The Hastings Banner — Thursday, April 8, 2021 — Page 13Seniors fill most of all-county basketball teams
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There were certainly highs and lows to the
2021 varsity boys’ basketball season, but a
low point in 2021 was far better than not hav-
ing a 2021 season.
Lakewood had the most wins of any team
in the county. The Vikings finished the season
at 10-8, their second ten-win season in a row.
Thornapple Kellogg was 5-11, but that
came with a 4-4 start. Maple Valley was 6-12,
but won its last three regular season ball-
games. Hastings finished with five wins and
Delton Kellogg four.
No one was challenging for a conference
championship, but everyone had their
moments. The Panthers knocked off
Kalamazoo Christian in Delton with a bucket
in the final seconds. Lakewood got a buzz-
er-beater from senior Brady Gawne to win by
one at Olivet. One of the Trojans’ highlights
was scare they put into the South Christian
Sailors early in the season in Grand Rapids.
South Christian went on to a 17-3 campaign.
The All-Barry County teams are experi-
enced ones this winter. There are 12 seniors
among the 15 honorees this winter.
Here are the 2020-2021 All-Barry County
Boys’ Basketball First and Second Teams.
2020-21 All-Barry County
Boys’ Basketball First Team
Kirby Beck, Hastings: Beck surpassed the
1,000-point varsity scoring mark at the end of
his senior season. He averaged 16.5 points per
game to lead the Saxons this winter.
Beck was named first team all-conference
in the Interstate-8 Athletic Conference, the
fourth time he has earned all-conference bas-
ketball honors.
Jayce Cusack, Lakewood: Cusack did
everything on both ends of the floor and is the
Vikings’ leader according to head coach Chris
Duits. Pretty impressive words for a sopho-
more.
Cusack was named first team All-GLAC
this winter. He averaged 15 points, 7.
rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while
shooting 54.1 percent from the floor and 79.
percent from the free throw line.
Evan Eastman, Hastings: The Saxons’
seniors center was named first team all-con-
ference in the Interstate-8 for the second sea-
son in a row.
Eastman averaged 11 points and 8.
rebounds per game this season.
Hugheston Heckathorn, Maple Valley: A
senior center/forward for the Lions,
Heckathorn averaged ten points, 6.8 rebounds,
2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game while earn-
ing honorable mention all-conference in the
GLAC. A three-year varsity player,
Heckathorn also drew a team-high 25 charges
on the season.
“Hugheston was a great team leader this
year,” Lion head coach Ryan Nevins said.
“He improved a great deal on the defensive
for us this year and was much better at getting
the ball to the basket. His season was high-
lighted by a 23-point, 11-rebound game
against Lakewood. He also made the game
winning free throws against Perry with 6.
seconds left to finish off a 12-point comeback
in the last 2:30 of the game.”
Cole Pape, Delton Kellogg: The Panthers’
6-6, 305-pound center who has plans to play
college football at Davenport University
earned first team all-conference in the SAC
Valley Division, finishing with a double-dou-
ble on most nights. He averaged 14.1 points
and 10.1 rebounds per game, with a high
scoring night of 28 points.
“He had defenses playing football and
rugby against him most of the year,” DK head
coach Jim Hogoboom said, adding that Pape
drew significant attention from opponents
who often had two defenders on him. “I can’t
say enough about his contributions to our
program on and off the court. He is a great
competitor, tremendous worker and really
embodies our ‘DO A JOB’ mantra.”
Cole Shoobridge, Thornapple Kellogg:
Shoobridge averaged just under a double-dou-
ble at 9.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in his third
varsity season. He earned all-conference hon-
ors in the OK Gold this season. He sits tenth
all-time in three-pointers made at TK with 53.
“Cole is a unique player as he plays the
guard position standing at 6 feet, 6 inches,”
TK head coach Josh Thaler said. “There were
many things that Cole provided to our team
that didn’t always show up in the stat line
such as forcing an offender to throw a bad
pass where a teammate was able to get a steal
as well as taking care of the ball verse press-
es.”
