All-Selection Teams: Boys? Basketball

I am introducing something rather new to this area.

Of the five local schools I cover (Fairfield, Maharishi School, Cardinal, Pekin, and Van Buren), I have conducted a first and second team of prep athletes from around the area in the three main winter sports: boys and girls basketball and wrestling.

Boys and girls basketball will have separate teams while wrestling will be mixed together.

This is separate from the GTNS teams that come out every year. This one covers the five schools I cover. The All-GTNS teams will come out next week.

Today, it?s boys? basketball. A variety of factors went into determining what player made what team.

All relevant basketball statistics as well as team records were considered when making up the two teams.

Boys? Basketball First Team

Guard: Garrett Saunders, Van Buren, senior ? 16.4 points, 4.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds ? Saunders had a fabulous senior season for the Warriors. He led the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game, including scoring 26 points against Danville in the district semifinal on Tuesday. Saunders also broke Van Buren?s all-time mark in assists in early January. Saunders recorded 54 steals and 97 assists on the season to lead the Warriors.

Guard: Cody Streeby, Cardinal, senior ? 13.9 points, 1.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds ? Streeby had a solid final season for the Comets. The senior guard led the team in scoring and steals, and was third on the team in rebounds per game. He scored in double-figures in 16 of the 21 games he played in, including a season-high 29 points on Jan. 20 against Central Lee.

Forward: Keaton Winn, Pekin, junior ? 12.8 points, 1.2 blocks, 12.0 rebounds ? Winn had a very impressive campaign for the Panthers. He led the team in a variety of categories including points, rebounds, blocks, and steals. Winn averaged nearly three steals per contest. Winn recorded 13 double-doubles on the season and had two games with at least 20 rebounds. He recorded a season-high 25 rebounds against Highland on Dec. 12. He also had a 20-20 game, 22 points and 20 rebounds, on Dec. 2 against Winfield, Mount-Union.

Forward: Will Mertens, Van Buren, junior ? 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists ? Mertens was Saunders? right-hand man for the Warriors this past season. The junior put up solid numbers and led the team in free throws attempted and free throw percentage. Mertens attempted 126 free throws, 5.7 a game, and shot 75.4 percent from the line. He recorded nine double-doubles and scored a season-high 37 points on Jan. 23 against West Burlington.

Center: Kaleb Durflinger, Cardinal, senior ? 10.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 56.7 percent field goals ? Of this group, Durflinger didn?t possess the flashiest numbers. It was his efficiency that gave him the nod over others who were being considered. Durflinger attempted the third-most shots on the Cardinal team, but connected on nearly 57 percent of his attempts to lead the Comets in field goal percentage. He had four double-doubles on the season with his most important one coming in a three-point overtime win over Van Buren on Jan. 16. He had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the game. He scored a season-best 17 points on Jan. 20 in a victory over Central Lee.

Boys? Basketball Second Team

Guard: Jordan Reid, Fairfield, junior ? 13.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists ? As a junior, Reid led the Trojans in scoring and finished third in the SEC. He was also the team leader in three-pointers made (36) and steals (32). Reid scored in double-figures in 17 of his teams? 22 games and had a season-best 22 points against Oskaloosa in the first game of the season.

Guard: Sam Pedersen, Cardinal, junior ? 9.3 points, 2.5 assists, 2.1 steals ? Pedersen did a lot of the little things for the Comets this season. He finished third on the team in points, tied for second in assists, and was second on the team in steals. He shot 44.4 percent from the field for the season. Pedersen was one of nine players in the in SEISC South Division to average at least two assists and two steals per game.

Guard: Brandon Plecker, Van Buren, senior: 11.0 points, 1.9 assists, 51.6 percent shooting ? The senior took what the defense gave him. He led the Warriors in field goal percentage and was third on the team in field goals made with 96. He was a solid third scoring option behind Saunders and Mertens. Plecker was third on the team in three-point field goals made with 18 while being fourth in attempts at 55. He finished the season with 248 points.

Guard: Brady Donovan, Pekin, junior ? 11.5 points, 55 three-pointers made, 1.6 assists ? Donovan turned in a pretty impressive year, in terms of shooting the basketball. The junior guard was far and away the team leader in three-point attempts (164) and makes (55). He finished the year third in the SEISC North Division in three-point makes and second in attempts. He finished ninth in three-point percentage (33.5 %). (Attempts need to equal at least one per game)

Forward: Ryan Swanson, Pekin, junior ? 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds ? Swanson ranked eighth in the SEISC North Division in scoring and fourth in rebounding. He accumulated five double-doubles on the year, including a season-high 23-point and 14-rebound effort against IMS on Dec. 19.

*Stats are current as of Feb. 19.

? Jarrod Peterson

Ledger sports editor