As many teams in District 9 boys’ and girls’ basketball have reached the midpoint of the 2023-24 season, it’s time to look at my midseason awards.
TOP FOUR BOYS TEAMS
Otto-Eldred (11-0), Elk County Catholic (12-0), Redbank Valley (9-1), and DuBois (7-4) are the best four D9 boys’ teams.
All four can score the basketball with Redbank Valley averaging a D9-leading 68.5 ppg, Otto-Eldred just behind them at 65.5 ppg, ECC coming in seventh in D9 at 58.4 ppg, and DuBois at eighth (57.9 ppg).
And they all do it with balanced scoring with O-E, ECC, and Redbank having four players each averaging in double digits and DuBois, which has arguably played the toughest of the four schedules, three.
What probably separates the Terrors and Crusaders a little from the Bulldogs and Beavers, to an extent, is on the defensive side of the floor.
Otto-Eldred is allowing a D9-leading 33.1 ppg with ECC right behind at 36.3 ppg.
DuBois allows the 12th-fewest points in D9 at 48.4 ppg, while Redbank Valley, playing in a more offensive-centric league in the KSAC – six of the top 11 scoring teams in D9 are in the conference – ranks 24th in D9 in points allowed at 54.6 ppg.
Clarion and Cameron County – who played a one-point game that went to Clarion a couple of weeks ago – are also in t his discussion as is Karns City.
BEST FOUR GIRLS TEAMS
Elk County Catholic (11-1), Punxsutawney (10-2), Redbank Valley (10-2), and St. Marys (8-2) – are the best girls’ teams in D9.
The Lady Crusaders are one of the top Class 1A teams in the state and have split games with Punxsutawney (a win) and St. Marys (a loss Saturday).
ECC is the best offensive team (58.1 ppg) in District 9, the second-best defensive team (29.7 ppg) in the district, and has the best points differential in D9 (+30.6) by nearly 10 points per game.
The Lady Crusaders starting five features three players in double digits and two more averaging at least 7.3 ppg.
Punxsutawney and Redbank Valley are similar in regards to having a strong two-some with quality role players behind them, while St. Marys has D9’s leading scorer leading the way.
The Lady Chucks are led by perhaps the best all-around player in D9 in Danielle Griebel while Redbank Valley has one of D9’s top pure scorer in Mylee Harmon.
Because of that, both teams can score with Redbank Valley ranked third in D9 in scoring at 51.6 ppg and Punxsutawney fourth at 50.0 ppg.
The Lady Chucks check in at 10th in D9 in scoring defense allowing 34.4 ppg while having the fifth-best point differential at +15.6.
Redbank Valley is 17th in D9 allowing 40.8 ppg, and ranks eighth in point differential at 10.8 ppg.
St. Marys averages the second-most points in D9 (54.5 ppg) mainly thanks to the play of Snelick, who is the lone 20 ppg score in the District at 22.7 ppg. The Lady Dutch, who also rank 11th in points allowed (35.0 ppg) and second in points differential (+19.5 ppg) aren’t a one-woman show with three additional players scoring between 7.4 ppg and 11.0 ppg.
While these four are deemed to be the best of the bunch right now, in girls’ basketball there are plenty of contenders including Ridgway (9-2), who has split with St. Marys this year, North Clarion (10-2), Moniteau (11-3), althought the Lady Warriors are dealing with two projected startes lost for the year with knee injuries, and Karns City (9-5), which has two overtime losses to Redbank Valley and an overtime loss to Punxsutawney among its five defeats.
MOST SURPRISING BOYS TEAM
This is a toss-up between Curwensville and Punxsutawney.
The Golden Tide are 8-4 on the year already matching last season’s win total when they were 8-15. They are led by D9’s top scorer, Davis Fleming (21.5 ppg) and have another strong scorer in Parker Wood (16.7 ppg).
Punxsutawney has also already matched last year’s win total with a 7-5 mark after going 7-16 a year ago.
In Randy Reitz’s second year behind the Chuck bench, he has his team playing team ball with four players averaging between 8.2 ppg and 10.7 ppg.
MOST SURPRISING GIRLS TEAM
Austin. The Lady Panthers are currently sitting in third place in the NTL with a 5-3 mark and have an overall 8-5 record. This coming a year after going 8-13 overall and 5-11 in conference play.
It’s mainly being down on the defensive side of the ball, as Austin ranks sixth in D9 in points allowed at 33.7 per game. That helps offset an offense that averages 38.8 ppg, which is middle of the pack in D9 at 15th.
LEADING BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES
To be Player of the Year you have to have a combination of being one of the top players in the district as well as being on one of the best teams.
That is why at midseason, Otto-Eldred’s Landon Francis (16.4 ppg), DuBois’ Tyson Kennis (15.9 ppg), and ECC’s Wil Wortman (15.8 ppg) are the front runners for the award.
But don’t count out some of the top scorers in the district including Fleming, especially if Curwensville can make some noise in the postseason, DCC’s Andrew Green (19.1 ppg), Johnsonburg’s Isaiah Jackson (18.3 ppg), and Cameron County’s Josh Smith (16.9 ppg).
LEADING GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES
Again, like with the boys, a combination of skill and great team play goes a long way in determining the best girls’ players in D9.
Unlike the boys, though, the race is probably a lot more up for grabs in girls’ hoops with the likes of Punxsutawney’s Greibel (11. 7 ppg, 7.1 apg), St. Marys’ Jayssa Snelick, Moniteau’s Catherine Kelly (19.2 ppg), North Clarion’s Lily Homan (19.0 ppg), Ridgway’s Jenna Kasmierski (18.4 ppg), and Redbank’s Harmon (16.8 ppg) all in the mix.
Postseason performances will play a huge factor in which of these players – or another not currently mentioned – takes home that award.
TEAM ON THE RISE
The Clarion-Limestone boys, the defending D9 Class 2A champion, started the season 3-7 under first-year head coach Patrick Craig but has won three in a row to get back into the conversation.