Austin VanElst, Thornapple Kellogg: The
Trojans’ senior center earned all-conference
honors in the OK Gold for the second season
in a row, his third on the Trojan varsity. He
sits in the top ten in career points at Thornapple
Kellogg with 788, one spot behind his grand-
father who finished with 807. VanElst aver-
aged 17.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks
per game this season. He also shot 37 percent
from behind the three-point line.
“Each year, Austin became more and more
dominant offensively requiring double or tri-
ple teams whenever he caught the ball inside,”
coach Josh Thaler said. VanElst had a career
high of 35 points versus Ottawa Hills this
year. Five times he finished with a dou-
ble-double; and three other games he was one
rebound short of a double-double.
2020-21 All-Barry County
Boys’ Basketball Second Team
Nolan Dahley, Thornapple Kellogg: A
senior guard for TK, Dahley averaged 9.
points and 3.5 rebounds a game while earning
honorable mention all-conference in the OK
Gold in his third varsity season. He was the
Trojans’ leading free throw shooter in each of
the past two seasons.
Coach Josh Thaler said Dahley also helped
stretch the floor for TK’s post play as a shoot-
er on the outside. He had 16 points apiece in
ballgames with South Christian and Wayland.
Brady Gawne, Lakewood: A marksman
with his feet set, Gawne led Lakewood with
an average of 16.4 points per game. He shot
42.6 percent from three-point range, hitting
58 triples on the season.
Gawne, a senior guard, also averaged 2.
rebounds per game and shot 90.9 percent
from the free throw line. He was named sec-
ond team All-GLAC.
Terrell Jefferson, Thornapple Kellogg: One
of the few varsity newcomers among the hon-orees, Jefferson averaged 8.9 points and 1.
steals a game for the Trojans and traded duties
defending opponents’ top guards with senior
Levi VanderHeide.
“He is an extremely well-rounded player,”
coach Josh Thaler said. “He contributed
offensively with his outside shooting as well
as his ability to attack the basket and finish.
Terrell finished in double digits in seven
games” with a high of 18 in a ballgame
against Ottawa Hills.
Lane Morris, Maple Valley: Honorable
mention all-conference in the GLAC, Morris
had 8.6 points, 3.9 steals, 2.1 assists and 4.
rebounds per game, finishing third on his
team in both scoring and assists. He led his
team in steals and minutes played.
“Lane was a real force on the defensive this
year,” coach Ryan Nevins said. “He has really
quick hands and got his hands on a lot of pass-
es this year. He did a really great job of dis-
rupting the opposing team’s offense. Lane
was one of our better outside shooters over
the last two years, but really developed in
being able to put the ball on the floor this year
and get into the lane.”
Blake Thomas, Delton Kellogg: The senior
guard was a captain for the Panthers this sea-
son and earned honorable mention all-confer-
ence in the SAC Valley Division. He was the
Panthers stat leader in all the defensive hustle
stats, deflections, steals and loose ball recov-
eries.
“Any team, any sport, any school would
want this guy on their roster,” coach Jim
Hogoboom said. “He is one of the best leadersI have been around in 35 years of coaching
multiple sports. He was worth 12 top 15
points per game as a defensive specialist and
hustle guy. He was on track to be a two or
three time state qualifier in wrestling until he
broke his neck as a freshman. Without foot-
ball or wrestling he made himself into a bas-
ketball player. He sets the tone every day in
practice for the team and will not allow poor
effort without calling it out.”
Levi VanderHeide, Thornapple Kellogg: A
senior who averaged 5.1 points per game, he
had a season-high 13 points in an overtime
ballgame with OK Red Conference foe
Grandville.
“Levi has brought much of the team’s ener-
gy and intensity the past two years,” coach
Josh Thaler said. “Levi doesn’t always get the
stat line as some of his teammates, but he is a
huge contributor to the team playing his role
as a stud defender and hustler.”
