WARREN, Pa. – Alec Srock burst onto the District 9 basketball scene as a junior and just kept getting better and better in his senior year, and that is a big reason the Cardinal is the 2022 D9and10Sports.com District 9 Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year Powered by All American Awards and Engraving.
Joining Srock as major award winners are Otto-Eldred’s Landon Francis (Rookie of the Year) and Elk County Catholic’s Aaron Straub (Chuck Daly Coach of the Year).
Three All-District teams were also chosen.
The first team includes Srock, Brookville’s Griffin Ruhlman, Clearfield’s Cole Miller, Elk County Catholic’s Charlie Breindel, Keystone’s Bret Wingard, and Ridgway’s Dan Park.
The second team consists of DuBois’s Chooch Husted, Otto-Eldred’s Gavin Jimerson, Redbank Valley’s Marquese Gardlock and Chris Marshall, Ridgway’s Domenic Allegretto, and Union’s Caden Rainey.
The third team is made up of Cameron County’s Hayden Brown, Clarion’s Christian Simko, Curwensville’s Ty Terry, North Clarion’s Aiden Hartle and Collin Schmader, Francis, and Smethport’s Alex Ognen.
All American Awards and Engraving specializes in all kinds of awards, trophies, and engraving products as well as screen printing and embroidery. As the company likes to say, they will put almost anything on almost everything. The 2012 Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry Business of the Year in Economic Development is located on Route 322 in Shippenville. It can be found on the web at www.allamericanhq.com and can be reached at 1-877-402-9273.
2022 D9AND10SPORTS.COM BOYS’ DISTRICT 9 BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR POWERED BY ALL AMERICAN AWARDS AND ENGRAVING
Alec Srock, Sr., DuBois Central Catholic – Srock led DCC to a second-place finish in District 9 Class 1A and the second round of the PIAA playoffs by averaging a double-double of 19.5 points and 13.3 rebounds per game while also adding 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks per contest. He shot 50.5% (197 of 390) from the field, including 14 of 42 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and was a 70.3% free-throw shooter (121 of 172).
Srock scored 20 or more points 16 times, including topping 30 twice with a career-high of 37 Feb. 7 vs. Huntingdon. He also recorded 22 double-doubles on the season.
Alec Srock. Photo by Paul Burdick
2022 D9AND10SPORTS.COM BOYS’ BASKETBALL DISTRICT 9 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POWERED BY ALL AMERICAN AWARDS AND ENGRAVING
Landon Francis, Fr., Otto-Eldred – Francis was instrumental in helping Otto-Eldred win the NTL Title and finish third in District 9 Class 1A. He averaged 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 42% from the field. He was also nearly automatic from the free-throw line nailing 86% (86 of 100) of his charity shots.
Francis topped 20 points three times, including a season-high 30 points vs. Port Allegany on Jan. 20, and was at 15 points or greater 1l1 times.’
Landon Francis. Photo by Paul Burdick
2022 D9AND10SPORTS.COM BOYS’ BASKETBALL DISTRICT 9 CHUCK DALY COACH OF THE YEAR AS PRESENTED BY THE CHUCK DALY FOUNDATION POWERED BY ALL AMERICAN AWARDS AND ENGRAVING
Aaron Straub, Elk County Catholic – In his 40th year of coaching the Elk County Catholic boys’ team, the 2022 campaign might have been one of the most rewarding if not most challenging seasons for Straub, and, yet, the Crusaders still won the District 9 Class 1A title (the 24th title for ECC under Straub) and advanced to the PIAA semifinals for the fifth time in school history.
Straub’s team started the year with just eight kids on the bench and never dressed more than 10.
The Crusaders also had a couple of tough losses along the way including a defeat at DuBois Central Catholic in early January, an overtime loss at home to Brookville in early February, and a loss to Ridgway in the AML Title game, a contest in which ECC managed just 23 points.
But Straub never let his club get down on itself, and ECC used the Ridgway loss in the AML game as a rallying cry winning six straight playoff games before falling to eventual state champion, Bishop Canevin in the PIAA 1A semifinals.
ECC finished the season 25-6, the 16th 25-win season for Straub, and the veteran coach won his 900th game as a boys’ coach along the way.
