Reading’sWalker leads all-state teams
PAC represented by Perk Valley’s Jaworski, Upper Merion’s Faw
Southeast Pa. was the same dominant force it was this winter when the 2016-17 Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State boys basketball teams were released Friday.
Players of the Year were Reading senior Lonnie Walker (6A), Archbishop Wood senior Collin Gillespie (5A), Imhotep Charter senior Daron Russell (4A), Neumann-Goretti senior Quade Green (3A), Constitution senior Tamir Green (2A) and St. John Neumann senior Kevin Anderson (1A).
The Pioneer Athletic Conference placed two players on the all-state teams: Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Jaworski and Upper Merion’s Matt Faw.
Jaworski, who made the Class 6A second team, followed up a season on the gridiron where he caught theMercury All-Area Player of the Year award followed by all-state honors by averaging 22.2 points per game, good for second best in the PAC behind Boyertown’s Jerry Kapp. More importantly, his leadershiphelped carry the Vikings to theDistrict 1 Class 6A No. 1 overall seed followed by an upset of two-time defending champion Roman Catholic in the PIAA first round.
Jaworski eclipsed the 1,000 point mark on January 3, becoming only the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 points, and the first male basketball player to do so since John Boyd in 2008. He earned All-Conference honors in February and recently announced his intention to sign with Division 1’s Lafayette College.
Faw earned third team status in Class 5A after leading Upper Merion to the second round of the PIAA 5A playoffs.
Walker, a McDonald’s All-American who guided the Red Knights to their first PIAA championship in front of a sellout crowd at Giant Center in Hershey, was joined on the first team by Archbishop Ryan’s Izaiah Brockington. Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Jaworski and Abington’s Eric Dixon made the 6A second team. Pennsbury’s Mark Flagg, Archbishop Ryan’s Matiss Kulackovskis and Father Judge’s Marc Rodriguez were on the third team.