St. Thomas Aquinas standout freshman Cole McClure receives DIII Player of Year honors

DOVER - The awards and recognitions keep coming for the Division III state champion St. Thomas Aquinas boys basketball team and freshman standout guard Cole McClure.

Just weeks after McClure scored a game-high 20 points to help the Saints end their 32-year state championship drought with a 38-32 state championship win over Conant at Keene State College, he received one of the highest individual awards a player can get.

More: PHOTO GALLERY: St. Thomas Aquinas boys basketball beats Conant, wins D3 state title

The New Hampshire Basketball Coaches Organization announced that McClure was named the Division III Player of the Year, as well as being named to Division III all-state first team.

More: St. Thomas' Cole McClure has fitting end to championship season: 'He's a freshman!'

"So proud of Cole and this individual award," STA second-year head coach Dave Morissette said. "He's such a team player, hard worker and leader. He is way beyond his years in maturity."

McClure and his family had just returned from a vacation and received a call from Morissette telling McClure to keep the news quiet, but told him the news.

"I was kind of in shock, I didn't really expect it," McClure said. "No one was really ever thinking that I was going to get it this year, so it kind of came as a surprise to me."

"I wanted (the family) to know (McClure) earned it," Morissette said of the phone call. "I was proud all of the coaches in the division felt the same way. I just told him don't change who he is, and the accolades will come."

McClure humbly stated he feels he's one of the best players in the state, and with being named the Division III Player of the Year it's certainly hard to dispute that.

"I feel like I've proved myself this year, I've done a lot, I think, to help my team win," McClure added. "We got our ultimate goal, which was winning a state championship."

When McClure first practiced with the St. Thomas Aquinas basketball team, he said his primary goal was to play the point guard spot as well as he could.

"I knew he was talented, but I didn't know his basketball IQ," Morissette said of those first days with McClure. "(His IQ) really, really impressed me and how competitive he really was, because he's so quiet. When I saw those things early on, I was really impressed."

McClure averaged 16.5 points per game, on 45 percent shooting from the field, and dished out 3.6 assists per game.

"Whether I was scoring, facilitating, rebounding, I was doing whatever I could to just help us win," McClure said. "I think you have to guard me from anywhere on the court. I can get to the hoop, and I can get to my mid-range and my 3. If you're going to double-team me or try to faceguard me, I have other players on my team who can score."

In the state championship game, McClure's nine first-quarter points outscored the entire Conant team by one. Overall, he shot seven-of-12 from the field, nailed two of his five 3-point attempts, and had three boards.

Cole's dad, Scott, said the Player of the Year news "blew him away," while his mother, Danielle, said McClure is 'very self-motivated.'

"I was so excited," Scott McClure said. "I was with him when he got the call from Coach Morissette. Cole's a very low-key person and just a good teammate. It was great to see him be rewarded. It was a great reward after a fantastic season for the team."

Scott McClure said Cole initially just wanted to fit in with the Saints, and play his part on the team, whatever that may be.

"About two or three games in, we started to see the impact he was making in games," Scott said. "(We saw) the potential to have a really, really great individual season, on top of the team winning the state championship."

'I want to cry', Danielle added, though surely tears of joy when she's in the stands watching Cole hit big shot after big shot, make the right plays for his teammates, and ultimately hoisting the state championship.

"I love that he's learning that hard work pays off," Danielle said. "I love to see that he's gotten the opportunity to shine. I think the team he was on, (Coach Morissette), everything was aligned to put him in a great position ... he works so hard."

"One of the things Cole loves is the grind of getting better and working out when no one is watching," Scott said. "The dedication he has consistently had over the years with that is great to see being rewarded."

Morissette added that most don't know how much work McClure puts in quietly behind the scenes.

"I know him and his dad do a lot of individual stuff, and the kid just loves playing basketball," Morissette said. "If you watch him play, he's so humble about it. I hope that never changes, because that's why he's so good and he's super competitive."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: STA freshman McClue named Division III basketball Player of the Year