Louisiana Top 28: Division I All Tournament Team
First Team:
Caleb Daniels 6’4 G 2017 St. Augustine
Daniels has been the best option on offense and defense all season for St. Augustine, and it isn’t all that close. He can do it all on offense, and he was clearly the biggest point of emphasis for Brother Martin’s gameplan. The game was held to only 32-33 and Daniels finished with the most points for St. Augustine
Tre’ Swilling 6’2 G 2017 Brother Martin
In both games for Brother Martin, Swilling was their number one option, and he showed why as he was a beast in the paint. Even with the length that both St. Augustine and Scotlandville possessed, Swilling was able to finish at the rim at a decent clip. He finished with 15 in the state title game to lead his team in scoring.
Jaylen Hawkins 5’8 G 2017 Scotlandville
Not many games this year has Hawkins been the best point guard for his team, but that is what happened in the semifinal game against McKinley. With Scotlandville’s season teetering on the edge of extinction, down 31-40 with less than four minutes to go, Hawkins took over and hit three threes in those final minutes, including one to make it 43-42 and give Scotlandville a lead they would never give up.
Tyrece Radford 6’3 G 2018 McKinley
For the first time that I can remember, there was a class of 2018 guard that was better than Ja’Vonte Smart for a game, and that person was Tyrece Radford. He got to the rim at will, and had some ridiculously tough finishes. The coaches that were around me were blown away by just how tough he was. The only issue was that down the stretch, you could tell he was wearing down. I just have to wonder if this game would have had a different result if Radford wasn’t sidelined and in a boot for most of the season.
Ja’Vonte Smart MVP 6’4 G 2018 Scotlandville
Smart had a rough game in the semi-finals, but he was able to play a bit better in the championship. Brother Martin did a fantastic job of slowing the game down, but Smart still came away with a game high 15 points, as well as four assists and four rebounds. Smart is going to have the opportunity to go anywhere he wants for college, and he has a second ring in three years as a high schooler.
Second Team:
A.J. Lee 6’3 C 2017 McKinley
Lee did a great job of setting the tone against Scotlandville. Most of the players from McKinley looked as though the stage was too big and Scotlandville was unbeatable, but not Lee. He came out attacking, and went right into the teeth of his defender, scoring the first 8 points for McKinley.
Vejon Wallace 6’3 F 2017 Brother Martin
Wallace is a long forward that did a lot of the dirty work for Brother Martin. He was able to do an efficient job scoring in the post, and did an effective job of pulling down rebounds.
Reece Beekman 6’2 G 2020 Scotlandville
Without this freshman, I don’t believe that Scotlandville makes it to the championship game. His defense and shot-making down the stretch of that game were superb, and truly a difference maker. Over the last minute, he made Radford work for every bucket that he got, and did a great job tiring him as he picked him up full court.
Davonn Moore 5’6 G 2020 Brother Martin
Looking at Moore, he is clearly a freshman, and to be honest, when he walked on the court, I questioned whether or not he was ready for the moment. He answered that question when he knocked down two straight free throws with 3.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Bryson Celestine 5’10 G 2017 St. Augustine
When Caleb Daniels didn’t have the ball in his hands, it was Celestine’s job to initiate the half-court offense, and he did an efficient job of it. However, he was in foul trouble for most of the game, and didn’t get to have quite the impact I’m sure he would have liked in his final high school game.