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Class 4A-5A all-Big Country basketball team

By MARK WILSON

Staff Writer

The playing conditions for Catherine Weir and Derrick Franklin were about as different as they could be this season, but the two basketball standouts still managed to shine brightly.

Weir, targeted by opposing defenses all season as the player to stop on the struggling Cooper girls team, is the Abilene Reporter-News' girls Class 4A-5A Player of the Year.

Franklin, surrounded by talented teammates on a Sweetwater team that reached the Class 4A state tournament, distinguished himself enough to be named the Reporter-News' boys Class 4A-5A Player of the Year.

Despite the focus on Weir, Abilene's only first-team selection on the all-District 4-5A girls team, she averaged 20.1 points a game for the Lady Cougars, who finished the season seven games under .500. The 5-9 junior guard, who scored more than 30 points twice, averaged 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.5 assists. Weir shot 48 percent from the field and hit 67.9 percent of her free throws.

"Obviously, her stats show what she meant to the team, but also defensively we put her on the other team's best scorer," Cooper coach Kirk Ellis said. "She never complained about it. She's the kind of kid that gives you all she can. When teams started catching on to the fact she was going to be the biggest scorer, she led the team in assists. Still, most of the time she would find ways to score."

Franklin, a stout 6-3 junior post, recorded an incredible field goal shooting percentage of 76 percent this season, and averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds per contest. The District 4-4A MVP also averaged two blocked shots and two steals to help lead the league champion Mustangs (25-12) to the state tournament for only the second time in school history.

"Derrick is a tenacious worker. He had a good sophomore year, and he improved dramatically from his sophomore year to his junior year," Sweetwater coach Kenny Chandler said. "He's very physically strong. He looks like a defensive end in football. He also can play with finesse. He can shoot the 3-pointer, and he handles the ball well."

In the state semifinals, Sweetwater lost to San Antonio Fox Tech, which went on to win the Class 4A state title. That meant that Chandler's Mustangs were eliminated in the playoffs by the eventual state champion three years in a row, having lost to Pampa last season and Plainview the year before.

Sweetwater also placed Robert Reed and Jason Blueford on the Class 4A-5A first team. The TABC named Franklin as a second-team all-state pick and Blueford as a first-team all-region selection.

Rick Henderson of Snyder, Kolin Weaver of Graham and Cooper's Aric Garrett and Tony Roach complete the boys first team.

The girls on the first team are Kristen Shewmake of Graham, Vanessa Lehrmann of Sweetwater, Kim Robertson of Big Spring, Tracy Horrell of Abilene High and Christi Fulfer of Stephenville.

Reed, a 6-7 senior post, averaged 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. He shot 53 percent from the field and 70 percent at the free throw line.

Blueford, a 5-10 senior point guard, averaged 12 points, eight assists and 4.5 steals a game.

Henderson, a 6-5 senior who was on the Reporter-News Super Team last season, averaged 19.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for Snyder, which won 20 games. This season, he was named as a TABC second-team all-region performer.

Weaver, a 6-8 senior named to the TABC all-region first team, will head for Los Angeles later this summer after having signed early with Loyola Marymount University. He averaged 22 points, a dozen rebounds and five blocked shots a game for the District 5-4A champion Steers.

Garrett, a 6-2 senior chosen as a second-team all-region performer by the TABC, averaged 11.6 points, 3.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds a game.

The 6-4 Roach averaged 12.6 points, five rebounds and two assists. He is a TABC first-team all-region pick.

Shewmake averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a game for Graham, which took the District 5-4A title on the way to a 25-win season.

Lehrmann averaged 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. She shot 52.4 percent from the field and 66 percent at the free throw line.

Robertson, voted girls MVP in District 4-4A, contributed 13.2 points and eight rebounds a game.

Horrell was the only Abilene High player to average double figures in scoring, at 12.4 points per game. She shot 43.4 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from 3-point range and 71.9 percent at the free throw line, and averaged five rebounds and two steals.

Fulfer was a co-Defensive Player of the Year in District 5-4A and was an important cog as a leader for Stephenville's playoff team. She averaged nine points and five assists per outing.

GIRLS

Player of the Year - Catherine Weir, Cooper, 5-9, Jr.

First Team - Kristen Shewmake, Graham, 5-11, Jr.; Vanessa Lehrmann, Sweetwater, 5-11, Soph.; Kim Robertson, Big Spring, 5-11, Sr.; Tracy Horrell, Abilene High, 5-8, Sr.; Christi Fulfer, Stephenville, 5-2, Sr.

Second Team - Misty England, Graham, 5-7, Sr.; Lindsay Lepard, Sweetwater, 5-5, Jr.; Jessica Cavett, Brownwood, 5-7, Jr.; Tiffany Garza, Snyder, 5-11, Sr.; Erica Garvin, Snyder, 6-0, Sr.

BOYS

Player of the Year - Derrick Franklin, Sweetwater, 6-3, Jr.

First Team - Robert Reed, Sweetwater, 6-7, Sr.; Jason Blueford, Sweetwater, 5-10, Sr.; Rick Henderson, Snyder, 6-5, Sr.; Kolin Weaver, Graham, 6-8, Sr.; Aric Garrett, Cooper, 6-2, Sr.; Tony Roach, Cooper, 6-4, Sr.

Second Team - John Lackey, Abilene High, 6-5, Sr.; Brandon Schmitz, Cooper, 6-3, Sr.; Brent Gaylor, Graham, 6-0, Sr.; John Smith, Big Spring, 6-0, Sr.; Chuck Holbrook, Brownwood, 5-10, Sr.; Kyle Dempsey, Stephenville, 6-3, Sr.