Mike Mathews
May 04, 2008 01:01 am
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Kory Gibson, who won the area scoring championship and left a huge mark in the Northern High School program and record book, joins player of the year Jordan Brooks of Fort Hill as repeaters on this year’s Cumberland Times-News All-Area boys basketball team.
This year’s first team consists of three seniors and three juniors. Joining Gibson and Brooks are senior Travis Dordevic of Allegany and juniors David Hobel of Mountain Ridge, Preston Hartman of Keyser and Kamran Khataian of Bishop Walsh.
The team was selected by voting done by area head coaches, who first nominated players to appear on a ballot, and then selected the team from the completed ballot. Twelve of the 17 coaches (70 percent) returned ballots.
As player of the year, Brooks is the captain of this year’s team (See separate story).
Kory Gibson
Try as they might every night out, no one had much of an answer in how to stop Northern’s Kory Gibson, a two-time All-Area first-teamer who was the Area and Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference scoring champion.
Gibson, a 6-foot-5 forward, nearly pulled an Area triple crown of sorts, finishing first in scoring with a 27.4 average, first in three-point goals with 87 for 3.8 per game, and sixth in foul shooting, making 112 of 146 for 76.7 percent. He also averaged 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1 block per game and shot 41 percent from three-point range (87 for 210).
Also first-team All-AMAC, Gibson led the conference in scoring (25.2) and three-point goals (50) and was second in foul shooting (68 for 86, 79 percent).
“Kory’s the best scorer I’ve coached. He proved he was the most prolific scorer in the area this year — not only in his totals, but by dropping 40 on Mountain Ridge, Fort Hill and Bishop Walsh, not weak teams by any means, so he was the real deal,’’ said Northern coach Paul Edwards.
Gibson leaves Northern with the most 40-point games, and is in the top five in career scoring, three-pointers and three-point shooting percentage. But he was much more than a scorer, and is in the top 10 all-time in rebounding and steals.
“Kory’s game has improved a lot. It’s hard for people to see that because he was so good last year,’’ said Edwards. “His shooting percentages all improved, his rebounding totals went up, and he passed the ball very well. He leaves a huge hole for us next year. We have to replace 30 points per game essentially, as well as a guy who commanded double or triple team defenses every night that opened up our other guys.
“Kory’s had a great career at Northern and is a great young man who’s matured a lot in his time here. He has a bright future ahead of him at the next level.”
Travis Dordevic
Travis Dordevic, a 6-foot-3 senior center, led Allegany to a 19-win season, and runner-up finishes in the Area, Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference, and Cumberland City League.
Dordevic, with a variety of inside moves and determination, overcame sagging, lane-clogging defenses to score 316 points in 24 games for a 13.1 average, and was also among the area leaders in rebounding, with 8.1 per game.
“Travis was the backbone of our team ... he was our leader, said Allegany coach Tedd Eirich.
Dordevic let his play do most of his talking, and opposing coaches noticed, as they voted him first-team All-Area, first-team All-City, and first-team All-AMAC.
He averaged 16.5 points per game in the City League, and 13.4 per game in the AMAC.
A two-year starter, Dordevic was third in the area in field goal shooting, hitting 54 percent. He was 10th in the area in foul shooting at 69.8 percent.
“Travis was such a pleasure to work with because he was so coachable. He listened to everything he was told, he worked on his low post moves and he was difficult to stop in a one-on-one situation,’’ said Eirich. “His numbers don't look as gaudy as some others but that was because he faced lots of double and triple teams throughout the year and our outside shooting didn’t take the heat off of him under the basket. Not only will his basketball skills be missed but also his tremendous attitude, his intellingence and his work ethic.”
David Hobel
For quickness, ball-handling and accuracy, it’s difficult to top Mountain Ridge’s David Hobel.
A junior and two-year starter, Hobel led the first Mountain Ridge team to a 15-9 season, which included a 7-1 mark in its final eight games. He was also first-team All-AMAC, helping the Miners to third place with a 9-5 record.
Overall, the speedy junior, who alternated time between point guard and shooting guard, finished sixth in the area in scoring with an 18.2 average, and led the area in assists and steals, averaging 6.1 assists and 4.6 steals. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds.
