By JIM WALKER

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

If there was any debate whether or not there was talent in the area, the 11 players named to the Ohio Prep Media Association All-Ohio basketball teams should offer proof there was plenty of talent.

The strongest division in the area and throughout Southeast Ohio had to be Division 5. Of the 11 area players named All-Ohio, 8 played for Division 5 schools.

Leading the local All-Ohio selections are Ironton Fighting Tigers’ 6-foot-2 senior guard Braden Schreck and Fairland Dragons’ 5-10 point guard Brody Buchanan as both players were selected to the Division 5 second team.

Schreck averaged 21.8 points, 4.8 rebound and 4.7 assists a game and finished as the program’s second all-time leading scorer. He was voted the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Schreck was also second team All-Ohio in football as he was the quarterback and helped Ironton win the Division 5 state championship.

Buchanan —another four-year starter — averaged 20.2 points a game, 3.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists. A University of Rio Grande recruit, Buchanan was voted the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.

Chesapeake Panthers 6-2 sophomore Maddox Kazee was named to the third team as he averaged 18.5 points game with 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

South Point Pointers’ 6-4 senior Brayden Hanshaw and Coal Grove Hornets 6-2 senior Owen Johnson were both named Special Mention.

Johnson averaged 21.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as he finished as Coal Grove’s second all-time leading scorer.

Hanshaw —Honorable Mention All-Ohio in football as a quarterback— averaged 17.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a game for the Pointers.

Three players were named to the Honorable Mention list that included Fairland 6-3 junior Cliff Fransen, Ironton 6-3 sophomore forward Ashton Layne and Chesapeake 5-9 junior guard Kaden Perkins.

Fransen averaged 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. Layne averaged 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds while Perkins averaged 15.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

The lone area player named to the Division 6 All-Ohio team was 6-foot senior guard Ethan Smith who averaged 23.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game.

Smith scored more than 1,000 points in his career and set single game records of 53 points and 9 3-pointers.

Topping the Division 7 selections was Green Bobcats’ 6-4 junior wingman Jon Knapp who averaged 21 points and 11.5 rebounds a game.

St. Joseph Flyers 6-2 senior Wesley Neal was named to the Honorable Mention list as he averaged 17 points and 9.0 rebounds a game.