Freeman All-Star first-team player profiles
DAMANI THOMAS
The junior standout stepped up his game for Kingston High, averaging 11.5 points, 5.7 assists and 3.1 steals. The 6-foot-1 guard also chipped in on the boards for the Tigers, grabbing 5.9 rebounds per contest.
The nephew of twotime Freeman Player of the Year and Tiger great Tay Fisher was normally Kingston’s shooting guard, Thomas showed his mettle late in the season when he stepped into the point guard role when Chris Wright injured his ankle.
Thomas, who can hit the 3-pointer, is at his best for Kingston when driving baseline off ball or head fakes and crashing the boards for putbacks. AXEL RODRIGUEZ
The sophomore point guard took on a leadership role for New Paltz. He responded by averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 assists and 3 steals a game, earning him BCANY Class A Player of the Year honors.
“We put the ball in Axel’s hands a lot more,” New Paltz coach Stuart Robinson said. “In some ways it took himself out of his own comfort zone where he was quick to want to defer to some of our other guards. Now he was put in a position where, ‘No, you’re not just looking to share the ball by letting somebody else bring it up every other time, but we need you to be the catalyst.’ That was one critical move for us as a team.” ROB VEITH
Veith is versatile. At 6-foot-3, the senior guard can post up, drive, has great ball handling skills and has greatly improved his jumper.
He averaged 14 points and seven rebounds, nearly matching his performance from the previous season, to help Rhinebeck High to a 19-3 season.
Like most of his teammates, Veith is fast and has good hands. That help to trigger the Bombers’ fast break attack.
Veith, who also has shown a knack for slam dunks, had one of his best outings at the beginning of the campaign when he scored 16 of his 25 points in one quarter in a win over Pine Plains. DIOR JOHNSON
Only a seventh-grader, Johnson has proven to be the real deal and an impact player for years to come for Saugerties.
He led the team in scoring (21.1, second best among all Section 9 players) and steals (2.0), was second in assists (3.0) and third in rebounding (4.4).
The 5-foot-9 guard shot 47 percent from the field, including hitting 31 3-pointers. He’s a player that’s not bashful, liking to drive, draw the foul and capitalize. He shot 74 percent (141-190) from the line.
“He did it all for our team this year,” Saugerties coach Mike Tiano said, ‘not a selfish player by any means and bought into the team concept.” JUSTINDUNIKOWSKI
Dunikowski led all of Section 9 in 3-point shooting, connecting on 75 shots from behind the arc. He had only 35 made baskets from 2-point range.
Just how much does the senior love 3-pointers? He had 327 shots, 230 from long range.
He delivered seven 3-pointers in Wallkill’s upset win of New Paltz in the Section 9, Class A quarterfinals. He hit five treys and scored 16 points alone in the fourth quarter.
The senior averaged 15.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals to lead the Panthers.
Dunikowski was also a force on the defensive end for Wallkill, deflecting 52 passes.