By Drew Dargavell, WKTV Sports Intern
ken@wktv.org
After dedicating three seasons to the South Christian High School Lady Sailors varsity basketball team, senior guard Sydney Cleary was recently recognized as an AP All-State honorable mention athlete.
Cleary has helped lead her team to back-to-back district titles by being a steady ball handler and floor leader, while also being a playmaker that’s not afraid to take the shots. Cleary led the team in assists all three years she was on varsity, averaging five per-game her junior year, and setting the school record with 13 in one game.
“I like to pass the ball a lot and get my teammates the opportunity to score as much as I can” Cleary told WKTV after their 2019 district title win. “But I also work on my own game when I need to and when my team needs it from me.”
This is not the first time Cleary has been recognized for her on-court skills, as she was named one of the top 100 girls basketball players in Michigan by the Detroit Free Press. Cleary was also named to the second team Advance All-Area her junior year, and has earned All-Conference honors.
“Sydney is a good decision-maker and smart player,” South Christian head coach Kim Legge previously said about her star point guard. “Sydney is a true point guard, she is a solid ball-handler and sees the court extremely well.”
Two other local girls earned AP All-State honors, both from East Kentwood.
Senior guard Alona Blackwell made the Division 1, Second Team All-State. Blackwell is a strong perimeter shooter, who was a four-year starter with the Falcons. As a freshman she was named the Freshman Player of the Year in Grand Rapids. Blackwell led the team in assists back-to-back seasons and finished her junior and senior seasons as the Falcons’ leading scorer. She averaged 16.9 points and six assists per game her junior year, which earned her All-State Honorable Mention. During the summer of 2018, Blackwell was named Grand Rapids All-City Female Basketball Player of the Year. She will be continuing her basketball career at Oakland University next year, after receiving offers from Penn State, Minnesota, Akron, Marquette and Eastern Michigan.
The other player from East Kentwood is Mauriya Barnes, who was named to the Division 1 All-State honorable mentions. Her sophomore year she helped East Kentwood make a run to the Breslin Center, where they fell just short in the championship game to Flushing High School. During her junior year, she helped lead her team to their first undefeated regular season. Barnes averaged 11 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals per game as a junior. She has committed to play basketball at South Carolina State next year.
Six local players honored on boys AP teams
There are six boys from local teams to earn AP All-State honors, coming from East Kentwood, Wyoming High, Godwin Heights, South Christian, Potters house, and Tri-unity Christian.
The lone player to make First Team All-State from their respective division is Bennett Sinner of Division 4 Tri-unity Christian. Sinner is a 6-foot-1 guard, who averaged 13 points and 6.5 rebounds a game for the Defenders. Sinner led the charge for the Defenders, who made a run to the state semifinals this season.
In Division 1, East Kentwood’s Ja’Moni Jones was named to the Second Team All-State. Jones is a 6-foot-1 junior point guard who was ranked as the number 36 high school player in the state of Michigan by the Detroit Free press. Jones is ranked as the fifth best high school basketball prospect in Michigan, in the 2020 class by PrepHoops.
The other four players remaining earned All-State honorable mentions.
Menalito McGee out of Wyoming High School earned an honorable mention in Division 1. McGee is a 5-foot-7 junior point guard, who set a school record for single-game points, scoring 37 against Northview. McGee also holds the school record for most three-pointer’s made in a single game, with seven on Nov 30, 2018 against Grandville, surpassing his previous record of six. McGee is also second in single-season three’s made with 67 in the 2017-2018 season.
Two honorable mentions come out of Division 2. Those players are Jamaal Bailey of Godwin Heights, and Luke Schrotenboer of South Christian.
Bailey landed First Team All-Conference honors this season, after helping lead Godwin Heights to an OK-Silver conference championship, going 12-0 in conference play.
Schrotenboer is a 6-foot-4 small forward and senior leader for South Christian, helping lead them to a second straight district title, and this year, a regional title. Schrotenboer has received an offer to play basketball at Cornerstone University.
The final honorable mention is Ben Clark from Division 3’s Potter’s House. Clark was the Puma’s senior captain, who averaged 12 points per-game his junior year and was First Team All-Conference two year in a row. Clark led the team to a 19-2 record this season and an appearance in the District 75 championship game.
