Seniors Max Sheldon and John Connolly, who led the San Marcos boys basketball team to the Channel League title, have been honored as the league’s Co-Most Valuable Players.
Teammates since they were in the 5th grade, Sheldon and Connolly were the one-two scoring punch for a Royals team that went 10-0 in league, 11-5 overall and reached the second round of the CIF-SS 2A Division playoffs.
Sheldon, a guard, was the Royals’ leading scorer with a 15 points-per-game average. He also averaged three assist. He poured in a career-high 32 points in a first-round playoff win over La Salle.
Connolly played forward and averaged 14 points and was the leader of the defense. He averaged two blocked shots and six rebounds a game. He scored 23 points in a key league victory at Cabrillo.
Coach Jelani Hicks said both players were vocal leaders and led by their play
“They always came up big during the clutch moments,” he said. “John was able to make big plays on offense and defense with his length and activity as well as starting our breaks with great rebounding and full-court lead passes.
“Max set the tone with his offensive aggressiveness and on-court leadership. His consistency was a motor for us and was someone we could rely on.”
Cabrillo senior guard Hayden Jory was named the league’s Defensive MVP.
Hicks was honored as the Coach of the Year.
San Marcos had two players selected to the All-Channel League first team: junior guard Shakir Ahmad and senior forward Thomas Kinzler.
Also named to the first team are: senior forwards Andrew Douglas and Erik Stranburg of Santa Barbara; senior guard Raymond Vega and sophomore guard Lorenzo Martinez of Cabrillo and Santa Ynez sophomore forward Landon Lassahn.
San Marcos juniors Julian Hicks and T.J. Robinson were named to the second team.
The other second-team players are sophomore Devan Stone, senior Myles Thompson of Santa Barbara; senior Eric Everett of Cabrillo; sophomore Jackson Ollenburger and senior Scott Bunch of Santa Ynez; senior Elijah Perkins of Lompoc and juniors Kael Rillie and Joaquin Riker of Dos Pueblos.
The honorable mention selections:
San Marcos: Thomas Mock, G, 12
Cabrillo: Noah Pacheco, G, 10
Santa Barbara: Dylan Borgeson, G, 12
Santa Ynez: Ryan Devitt, C, 11
Dos Pueblos: Alex Perez, G, 12; Grant Hughes, F, 10
Lompoc: Dominic Ballesteros, G, 12
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.