LAKE COUNTY >> Hokulani Wickard is moving on up to the big time. The Lower Lake High School point guard was the only sophomore named to the All-North Central League I boys’ basketball team as recently selected by the league’s coaches.
Wickard, a second-team selection as a freshman in 2015, received first-team honors this season. No other 10th-grader made the All-League squad, be it the first team, second team or even as an honorable mention.
“It’s deserved,” Lower Lake coach Shannon Tubbs said. “He was instrumental in our turnaround from the preseason to the league season.”
Following a 4-6 preseason the Trojans were little more than an afterthought heading into the league race but were a major player from the outset and found themselves tied with eventual champion Cloverdale going into the final week of the season. They finished 10-4 and in sole possession of second place. Overall Lower Lake finished 14-12, its first winning record in almost a decade.
During one memorable stretch late in the the league race, Wickard scored a combined 84 points in consecutive wins over Fort Bragg, Kelseyville and Willits. He finished the season averaging a team-best 14.4, third best among Lake County boys.
“He took us in the direction we’re going and in the direction we’re going to keep going,” Tubbs said of Wickard, who was one of three Lower Lake players on the All-League team, joining second-team pick Marlon Jones Jr. and honorable mention Ethan Watson, both juniors.
“Marlon had a good season as well,” Wickard said. “I really thought he should have been a first-team player and I was a little disappointed he wasn’t.”
Kelseyville also landed three players on the All-League squad, two of them first-team selections. Both junior Kyle Ellis and senior Nick Pfann were honored along with honorable mention Hunter Beatty, a senior.
The Knights finished 9-5 in the league standings and 19-9 overall.
Clear Lake, 7-7 in league and 15-11 overall, was represented on the All-League squad by second-team selection Max De Leon, a junior, and honorable mention Ryan Damiata, also a junior.
Middletown, last in the league standings at 1-13, had just one All-Leaguer, honorable mention Jake Rivera, a senior.
League champion Cloverdale’s four All-Leaguers were most valuable player Jayson McMillan, first-teamer Marcus Poe, second-teamer Adrian Bernardi and honorable mention Luke Pope. The Eagles won their second straight title with a 12-2 record. McMillan and Pope are juniors while Poe and Bernardi are seniors.
Fort Bragg, 9-5 in league action, was represented by junior Lucas Triplett on the first team, junior Myles Anderson on the second team, and senior honorable mention Kaylor Sullivan.
Willits, 5-9 in the league standings, had two All-Leaguers in senior Ryan Hosford, a second-team selection, and senior honorable mention Anthony Sorace.
St. Helena, 3-11 in league play, was represented by honorable mention Dylan Martin, a junior.
