PARKERSBURG -When Parkersburg Catholic defeated Gilmer County for its third consecutive Little Kanawha Conference Night of Champions title the Cruaders joined the Red Devils from Ravenswood to accomplish that feat.
The driving force behind that victory was senior John Padden. So impressive was the Crusader standout that he was selected as the LKC's Player of the Year.
"He was the engine that made us run," Parkersburg Catholic head coach Joe Garrett explained. "He is a natural two guard, but there were times when we needed him to run the offense and sacrificed a lot to make us a better team."
Padden, who joins fellow Crusaders Cole Cwynar (2010, 09), Rusty Wooten (2002) and Robbie Strcula (1998) as recipients of the award, was the only member of the 12-player first unit to be named for a second time as he led the conference in both assists (5.2 pg) and steals (3.5) and finished second to South Harrison's Bart Harris in scoring with a 17.6 points per game norm.
Joining Padden on the first team was seniors Terrill Hill of Gilmer County, Isaac Gains of South Harrison, the Cruaders' Nick Fisher, Ritchie County's Cody Masters, Cory Lowe of Tyler Consolidated and Harris as well as juniors Zack Martin and Ben Pannell of Ravenswood, K.D. Arnett of St. Marys, Williamstown's Case Edgar, and Jordan Lacy of Braxton County.
Hill, who finished second in the POY voting, closed out his career with the Titans by averaging 13.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game as Gilmer captured the South Division.
Fact Box
Little Kanawha Conference
All-LKC Basketball Team
2010-11
First Team
Name, School Grade PPG
John Padden, Parker. Catholic 12 16.8
Terrell Hill, Gilmer County 12 13.1
Zack Martin, Ravenswood 11 12.5
Jordan Lacy, Braxton County 11 11.2
K.D. Arnett, St. Marys 11 14.0
Case Edgar, Williamstown 11 13.5
Isaac Gains, South Harrison 12 14.0
Nick Fisher, Parker. Catholic 12 13.4
Ben Pannell, Ravenswood 11 12.3
Bart Harris, South Harrison 12 18.3
Cody Masters, Ritchie County 12 12.0
Corey Lowe, Tyler Consolidated 12 14.5
Second Team
Michael Badgley, Williamstown; Andrew Davis, Ritchie; Dylan Wager, Wirt; Cole Dotson, Doddridge; Jordan Coen, Braxton; Brandon Matthews, St. Marys; Cory Aichele, Doddridge; Bronson Clark, Calhoun; Ian Morris, Gilmer; Anthony Aviles, Gilmer; Daniel Collie, Parkersburg Catholic; Easton Hutton, Braxton
Third Team
Caleb Cade, Doddridge; Logan Kirby, South Harrison; Jeremy Lawrence, Ravenswood; David Godwin, Ravenswood; Paige Haught, Ritchie; Mark Britton, Ritchie; Alex Mace, Roane; R.J. Burdette, Roane; Willie Bowman, Roane; Matt Goode, Clay; Josh Bell, Wirt; J.T. Nemeth, Wirt; Joel Roberts, Gilmer; Derek Renner, St. Marys; Boone Kehrer, Tyler
Player of the Year: John Padden, Parkersburg Catholic
Coach of the Year: Joe Garrett, Parkersburg Catholic
The unit includes eight of the league's top 10 scorers-Harris (18.3), Padden, Arnett (14.0), Gains (14.0), Lowe (13.8), Fisher (13.4), Hill, and Edgar (13.5). Martin (12.5) and Pannell (12.3) were the top point producers for a Ravenswood team which captured the third place game at the Night of Champions with a win over a Braxton County squad led by Lacy (11.2).
Pannell (10.4), Hill (9.8) and Gains (9.0) finished among the top five rebounders in the LKC while Martin (3.6) and Edgar (3.5) were among the league leaders in assists.
Masters helped return the Rebels to prominence in the league by averaging 12 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 steals in his final season in Ellenboro.
The most impressive stat line among the 12 belongs to Gains, however, as the Hawks' senior averaged seven and one half blocked shots per game to go along with his points and rebounds.
Named by the coaches to the second team included Williamstown's Michael Badgley, Ritchie's Andrew Davis, Dylan Wager of Wirt County, Cole Dotson and Cory Aichele of Doddridge County, Jordan Coen and Easton Hutton of Braxton, St. Marys' Brandon Matthew, Bronson Clark of Calhoun County, Gilmer's Ian Morris and Anthony Aviles, and Daniel Collie of Parkersburg Catholic.
Receiving the Coach of the Year award for the third straight time was Parkersburg Catholic's Joe Garrett.
"It is always an honor to be named by your peers," explained Garrett. "But, a lot of the credit goes to my players and my assistants."