“David had a good year. He was a good leader for us, and worked hard. He did what we needed for him to do for us to win games,’’ said Mountain Ridge coach Dave Hobel, who is the first-teamer’s father. “He did a good job handling the ball, finding and passing to open teammates, and shooting and scoring. He was a good all-around player and team player for us.”
The 5-foot-9 guard was sixth in the area in three-point goals (42), and shot 42 percent from the three-point line (43 for 103). No one made (155) or attempted (188) more free throws, and his 82.4 percentage from the 15-foot line was second best in the area, behind only Southern’s Jordan Pacella (66 for 80, 82.5 percent), who won the foul shooting title by one-tenth of a percent. Hobel made 21 of 22 foul shots in a 29-point game against Northern.
“I think he sees the court well, and when he sees a teammate open he gets him the ball,’’ said coach Hobel. “He plays hard, goes 100 mph and always tries to do his best.”
The Hobels are the first father and son to be voted first-team All-Area in basketball. The Mountain Ridge coach was player of the year in 1979 and 1980.
Preston Hartman
After his sophomore season, Keyser’s Preston Hartman had already proven he had an outside game. As a junior he proved he could be a force inside as well, and was one of just a handful of area players to average a double-double in scoring and rebounding.
Hartman, a 6-foot-2 two-year full-time starter, averaged 18.1 points and led the area in rebounding with 11.8 per game in sparking the Golden Tornado to a 13-11 season, sectional and regional championships and a berth in the Class AA state tournament in Charleston. He also averaged nearly two steals per game.
His 18.1 scoring average was seventh-best in the area.
“We moved him to the post, and what he did was quite an accomplishment,’’ said first-year Keyser coach Gary Liston. “He had never played with his back to the basket before. This year, out of necessity, we had to move him inside.
“He’s such a versatile player and a real tough kid. He’s aggressive and plays hard all the time. He brings his linebacker mentality to the basketball court. He wants every rebound and every loose ball.”
While Hartman was productive inside as center, he remained a threat from the outside. He was fourth in the area with 51 three-point goals, and shot 42 percent (51 for 121) from the three-point line.
“He was still our leading three-point guy, and in our offense the No. 5 guy will get a lot of three-point looks,’’ said Liston. “And he fit that bill pretty well. He was very consistent from start to finish. When you average a double-double, you have to be pretty satisfied.”
All five starters will be returning next year at Keyser. Hartman is the first Keyser player to be voted to the All-Area first team since Adam Braithwaite in 1997.
Kamran Khataian
Kamran Khataian didn’t do a little of everything at Bishop Walsh. He did a lot of everything.
And he was among the very best at everything he did. He led the area in three-point shooting (99 for 229) at 43.2 percent, was second in assists with 5.8 per game, and second in three-point goals with 99, finished third in scoring with 18.5 points per game, was fourth in steals with 2.1, and seventh in foul shooting (64 for 85) at 75.2 percent.
“One of the nicest things I like about Kamran is how he makes other players better. That’s a characteristic of an All-Area player to me,’’ said Gene Paul, who after the season was let go after three years as head coach at BW.
“He scored points and had a lot of assists, and his work habits really penetrated into the team. He showed that hard work does pay off, and dedication does make a difference,’’ Paul added. “He was helpful and encouraging to his teammates, and was almost like a coach with his teammates. And, he was the first one to apologize when something went wrong if he was even close to being at fault.”
Also first-team All-City, Khataian, of London, was second in the City in scoring with an 18.7 average and hit 12 three-point goals in four league games.
“I think his defense was the biggest thing he improved on, and it improved immensely,’’ said Paul. “His on-the-ball defense was fine. His off-the-ball defense improved, and his court vision defensively improved. His court vision offensively was always great. He saw his teammates and got them the ball.”
Khataian, in his first year at BW, was also second-team All-Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament, with 16-, 17- and 32-point games in the tournament in becoming the first BW player to earn all-tournament honors since Nebojsa Bogdanovic in 2000.
He won the ACIT three-point shootout, tied the single-game record for three-pointers with eight in a 32-point game against Judge Memorial, and tied the tournament record for three-pointers with 15.
Contact Mike Mathews at mmathews@times-news.com.
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