What rivalry?: Shelby coach takes Willard stud with No. 1 pick in NJ Classic Draft

WILLARD — When Shelby coach Greg Gallaway realized he was going to have the first pick in the 45th News Journal All-Star draft, he didn't hesitate for one second.

He didn't turn to assistant coached Todd Kehres or Davey Hipp to see who they thought he should take with the No. 1 pick. He didn't take a quick second to look over the spreadsheet with all of this year's player stats and he definitely didn't look at what school they were from.

TOP DOG: The Max Rule: Willard's Dawson achieves career milestone by no accident

In what some would consider a cardinal sin, Gallaway didn't even take a nanosecond before saying he wanted Willard's Max Dawson with the first overall pick in the NJ Classic draft as the bitter Shelby-Willard rivalry was put on the back burner, maybe even thrown out the kitchen window. All-time, Willard owns an 87-63 record against Shelby in the rivalry.

"It is going to be nice having him on our team for once," Gallaway said. "He is a heck of a basketball player and just watching him progress from when he was a sophomore to now has been pretty remarkable when you think of the things he has done. I know he puts a lot of time in. We had a good idea if we got that pick of who we were going to take. There was no debate."

Dawson owns the highest scoring average of any player in this year's All-Star Classic, slated for March 29 at Lexington High School with the alumni game at 6 p.m. and high school game to follow. Dawson is now averaging 25.5 points, 4,6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals for the 16-3 Willard Crimson Flashes who are in second place in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. Dawson has a chance to get the Flashes back in a tie for first with Margaretta on Friday night.

He is a scoring machine. Dawson dropped 41 in a 69-49 win over Open Door Christian at a showcase at a Cedar Point showcase and had 30 twice in a 71-58 win over Upper Sandusky and a 75-49 win over Port Clinton. His latest scoring feat came with 29 points in a win over Lucas on Saturday.

Gallaway, who will coach the North team and is in his third season at Shelby with a 56-10 record and three straight Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championships, is fairly new to the Shelby-Willard rivalry, but knows how big it is to the two schools as he grew up in Ashland and remembers many of the battles as a kid. But for the All-Star Classic, it was the last thing on his mind even though the Whippets travel to Willard on Feb. 23 for the regular-season finale and could meet up in the postseason in the Division II district.

"You definitely put it aside for a game like this," Gallaway said. "We still have to play them in our last regular-season game, too. But these past three years with both programs having a lot of success, it seems like the rivalry is approaching its best right now, but for this all-star game, it's put aside. Our guys have been playing against Max since middle school and probably youth basketball so it will be very cool to see some Shelby and Willard kids play together."

Gallaway automatically got Wright State commit Alex Bruskotter, Ashland University football commit Issaiah Ramsey and unsigned but Division II prospect Casey Lantz on his team as coaches in the Classic are rewarded with their own players for the game. So, to pair Dawson with Bruskotter, who came into the draft with a 23.7 points per game average, made the decision to draft the Willard senior that much easier.

"Two guys who can score in a lot of different ways and they are familiar with each other after playing in the spring together in AAU," Gallaway said. "It is not easy for an opposing coach to see two guys like that on the court on the same team at the same time."

Willard coach Joe Bedingfield sure wouldn't want to coach against that lineup.

"He has put a lot of work into it and that has led him to a chance to play at Ashland University next year," Bedingfield said. "If Greg wasn't coaching and Alex would have been on the board, too, he and Max are both No. 1 pick worthy so it would have been interesting. Max is a very coachable kid who doesn't think he knows everything. A coaches kid from a basketball family, any coach wants him on his team."

South coach, Cary Craner of Mansfield Christian, won the coin toss and elected to take the second and third picks bypassing the No. 1 pick. He chose Lucas senior Logan Toms at No. 2 and Galion's Cooper Kent at three. He had Mansfield Christian's Amarr Davis and Davis Wushinske as well as Mansfield Senior's Duke Reese already assigned to his team thanks to Davis and Reese's football connection at Mansfield Senior. So, Craner was looking to pair Toms and Davis together as the two have been involved in some epic Mid-Buckeye Conference battles over the years.

With the fourth pick, Gallaway was scanning the sheet and a player immediately caught his eye. Willard senior Cam Robinson who was paired with his Flashes teammate. Again, putting the rivalry aside.

"Every coach wants to win no matter what game it is," Bedingfield said. "I commend Greg for taking the best players on the board no matter where they are from because that is a smart move in the all-star game. By the time the game rolls around, the season will be over so the rivalry won't be as big of a deal as it will be during our game coming up. It is a smart move. Any coach would pick the best players possible."

