AREA 1A-2A HOOP STANDOUTS HONORED AT STATE LEVEL

Advance coach Jim Hall will be the first to tell you that a Garrett Broshuis doesn't come along that often.

And any Advance fan of the last 25 years will say the same thing.

Broshuis, a 6-foot-3 forward who can do a little bit of everything, became the first Advance player since 1975 to be named to the Missouri Sportscasters and Sportwriters Association's All-State first team in Class 1A.

The last first-team all-staters for Advance were David Tropf and Ron Oller of the Hornets' 1975 state championship team.

Notre Dame's Lisa Millham (2A) and Scott County Central's Jreece Johnson (1A) were also rewarded for their stellar basketball season's by being named to the first team, while Scott City's Ryan Weatherspoon and Scott Central's Vontrice Blackmon were both named to the second team.

The all-state list for Classes 3A and 4A will be released Thursday.

Broshuis, a 6-foot-3 forward, lifted the Hornets to new heights this season as Advance made it to the quarterfinals. Advance ended up ranked sixth in the state at 27-5.

Broshuis, who was also recently named Southeast Missouri's small school player of the year, scored 24.5 points per game, shot 45 percent from 3-point range and grabbed 7 rebounds per contest. He also dished out four assists, swiped three steals per game and shot 83 percent from the foul stripe.

"Every game opponents knew they had to stop him, but for 32 games, he got his points every night," said Hall. "But his teammates also knew if they got open, they would get the ball."

Like Broshuis, Johnson faced a defense every night that was geared to stop him. But Johnson proved he couldn't be stopped from scoring as he scored far more points this year (31 ppg) than any other player in the area. He also got 6.6 rebounds per game, shot 52.9 percent from field and led his team in assists.

"It sounds easier to stop one player than it really is," said Scott Central coach Steve Wells. "Many nights we'd have him as a pure perimeter shooter, some nights we'd put him in the post. We tried to put him in as many positions as possible depending on how teams played him.

"And I don't think people understood that he led the team in assists and often defended the toughest opponent. Plus, he had to keep himself out of foul trouble and he still dominated offensively. I don't think there's a player at the 1A or 2A level that could excel in as many ways as he did."

Millham, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, led a well-balanced Notre Dame team in scoring at 13 points per game. She also was second on the team in assists. Millham, one of three sophomores who started, helped lead her team to a 22-6 mark. The Lady Bulldogs were ranked sixth in the final poll.

"She takes care of some of the ball handling, she can penetrate and shoot the three," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "If they deny the three, she'll take the ball to the hole. She's only going to get better because she works all the time on her game. She plays volleyball in the fall, but everything she does revolves around basketball. She deserves it because she works so hard."

Weatherspoon, Scott City's 6-foot-6 senior center, made the second team in 2A with 18 points and 10 rebounds per contest. He helped guide Scott City to the state quarterfinals where the Rams were edged by eventual champion Whitfield. Scott City ended up ranked fifth in the state with a 28-3 record.

Blackmon was the leading girls scorer in the area at 21 points per game for the Bravettes.

Bryan Durden of Portageville made the Class 2A first team. Durden scored 21 points per game, pulled down 11 rebounds and shot 68 percent from the field.