SPASH’s Blair, Almond’s Kollock named All-State
Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) senior guard Drew Blair and Almond-Bancroft junior guard Noah Kollock both received All-State honors from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the Associated Press (AP).
Blair was named to the Division 1 All-State Team by the WBCA, and was one of five players selected First Team All-State by the AP.
Kollock was named to the Division 5 All-State Team by the WBCA, and was Honorable Mention All-State by the AP.
Blair was selected to the WBCA Division 1 All-State Team for the second consecutive season, as three-time defending WIAA Division 1 State Champion SPASH finished 20-6 following a 57-42 loss to top-ranked and eventual State Champion Oshkosh North (27-1) in the Sectional Finals.
With 6-8 senior forward and NCAA Marquette University recruit Joey Hauser lost for the season after the first game of the year, Blair carried the load for the Panthers and turned in a dominating senior campaign, as he finished eighth in the state in scoring at 28.9 points per game, and led SPASH with 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
The 6-3 NCAA Division II Northwest Missouri State recruit also shot 57 percent from the field and 87 percent from the free-throw line, as he was named the Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) Player of the Year after he was co-WVC Player of the Year as a junior, and helped the Panthers win their sixth consecutive Conference Title.
Blair was named First Team All-State by the AP along with 6-0 senior point guard and NCAA Division 1 West Virginia recruit Jordan McCabe of Kaukauna, 6-5 senior guard and NCAA Division 1 Kentucky recruit Tyler Herro of Whitnall, 6-5 senior guard and NCAA Division 1 Iowa State recruit Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh North, and 6-5 senior guard and NCAA Division 1 California-Irvine recruit J.C. Butler of Racine Prairie.
The Second Team included 6-4 senior guard and NCAA Division 1 DePaul recruit John Diener of Cedarburg, 6-8 senior forward and NCAA Division 1 Wright State recruit Grant Basile of Pewaukee and 6-6 sophomore guard Jalen Johnson of Sun Prairie, who is rated seventh nationally in the ESPN Class of 2020 rankings.
Kollock was selected to the WBCA Division 5 All-State Team and named Honorable Mention All-State by the AP after he helped Almond finish 18-7 overall this season following a 56-46 loss to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in a WIAA Division 5 Regional Final.
With Almond junior forward and second-leading scorer Cade Lamb lost for the rest of the year due to an injury after the second game of the season, Kollock also took on an expanded load offensively for the Eagles as a junior.
The 6-1 guard averaged 22.8 points per game, as he shot 50.3 percent from the field, 81.1 percent from the free-throw line and 42 percent on three-pointers.
Kollock also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 steals, and was named the Central Wisconsin Conference (CWC) South Player of the Year.
McCabe of WIAA Division 2 State Champion Kaukauna was selected as the winner of the 2018 Mr. Basketball Award by the WBCA and the State Player of the Year by the AP, after he averaged 26.6 points, 6 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game this season.