Meet the Tribune's all-county high school basketball teams
During the 2022-2023 high school basketball season, we saw outstanding senior talents mix with rising young stars. It's time to give credit where credit is due.
Here are the Tribune's boys and girls All-Boone County basketball teams, including the players, newcomers and coaches of the year.
Boone County boys basketball
Superlatives
Player of the Year: Evens Appolon, Father Tolton
Newcomer of the Year: Exavier Wilson, Father Tolton
Coach of the Year: Ben Pallardy, Battle
Dominance is a hard word to define in basketball. However, Appolon exemplified the term. When Tolton's defensive acumen was at the forefront of the Trailblazers' postseason run, the center of it all literally was Appolon. The senior center rebounded, blocked and defended the ball at one of the best rates in the state. Appolon being the backbone of the defense allowed guards like James Lee, Izaak Porter and Blake Pingeton to thrive into their own as first-rate defenders.
That defense allowed our top newcomer Exavier Wilson to showcase his game, which was so good in Springfield that Missouri State couldn't let him leave without offering him a scholarship. Wilson's pure offensive abilities are already college-level as a sophomore. He'll have two more years to improve them.
Pallardy showed magnificent growth from year one to year two at Battle. He learned his own lessons and imparted lessons of his own on a veteran Spartans team. That led to an 11-game win streak, wins over Hickman, Tolton and Rock Bridge (twice) and a district title won with stout defense.
All-County boys basketball first team
Evens Appolon, Father Tolton
Tate McCubbin, Battle
Brady Bowers, Rock Bridge
Exavier Wilson, Father Tolton
Vernell Holt, Battle
All-County boys basketball second team
Izaak Porter, Father Tolton
Kanyon Hummel, Rock Bridge
Brock Camp, Hickman
Tay Patrick, Battle
James Lee, Father Tolton
Kolton Garner, Hallsville
All-County boys basketball honorable mention
Blake Pingeton, Father Tolton; Langston Stroupe, Hickman; Isaiah Bonaparte, Hickman; Jordan Richardson, Hickman; Josiah Griffith, Hickman; Justin Goolsby, Battle; Ethan Wiley, Battle; Isaac Stinson, Hallsville; Brayden Ott, Harrisburg; Hayven Samuels, Harrisburg; Brady Dapkus, Southern Boone; Aidan Bukowsky, Southern Boone; Brady Davidson, Rock Bridge.
Boone County girls basketball
Superlatives
Co-Players of the Year: Mari Miller and Jayda Porter, Rock Bridge
Newcomer of the Year: Braylin Brunkhorst, Centralia
Coach of the Year: Jill Nagel, Rock Bridge
The Bruins lead the way after an incredible run to the state championship game, where Miller and Porter were the two of the best players in the state, regardless of their underclassmen status. The two fed off each other while improving immensely and often after a rocky start to the season.
You have to credit Nagel for that, too. The Hall of Fame coach turned a young and talented squad into a great team. The scary part is this core will have two more full seasons together as Miller is only a sophomore, and Porter is just a freshman.
However, don't sleep on Brunkhorst. The Centralia freshman helped the Panthers to their best overall record since 1978 and a runner-up finish in districts. Brunkhorst showed a scoring hand as a freshman, alluding to her potential for the years to come.
All-County girls basketball first team
Jayda Porter, Rock Bridge
Mari Miller, Rock Bridge
KJ Johnson, Battle
Chloe Bukowsky, Southern Boone
Ashtyn Klusmeyer, Hickman
All-County girls basketball second team
Tayla Robinson, Battle
Ella Rogers, Hickman
Emilee DeHaas, Southern Boone
Braylin Brunkhorst, Centralia
Jozelynn Bostick, Centralia
All-County girls basketball honorable mention
Maliyah Miller, Battle; Nautica Washington, Battle; Annie Robinson, Centralia; Kristen Jones, Hallsville; Haley Hagen, Hallsville; Carli Ellis, Harrisburg; Brecca Thornhill, Harrisburg; Sy'Rae Stemmons, Hickman; Jayla Griffith, Hickman; MaJayla Dudley, Southern Boone; Paige Morse, Southern Boone; Bella Corrado, Rock Bridge; Malia Cheivous, Rock Bridge; Addison Hopkins, Rock Bridge; Katherine Seivers, Rock Bridge; Sadie Sexauer, Father Tolton.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Meet the Tribune's all-county high school basketball teams