All-Blade: Boys Basketball Team

3/1/2007

Bastian

• School: Libbey

• Class: Junior

• Height: 6-5

• Position: Guard/forward

• Key stats: A repeat selection as All-Blade boys player of the year, Buford, who has verbally committed to Ohio State, was a study in consistency in leading Cowboys to their first City League championship since 2000. Averaged 28.4 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Shot 66 percent from 2-point range, 42 percent on 3-pointers and 76 percent on free throws. Had career high 41 points against Bowsher, had no fewer than 19 points or 10 rebounds in any game, and eclipsed 25 points 14 times.

• Coach says: William is a complete player. He ll score a lot of points but also create opportunities for his teammates without forcing the issue. He s a winner who always accepts challenges. Leroy Bates

• School: Clay

• Class: Senior

• Height: 6-5

• Position: Guard-Wing

• Key stats: Achter ranks among the City League s top scorers with 20.1 points per game. He makes 51 percent of his shots from inside the 3-point arc and 33 of his shots from outside the arc. He set a school record by scoring 39 points against Southview and had 36 against Fremont Ross and 30 against Waite. He averages 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per contest.

• Coach says: A.J. is one of the best athletes I have ever coached. He s a tremendous kid, is a hard worker and has a great attitude. He has been a true leader for a very young team. Plus, he s had some amazing dunks this season. He s been fun to watch. Joe Guerrero

• School: Central Catholic

• Class: Senior

• Height: 6-5

• Position: Forward

• Key stats: A varsity starter since midway through his freshman season, Bastian turned in his most productive year while helping the Irish to the City League playoffs. The athletic, left-handed shooter averaged 16.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game.

• Coach says: Sam is very skilled for how big he is, and he can play inside or outside. He s had to battle a lot more inside this year because he s our biggest guy. He s done a great job of improving himself over the last four years. Paul Patterson

• School: St. Francis

• Class: Senior

• Height: 6-2

• Position: Guard

• Key stats: Nick s average of 17.8 points per game places him among the City League leaders in that category. He shoots 53.3 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the foul line. Among his big-scoring nights this season was a 31-point effort against Waite and 28 points versus Rogers. He also contributes 2.0 assists per game and 1.9 steals per contest.

• Coach says: Nick has a tremendous work ethic that permeates to our whole team, both in practice and in games. He tries to lead by example. He s also our best defender. We asked him to guard other teams top scorers, and we asked him to score on offense. He had to be in great shape, both mentally and physically, to handle that. Nick Lowe

• School: Scott

• Class: Senior

• Height: 6-3

• Position: Guard

• Key stats: Wyse, who helped St. Francis de Sales to an 18-3 finish last season, sparked the Bulldogs to a 12-0 start and a top-10 state ranking this season before a roster depletion factored into Scott s 2-4 ending to the regular season. But Wyse was consistent throughout, averaging 26.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists while shooting 55 percent from 2-point range, 36 percent on 3-pointers and 79 percent from the line.

• Coach says: Chris is one of the best offensive players I ve seen in high school in a long time. We play a transition game and I just turned him loose. He s able to either get to the hoop and score, or get fouled and go to the line. He can also score from medium and long range. He s got the complete package. Joe Suboticki