Sunday, March 23, 1997

All-Big Country Super Team

By MARK WILSON

Staff Writer

The Comanche girls and the Sweetwater boys were on a mission to complete a dream journey during the 1996-97 basketball season, and Amber Ward and Derrick Franklin took over the wheel to help drive their teams to their eventual destination - Austin.

Ward is the Abilene Reporter-News girls Player of the Year and Franklin is the boys Player of the Year on the all-Big Country Super Team.

The 5-8 Ward, named Friday as the all-Big Country Class 3A girls Player of the Year, averaged 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 steals. The Maidens finished their season at 28-6 with a loss to Dripping Springs in the state semifinals. She was also a TABC first-team all-state selection.

"She had a good supporting staff, and she always let them know she wasn't the only one on the floor," Comanche coach Becky Raesz said. "She's a great ball handler, and she penetrated really well. That's where she got most of her points."

Franklin, a 6-3, 200-pound junior, was as reliable as he was difficult to stop when he got his hands on the ball, sinking 76 percent of his field goal attempts overall. The District 4-4A MVP and TABC Class 4A second-team all-state selection averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds a game.

"I think if he grows an inch or two, he will be one of the top 50 players in the state," Sweetwater coach Kenny Chandler said. "He has a great attitude. He has received a lot of attention, and he has handled it well.

"He's not going to live on past performance. He'll be the first one to be dressed for practice. He leads by example."

The Super Team boys list also includes Robert Reed and Jason Blueford of Sweetwater, Kolin Weaver of Graham, Bryan Herring of Breckenridge, Zack Brown and Dwayne Dacus of Jim Ned, Coffey Anderson of Bangs, Casey Burgess of Haskell, Shea Feagan of Roby, and Bryan Branham of Moran.

The other girls on the Super Team are Catherine Weir of Cooper, Amy Hays of Ballinger, Morgan Moylan of Eastland, Ricka McKee of Coleman, Nicole Harlmon of Comanche, Julie Murphy and Erica Abney of Hawley, Kimberly Moore of Zephyr, and Sarah Dodds and Shauna Dodds of Brookesmith.

Reed, a 6-7 senior, averaged 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. This is the second year in a row Reed has made the Reporter-News Super Team.

Blueford, a 5-10 senior, contributed a dozen points, eight assists and 4.5 steals during the Mustangs' 25-12 season. He was selected to the Class 4A first-team all-region TABC team.

Weaver, a 6-8 senior on the TABC's first-team Class 4A all-state list, helped Graham (28-4) claim the District 5-4A championship with season averages of 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots per game. The Steers had reached the state semifinals a year ago while still in Class 3A.

Herring, the District 6-3A MVP, averaged 19.5 points on 53 percent shooting and 7.9 rebounds a game. He was named second-team all-region by the TABC.

Brown, a 6-3 senior, averaged a team-leading 16.6 points a game on 52 percent shooting for Jim Ned, which charged to a 31-0 season mark before falling to Shallowater in the area round of the playoffs. The District 7-2A MVP was a second-team Class 2A all-state selection by the TABC.

Dacus, a 6-2 senior and TABC second-team all-region selection, averaged 14.7 points and seven rebounds a game for Jim Ned.

Anderson, a 6-5 senior and second-team TABC Class 2A all-region pick, led Bangs with 17 points per game, shooting almost 60 percent from the field.

The 6-6 Burgess, the MVP of District 9-2A and a second-team Class 2A all-state pick by the TABC, averaged 18.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots a game for Haskell.

Feagan, a 6-1 Roby senior who averaged 23.5 points a game, was named on Wednesday as Reporter-News Class A boys co-Player of the Year along with Branham. The first-team TABC all-region pick shot 66 percent from the field, and also averaged 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 steals.

Branham, a 6-71/2 senior, shot 73 percent from the field in averaging 22.5 points. The TABC second-team Class A all-region selection also averaged 12.5 rebounds and two blocked shots for Moran.

Weir, a 5-9 junior at Cooper who was the Reporter-News Class 4A-5A girls Player of the Year, averaged 20.1 points on 48 percent field goal shooting.

Hays, the District 6-3A girls MVP, averaged 18 points a game while shooting 59 percent from the field. The 6-1 senior, who pulled down 10 rebounds a game and averaged three blocked shots, was on the all-Big Country Class 3A first team for the second year in a row. She has been voted first-team all-state on the TABC and TGCA girls teams this season.

Moylan is on the Reporter-News Super Team for the second year in a row after the 6-0 post averaged 17.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and three blocked shots. The Eastland junior is on the TABC first-team Class 3A all-region list this season, and was the all-Big Country Player of the Year in Class 3A for the 1995-96 season.

McKee, a 5-10 senior and TABC first-team Class 3A all-region selection, scored 20 points a game for Coleman, and also recorded seven steals and 7.7 rebounds.

The 5-9 Harlmon averaged 9.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.2 steals a game for Comanche, and was a second-team Class 3A all-region selection by the TABC.

Murphy, a 5-10 senior post voted District 7-2A MVP for a third year in a row, averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds a game as Hawley got off to a 32-0 start. She was a TABC first-team Class 2A all-region pick this season. Murphy and the Lady Bearcats finally stumbled in the area round of the playoffs against Shallowater.

Abney, a 5-3 senior, averaged nine points, four steals and four assists for Hawley.

Moore and Shauna Dodds were named on Wednesday as the Reporter-News all-Big Country Class A girls co-Players of the Year, and this is the second year in a row Moore has made the Reporter-News Super Team.

The 5-11 Moore, the District 53-A MVP, helped Zephyr make it to the state semifinals a year ago. This season she averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Brookesmith rode the talent of Sarah Dodds, a 6-0 sophomore, and her sister, 6-2 senior Shauna Dodds, to the state tournament for the first time in school history.

Sarah, who was named to the Class A all-state tournament team even though Brookesmith lost to Celeste in the semifinals, averaged 20.5 points, four steals and four assists. She was a first-team Class A all-region selection by the TABC.

Shauna tied a high school girls record for blocked shots in a game with 17, and finished the season averaging eight blocks per contest. She also averaged 16 points on 52 percent field goal shooting, along with nine rebounds and three assists a game. Shauna was a second-team TABC all-region selection.

Super Team

GIRLS

Player of the Year: Amber Ward, Comanche, 5-8, Jr.

Coach of the Year: Becky Raesz, Comanche

Catherine Weir, Cooper, 5-9, Jr.; Amy Hays, Ballinger, 6-1, Sr.; Morgan Moylan, Eastland, 6-0, Jr.; Ricka McKee, Coleman, 5-10, Sr.; Nicole Harlmon, Comanche, 5-9, Jr.; Julie Murphy, Hawley, 5-10, Sr.; Erica Abney, Hawley, 5-3, Sr.; Kimberly Moore, Zephyr, 5-11, Soph.; Sarah Dodds, Brookesmith, 6-2, Sr.; Shauna Dodds, Brookesmith, 6-0, Soph.

BOYS

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

Coach of the Year: Ken Chandler, Sweetwater

Robert Reed, Sweetwater, 6-7, Sr.; Jason Blueford, Sweetwater, 5-10, Sr.; Kolin Weaver, Graham, 6-8, Sr.; Bryan Herring, Breckenridge, 6-3, Sr.; Zack Brown, Jim Ned, 6-3, Sr.; Dwayne Dacus, Jim Ned, 6-2, Sr.; Coffey Anderson, Bangs, 6-5, Sr.; Casey Burgess, Haskell, 6-6, Sr.; Shea Feagan, Roby, 6-1, Sr.; Bryan Branham, Moran, 6-71/2, Sr.