Curtis Walker, Maple Valley: A senior for-
ward, Walker was named honorable mentionall-conference in the GLAC this season. He
averaged 10 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.
blocked shots per game. He led the Lions in
rebounding in his third varsity season and had
nine double-doubles.
“He was a workhorse down low for us this
year,” coach Ryan Nevins said. “He was a
quiet leader, that led by example not only in
games but in practice. Curtis also has a 3.
GPA.”
Alden Whitmore, Delton Kellogg: The
Panthers’ 6-1 junior point guard was named
honorable mention all-conference in the SAC
Valley Division this winter averaging 6.
points and three assists per game. Whitmore
had a high of 23 points, nine rebounds and
seven assists in a ballgame with Constantine.
“He is a good leader who we want to be a
bit more aggressive and look for his shot more
on offense, but just so unselfish,” coach
Hogoboom said, “a pass first kind of guy. He
stabilizes us on offense.”13
Distracted driving crashes
kill nine people per day
As traffic begins to pick up across the
country, with increased vaccinations and
decreased pandemic restrictions, drivers are
reminded of the importance of focusing on the
road ahead and not on their smartphones
during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
According to 2019 data from the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Distracted driving crashes killed 3,142 peo-
ple in the United States – an average of nine
deaths per day. That number was up 10 per-
cent from the year before (2,839 deaths in
2018).
In Michigan alone, 64 fatal crashes involved
a distracted driver, resulting in 71 fatalities in
2019.
“Distracted driving remains a growing traf-
fic safety problem nationwide,” Adrienne
Woodland, spokesperson for AAA-The Auto
Club Group, said. “Any distraction, whether it
be texting or talking to a passenger, could be
enough to cause a crash. [Drivers are strongly
urged] to focus on what’s most important:
that’s the road in front of them.”
The top three risky driver distractions are
mobile phone use, in-vehicle technology, and
passengers in the vehicle.
Drivers who use their cellphones behind
the wheel have chosen to ignore the message
that such behavior is extremely dangerous. In
2019, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
nationwide survey found that:
-Most drivers (96 percent) believe typing or
reading on a hand-held cellphone while driv-
ing to be very or extremely dangerous.
-Still, some of them do it anyway. Thirty-
nine percent admitted to reading and 29 per-
cent admit to typing on a smartphone at least
once while behind the wheel within the past
month.
-Checking a phone at the stoplight can be
risky, too. AAA research found that drivers
can experience a “hangover effect” where the
mind stays distracted for up to 27 secondsafter using smartphones or voice-to-text vehi-
cle infotainment systems to send text messag-
es, make phone calls or update social media.
In other words, once that light turns green, the
driver’s mind may still be focused on the
phone and not on the road.
“The bottom line is, if your mind is not
focused on driving, you’re unable to properly
react to what’s happening on the road in front
of you. That puts other drivers, bicyclists, and
pedestrians at risk,” Woodland said.
House Bills 4277, 4278 and 4279 are cur-
rently pending before the Michigan House of
Representatives that would implement
improvements to Michigan’s distracted driv-
ing laws. These bills deal with a variety of
issues, including banning the use of handheld
devices beyond just texting and driving to
include the use of social media, video stream-
ing and other cell phone technologies.
AAA offers these tips to avoid distracted
driving:
-Put it away. Place mobile devices out of
sight to prevent temptation.
-Know the route. If using a navigation sys-
tem, program the destination before driving.
-Pull over. If a call or text is necessary
while on the road, drivers first should pull off
the road safely and stop the vehicle.
-Ask passengers for help with navigating,
making a call or sending a message.
-Be a good passenger. Speak out if the driv-
er is distracted.
-Don’t be a distraction. Avoid calling or
texting others when they are driving.
-Activate the “Do Not Disturb” option.
Setting up this feature on iPhone or Android
device will prevent calls from coming in
while driving.
Everyone should avoid distractions while
in traffic. Just as drivers need to pay attention,
so do pedestrians and bicyclists. Never call,
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