Gallaway also drafted Hillsdale's Braylen Jarvis, Bucyrus' Malachi Bayless, Galion's Elijah Chaffin, Wynford's Grant McGuire, Mansfield Senior's Karion Lindsay and Ontario's Grady Schroeder. Craner added Lucas' Aidan Culler to his lineup along with Crestview trio Jarek Ringler, Sam Wells and Dylan Bruner, Lexington's Elijah Hudson, Madison's Will Kepple and Clear Fork's Adam Vanausdle.

Dawson is the first No. 1 pick in Willard history. The News Journal Classic draft started in 2005 when Mansfield Senior's Jonathan Avery went No. 1 overall. The following year, Willard's all-time leading scorer, Jimmy Langhurst (2,200 points) would have been eligible for the NJ Classic, but OHSAA rules back then prohibited players from playing in more than two all-star games in a single postseason. Langhurst played in the state North-South game as well as the Ohio vs Kentucky game that year.

So, Dawson, who currently has 1,652 career points, is in rare company in his school's history. He is currently No. 3 in scoring also behind Nick Dials (2,180), but he is the only player to be drafted first overall in the NJ Classic draft from Willard.

"There have been some great players to go through Willard so being the first No. 1 pick is very special," Dawson said. "It is going to be an awesome event and I cannot wait to represent the school and community."

He is also ready to put the rivalry on hold for a night, but is most excited to play alongside teammate Cam Robinson.

"There have been some battles in the rivalry even in games I played in so I am sure he saw those and just wanted to put the best team together he could," Dawson said. "It is going to be a lot of fun to play with some of the most talented guys in the area and fun to play with Cam again. That is very special."

It has been special for Bedingfield to get to coach Dawson and Robinson along with his entire senior class. With the season approaching postseason play, Bedingfield is taking the time to cherish every moment.

"He is a guy I am just trying to soak it all in with and enjoy this last month and a half with," Bedingfield said. "It is a great honor for a kid who is going to be in the Top 3 all-time in scoring. It is rare and it puts him right up there, but I know he is going in ready to have some fun as am I. There is going to be some amazing talent on the floor."

There is talk of an all-Shelby/Willard rotation at some point in the All-Star Classic with Dawson and Robinson joining Bruskotter, Ramsey and Lantz on the floor. Bitter rivals turned teammates, what could go wrong?

"We will be alright," Dawson said with a laugh. "With that talent on the floor, we will be just fine."

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45th News Journal All-Star Classic Rosters

South: Duke Reese, Mansfield Senior; Logan Toms, Lucas; Davis Wushinske, Mansfield Christian; Dylan Bruner, Crestview; Adam Vanausdle, Clear Fork; Will Kepple, Madison; Aidan Culler, Lucas; Cooper Kent, Galion; Elijah Hudson, Lexington; Sam Wells, Crestview; Jarek Ringler, Crestview; Amarr Davis, Mansfield Christian. Coach: Cary Craner, Mansfield Christian.

North: Malachi Bayless, Bucyrus; Trevor Vogt, Colonel Crawford; Issaiah Ramsey, Shelby; Max Dawson, Willard; Alex Bruskotter, Shelby; Karion Lindsay, Mansfield Senior; Casey Lantz, Shelby; Grant McGuire, Wynford; Grady Schroeder, Ontario; Braylen Jarvis, Hillsdale; Cam Robinson, Willard; Elijah Chaffin, Galion. Coach: Greg Gallaway, Shelby.

First overall picks in All-Star Classic draft history

2005: Jonathan Avery, Mansfield Senior

2006: Rashad Reed, Mansfield Senior

2007: Zach Maxey, Madison

2008: TJ Lindsay, Mansfield Senior

2009: Austin Smith, Colonel Crawford

2010: Courtney Avery, Lexington

2011: Josh Ingle, Shelby

2012: Shaquille Brooks, Madison

2013: Ethan Harris, Mount Gilead

2014: Cameron Mack, Ontario

2015: Naradain James, Mansfield Senior

2016: Mario Young, Mansfield Senior

2017: Tyson Kent, St. Peter’s

2018: Kyle Jackson, Madison

2019: Cade Stover, Lexington

2020: Josh Crall, Wynford

2021: Chase Walker, Colonel Crawford

2022: Luke Denbow, Ashland

2023: Jayden Jeffries, Madison

2024: Max Dawson, Willard

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Willard's Max Dawson is No. 1 pick in News Journal All-Star Classic Draft