George School's Bliss, Wood's Bethea lead boys basketball all-state contingent
Christian Bliss and Jalil Bethea are versatile 6-foot-4 junior guards who do a lot of things well on the basketball court.
On Wednesday, they were honored with all-state recognition as George School's Bliss was named the non-PIAA Player of the Year and Archbishop Wood's Bethea earned PIAA Class 6A first-team laurels.
Also, Dock Mennonite senior guard Nate Lapp garnered Class 2A second-team honors, while George School sophomore center Luke Bevilacqua ended up on the non-PIAA second team.
Bliss averaged 20 points and 5.2 assists in 2022-23 for the Cougars while shooting 56 percent from the field and 43 percent on 3-pointers. He set a single-season school record with 578 points, scored a Friends School League final-record 39 points in a win over Academy of the New Church and had 29 in an overtime loss to Perkiomen School for the PAISAA championship. He's scored 1,262 career points, counting his two years at Archbishop Molloy (N.Y.).
Bliss, who was a second-team selection in 2021-22, has offers from Villanova, Miami, St. John's, Penn State, St. Joseph's and others.
Bethea received the Philadelphia Catholic League MVP for his terrific season. He averaged 23.2 points for a Vikings team that reached the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals, as well as 7.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and shot 53.6 percent from the floor and 89.2 percent from the foul line. Bethea tallied a career-high 40 points in an overtime win over St. Joseph Prep and 31 in a victory over defending PCL champion Neumann-Goretti.
Reading High point guard Ruben Rodriguez was voted the 6A Player of the Year.
Bethea, who was second-team all-state as a sophomore, is being recruited by some of the nation's top colleges. He has offers from Kansas, Syracuse, UCLA, Villanova, West Virginia, Xavier and numerous others.
The 5-11 Lapp, who'll play baseball at Millersville, averaged 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.5 steals for the District One Class 2A champions. He hit 50 3-pointers, shot 87 percent on free throws, drew a team-record 37 charges and helped the Pioneers win a school-record 27 games this season. He graduates as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,309 points.
For subscribers: Here's the 2022-23 Bucks/Montco all-star boys basketball team
The 6-10 Bevilacqua averaged 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and shot 52 percent from the field in 2022-23 for George School, which won a school-record 24 games and secured the Friends School League title for its first championship in 52 years.
He already has scholarship offers from St. Joseph's, Cincinnati, St. John's and UTEP.
Leading the way: George School's Luber is our Bucks/Montco Boys Basketball Coach of the Year
Fifth-year players aren't eligible for the all-state teams.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: George School's Bliss, Wood's Bethea head all-state selections
