|
Coach and players honored by RVC picks
by Norv and Mary Coblentz · Sports · March 17, 2017
Four players and the head coach of the West Branch boys’ basketball team were honored by the River Valley Conference for the 2016-17 season.
Senior Cooper Kabela, sophomore Beau Cornwell, junior Ben Thompson, and freshman Tanner Lukavsky are the Bears that received All-Conference honors.
Head Coach Tom Burger was named Coach of the Year in the RVC South Division. “I was very honored that I was chosen for the award,” Burger said. “It is a combination of great support from the administration, coaching staff, players, parents, and community.
“Our staff worked very hard to put the players in a position to be competitive every game and the players responded. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes things that go on, and I want to thank my family for basically not seeing much of me for three months so I can dedicate time to this program.”
The Bears had two players named to the RVC Elite team. Senior Kabela “was chosen by the RVC Coaches as a unanimous Elite player.” Burger said. “This includes the North and South Divisions. This is quite an accomplishment as there are a lot of great players in the RVC. If you are one of the top 10 on this list, you are in very good company. Cooper deserves this as he has put a lot of effort into being a really good basketball player and great teammate. For Cooper to be unanimous, he obviously has the respect from every coach in the RVC.”
The other Elite player was Cornwell. “What a great honor for Beau to be on the Elite Team,” Burger said. “He was RVC South last year as a freshman and has elevated his play to make the Elite Team as a sophomore. Quite an accomplishment to make this team as there are players from the North and South divisions (on it). Beau has spent a lot of hours in the gym and to overcome a broken collar bone in Football and making this Elite team is a sign of hard work.”
Thompson was named to the South Divisional Team. “Ben had a great year for us,” Burger said. “He is one of those guys who does the little things or even the dirty work. He was one of our best defenders. He was just able to make plays for us during the year. He is one of those kids that plays three different positions. (It is) a great honor to make First Team RVC South.”
Receiving Honorable Mention was Lukavsky.
“It’s hard for freshman to make All-Conference, but Tanner did a lot of things to earn this,” Burger said. “Kind of like Thompson, he was one of our better defenders and all-around players. He played three or four positions when we needed him to. We look for Tanner to have a great career here at West Branch.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
