A new tradition is expected to bring a capacity crowd to Hooley House in Mentor on March 27 for The News-Herald’s inaugural basketball awards show.
The event will be held as part of the Varsity Chalk Talk Show, hosted by Bill Tilton, and will feature the presenting of the finalists for the boys and girls basketball players of the year.
Show time is 7 p.m.
The event will be similar to the fall awards night at Hooley House, where The News-Herald’s Tony Fisher Award for the football player of the year and the Bob Ritley Award for the football coach of the year pack fans into Hooley House for an exciting extravaganza.
For the first time in N-H history, we will present the basketball awards in a special Varsity Chalk Talk show. The girls player of the year and the boys player of the year — named the Clark Kellogg Award — will be presented.
A star-studded list of finalists will be in the house for the exciting night.
The finalists for the Clark Kellogg Award as the boys basketball player of the year are (in alphabetical order):
• Michael Bothwell, from Cornerstone Christian.
Bothwell is fresh off a busy weekend in Columbus where he led the Patriots to the Division IV state championship game. Cornerstone lost in double overtime to Maria Stein Marion Local.
A dazzling playmaker who is going to Furman on a basketball scholarship, Bothwell averaged 24.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in the regular season. He was the Division IV player of the year in Ohio and a finalist for Ohio’s coveted Mr. Basketball Award.
• Jerry Higgins, from VASJ.
His decorated career at VASJ ended in a Division II regional final. But it was one of the most impressive careers in his teams storied history. He earned first team All-Ohio honors after averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 assists and 4.1 steals per game.
Higgins has multiple offers on the table for college, including Winthrop, College of Charleston, Marist and others.
• Alex Sulka, from Chardon.
No place in the gymnasium was off limits to Sulka’s tremendous shooting range and scoring ability. The senior averaged a News-Herald-area best 27.8 points per game. He had high games of 51 and 45 points this season.
A third-team Division II All-Ohioan, Sulka has drawn interest from a number of colleges, including John Carroll.
The girls’ player-of-the-year finalists are as impressive as the boys. The three finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
• Naz Hillmon, of Gilmour
The 6-foot-2 forward, headed to the University of Michigan on a basketball scholarship, led Gilmour to a second-place finish in the Division II state tournament.
For the season, Hillmon averaged 21 points, 14.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals, while shooting 70 percent from the floor.
Hillmon was a first-team Division II All-Ohioan, co-player of the year in Division II in the state, and a finalist for Ohio’s Ms. Basketball.
• Destiny Leo, of North.
Leo is a sophomore, but didn’t play like it. She helped lead North to the Division I district final, as well as a Western Reserve Conference title by averaging 19.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
For her efforts this year, Leo was named second team Division I All-Ohio.
• Sydney Snyder, of Kirtland.
Snyder led Kirtland in every statistical category this year, helped the Hornets go 23-0 before losing in the tournament, and was an integral part of leading the team to a Division III district semifinal.
Snyder averaged 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game.
A Baldwin-Wallace recruit, Snyder was a Division III first team All-Ohioan this year.
As part of the show, each of the finalists will be interviewed on the stage at Hooley House. Additionally each of the finalists — as well as one of their guests — will be served a complementary dinner.
Supporters of all the finalists, as well as anyone who wants to attend the awards event, is urged to call Hooley House (440-942-6611) to reserve a table, as a large crowd is expected.
For further information, email JKampf@News-Herald.com.
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