Top-notch production throughout All-Johnson County boys basketball 1st, 2nd teams

Apr. 15—Most coaches preach to their players that team success leads to individual accolades, and that's certainly evident on the Cleburne Ford 2022-23 All-Johnson County boys basketball team.

Five teams from Johnson County qualified for the playoffs this season, and those five — Alvarado, Burleson Centennial, Grandview, Keene and Rio Vista — account for 24 of the 34 total selections across superlative awards and first- and second-team honors on the All-Johnson County team.

The Burleson Centennial Spartans (28-8) lead the way with six total selections, four of which were superlative awards, including co-MVPs in Kendall Lawrence and Ty'Jae Minter.

"I'm incredibly grateful and feel very privileged to be associated with such an exceptional group of young men," said Centennial Coach Trovocie Jackson, the All-Johnson County coach of the year. "These guys are workers and stubborn in their pursuits. They set goals and attack them until they see them accomplished. I have the best staff in the state and the best group of young men in the state and what has been established here has been done so on their backs. Very grateful for all those involved."

Behind the Spartans' six selections are Alvarado, Grandview and Keene with five selections apiece.

The Indians went 28-6 and finished third in a challenging District 10-4A before falling in bi-district in a loaded region.

"We were excited to see five of our players represented as All-Johnson County players," Alvarado Coach Francisco Islas said. "These guys have bought into our program and continued to learn all season. When you don't think you know it all and thirst for growth, you are able to be successful. We look forward to the future and the athletes in our program are still hungry. Having this type of success raises the bar for our solid incoming freshman group. The future is bright for Alvarado hoops."

The Zebras finished 20-14 with a fourth-place finish in District 17-3A prior to a bi-district loss against a tough Palmer squad.

"Having strong All-Johnson County representation is a testament to Grandview athletics in general," Grandview Coach Joel Moore said. "The kids are bought in to working hard. They play for each other. They show up every day. They do the little things for each other that you can tell they're just bought in to the culture and have good relationships with each other."

The Chargers set a school record for wins at 27-9 and claimed their third consecutive bi-district title.

"Having five players make all-county and being one of the top-represented teams in the county year in and year out means I've been pretty lucky to coach some pretty good kids," Keene Coach Billy Coffin said. "It's really just their commitment to work. We've had some kids fill up those all-county teams the last couple years. With players graduating and then for the next group of kids to come in and continue that, it's a testament to their hard work and how lucky I've been to be able to coach such a good group of kids."

Alvarado, Grandiew, Keene and Rio Vista lead the way on a very deep and talented All-Johnson County first team with two selections apiece.

Representing the Indians are junior Sha'Marin Lee (13.9 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 2.3 steals per game, 2.3 assists per game) and senior Kaden Ford (10.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.2 spg).

First-team honors for the Zebras go to senior Ryan Shaw (9.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2 apg, 1.5 spg) and junior Carter Collins (9.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg).

Garnering first-team accolades for the Chargers are senior Tomas Lopez (12.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 3.5 spg) and senior A.J. Allen (10.6 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 spg).

And first-team nods for the Eagles include senior Daniel Miser (8.9 ppg, 6 rpg) and junior Blaine Briscoe (8.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2 apg).

The rest of the All-Johnson County first team features some of the top individual scorers in the county but whose teams came up short in a playoff pursuit: Cleburne sophomore Javen Colbert (15.3 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.5 spg), Godley junior Jarret Ilich (17.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.8 spg), Joshua senior Aiden Raccuglia (14.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 28 charges taken) and Venus senior Jahid Karim (17.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg).

A stacked all-county first team full of production means a group of second-teamers that put up some strong numbers as well, including seven of the 13 selections who averaged at least 7.5 points per game for the season.

The Burleson Elks' trio of senior Reid Strebeck (10 ppg, 6 rpg), senior Nick Hill (10 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg) and senior Zion Rundles (6 ppg, 3 rpg) headlines the All-Johnson County second team while Alvarado, Burleson Centennial, Cleburne and Keene each have two selections on the second team.

Representing the Indians on the second team are seniors Calvin Ford (5.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.4 spg) and Jordan Fulton (5.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1 spg).

Garnering second-team nods for the Spartans are junior Iverson Moore (8.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 spg, 1.3 apg) and senior Zachary Brooks (7.1 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.4 spg).

Second-team honors for the Yellow Jackets go to senior Jerison Brown (5.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1 apg, 1.4 spg) and junior Collin Graeve (8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg).

And second-team recognition for the Chargers include juniors Jayden Bailey (9.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg) and Ricky Santos (8.1 ppg).

Rounding out the All-Johnson County second team are Godley junior Hagan Robertson (7.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1 spg) and Grandview senior Spenser Szamatulski (5.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1 apg, 1.2 spg, 1 bpg).

The All-Johnson County team is selected by the Times-Review based on all-district results, team success, statistics and coaches' nominations.