Last year's 1st annual EST boys summer showcase league featured 5 participants from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). All 5
of those that attended at some point received all-league honors this
year - 1 received a division MVP, and all were 1st team selections. Congrats to all of them, listed below.
Zach Hilton (Berne-Knox-Westerlo 2017) - WAC South MVP
Justin Houck (Berne-Knox-Westerlo 2016) - All-WAC South 1st Team
Scott Voelker (Mekeel Christian Academy 2016, Combine Basketball Academy 2017) - All-WAC South 1st Team
Evan Pescetti (Saratoga Catholic 2016) - All-WAC North 1st Team
Danny Reidell (Northville 2017) - All-WAC North 1st Team
The 5 players represented 3 different teams in the summer of 2015. BKW teammates Hilton & Houck were both members of Man Up. Reidell & Voelker donned the orange jerseys for Bellevue, and Pescetti took the court as a member of Marcella Appliances.
In EST, Hilton added another guard that was a solid scoring threat to a team that was full of them at full strength. He appeared in 2 weeks in July, averaging 4.7 points per game. His full scoring prowess showed over this winter for a Berne-Knox-Westerlo team that held the top seed in Section II Class C playoffs. The dynamic guard pumped in 23.4 PPG, good for 6th in the section. He dropped a season high of 41 and reached the 30 point mark on 4 separate occasions. Zach also reached the 1,000 point plateau in mid-January - with another year remaining, he's sitting at 1,214 for his career.
Houck played the true point guard role for Man Up in EST. With many scorers on the team, he wore the hat of distributor and made a living setting others up. Although he's also a dynamic scorer and made it happen when they needed him to, he averaged 4.4 PPG on the season. His assist numbers, however, often surpassed his scoring total. He took advantage of his all-around game in the winter, often wearing all hats for his BKW squad. He averaged 17.6 PPG, topping off with a 30 point performance in the same game teammate Hilton dropped his 1,000th point. Justin joined Zach in the 1,000 point club less than 3 weeks later, reaching the milestone in an early February win. He also led them in assists and, as a 5'10" point guard, was arguably their best rebounder along with being their best perimeter defender. An academically-driven person who ranks highly in the classroom, he's narrowed his college decision for next year to Clarkson or The University at Buffalo.
Voelker, a wiry 6'2" guard, provided an athletic presence for a Bellevue team that loved to get up & down the court in his early season appearances. He averaged 4 PPG and proved in those weeks to be one of their better defenders. This winter, he did it all for Mekeel, a team that held the top seed in Section II Class B playoffs. He was 1 of 3 300 point scorers on a very balanced squad offensively and averaged just over 13 PPG, including 38 threes and a season high scoring total of 22. Voelker was also their on-court leader: as a senior on a young team, they often looked to him for leadership, and he relished in that role as someone who took the success of his high school team seriously. He'll be attending Combine Basketball Academy in North Carolina for a postgrad year.
Pescetti, in any season, is the definition of a junkyard dog on the court. He will often outplay higher level prospects because no one on the court outworks him at either end. He showed that in EST over the summer, where as essentially a 6'4" tweener that played largely below the rim, he often outrebounded opposing teams' big guys. Pescetti averaged 6.1 PPG (season high 13) and along with the rebounding, often filled up the steals column as well. This winter, he averaged 13.3 PPG (season high 27) and was the heart and soul of a Saratoga Catholic team that came from the #10 seed in Section II Class C playoffs to win the section and come inches short of making the regional final. A health issue forced him out of some mid-season action, but he was the driving force behind a 6 game win streak late in the regular season and through sectionals. At last update, Evan was narrowing down from a handful of Division III options for the fall.
Last but not least, Danny Reidell was a legitimate scoring threat for Bellevue throughout the season that was valuable whether they were at full strength or not. Despite going through a little late summer scoring lull, he still finished EST averaging 7.3 PPG with a season high of 14. One of the section's elite scorers, he did so in bunches for a Northville squad that needed it - even when the lion's share of defensive attention was focused on him. He averaged 21.8 PPG, often going against a box & 1 defense and even the occasional triangle & 2 with both defenders guarding him. Reidell surpassed the 1,000 point mark in the middle of the season, and entering his senior year, he has 1,162 career points. Along with the scoring, he also was a primary rebounder and distributor for Northville, getting the assist on many made baskets from teammates. He'll be looking for a big spring & summer to improve the level of interest being received from colleges heading into his senior year.
Congrats to all 5!
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