester - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Trevin Smith - Flora - 5-foot-10 Sr.
Reagan Snider - Alton Marquette - 6-foot Jr.
Macklin Snyder - Fairfield -5-foot-11 Sr.
EJ Thompson - Johnston City - 6-foot-2 Sr.
Kameron Vinsel - Red Hill - 6-foot Sr.
Caleb Vogel - Du Quoin - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Josiah Wallace - Marshall - 6-foot-3 Sr.
Ritchie Well - Vandalia - 6-foot-1 Sr.
Bryce Winningham - Lawrenceville - 5-foot-11 Sr.