Straub is 940-263 in 42 years as a head coach (he was the ECC girls coach for two years before taking over the boys’ job in 1983) and he is 913-241 as the boys’ coach, including 24-4 in District 9 title games.
About Chuck Daly: Daly was a 1948 graduate of Kane High School who started his coaching career at Punxsutawney High School (1956-63, 111 wins, D9 title in 1958, and league titles in 1958, 1962, and 1963) before moving into the college and pro ranks where he won two NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons. Daly also coached the 1992 United States Olympic “Dream Team” to a gold medal finish. He was inducted into the James Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. In addition to coaching the Pistons for nine years going 467-271, he spent a little under a season coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1981-82 and coached the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic in the 1990s. He was also the head coach at Boston College and Penn in the college ranks. The NBA continues to honor his coaching legacy with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award given annually to a longtime NBA coach’s life in basketball and his “standard of integrity, competitive excellence, and tireless promotion” of the game.
About the Chuck Daly Foundation: The Chuck Daly Foundation was formed in Punxsutawney in 2016 by 1960 PAHS graduate George “Butch” White, who played basketball under Daly. The foundation was formed primarily to create scholarships for both male and female student/athletes in both basketball and golf.
Aaron Straub. Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics
2022 D9AND10SPORTS.COM BOYS’ FIRST-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 9 POWERED BY ALL AMERICAN AWARDS AND ENGRAVING
•Griffin Ruhlman, Sr., Brookville: 10.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 spg, Shot 50% from the field and 71% from the free-throw line
•Cole Miller, Jr., Clearfield: 21.8 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg, 1 spg, 102 made 3-pointers; Shot 78% from the free-throw line
•Alec Srock, Sr., DuBois Central Catholic: 19.5 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.6 bpg, Shot 197 of 390 (50.5%) from the field, 14 of 42 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and 121 of 172 (70.3%) from the free-throw line
•Charlie Breindel, Sr., Elk County Catholic: 12.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.2 spg, shot 121 of 265 (45.7%) from the field, 44 of 118 (37.3%) from 3-point range, and 103 of 138 (74.6%) from the free-throw line.
•Bret Wingard, Sr., Keystone: 17.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 1.9 apg, 1.8 spg, Shot 45.2% from the field, 30.5% (18 made) from 3-point range, and 91 of 126 (72.2%) from the free-throw line.
•Dan Park, Sr., Ridgway: 15.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 1 bpg, Shot 77 of 105 (73.3%) from the free-throw line
2022 D9AND10SPORTS.COM BOYS’ SECOND-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 9 POWERED BY ALL AMERICAN AWARDS AND ENGRAVING
•Chooch Husted, Sr., DuBois: 13.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.1 spg, 1.9 apg, 0.7 bpg, Shot 56% (130 of 232) from the field
•Gavin Jimerson, Sr., Otto-Eldred: 14.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, Shot 55% from the field
•Marquese Gardlock, Sr., Redbank Valley: 12.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg; Shot 54% (134 of 248) from the field
•Chris Marshall, Sr., Redbank Valley: 13.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.4 spg, 0.8 bpg
•Domenic Allegretto, Sr., Ridgway: 11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.6 spg
•Caden Rainey, Sr., Union: 14.4 ppg, 10.9 rpg,4.5 apg, 2.2 spg, Shot 100 of 249 (40.2%) from the field
2022 D9AND10SPORTS.COM BOYS’ THIRD-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 9 POWERED BY ALL AMERICAN AWARDS AND ENGRAVING
•Hayden Brown, Sr., Cameron County: 19.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.0 bpg, Shot 50.8% (168 of 331) from the field
•Christian Simko, Sr., Clarion: 17.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.8 spg, 1.8 apg, Shot 43.4% (185 of 426) from the field
•Ty Terry, Sr., Curwensville: 18.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.9 spg
•Aiden Hartle, Jr., North Clarion: 15.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 6 apg, 2 spg, Shot 54% from the field and 42% from 3-point range
•Collin Schmader, Sr., North Clarion: 14.4 ppg, 9 rpg, 4 spg, 1.9 bpg, Shot 51% from the field, 37% from 3-point range
•Landon Francis, Fr., Otto-Eldred: 13.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.8 apg, Shot 42% from the field and 86% (86 of 100) from the free-throw line
•Alex Ognen, Sr., Smethport: 19.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.1 spg
