LAKE COUNTY >> Kyle Ellis never played a minute of junior varsity basketball at Kelseyville High School and his four seasons with the varsity ended with an undisputed North Central League I championship.
In a sport where team success trumps all else, Ellis understood that and made all the sacrifices necessary to make sure the Knights were resting atop the NCL I standings by season’s end. Such unselfishness is one reason why Ellis is the most valuable player on the 2017 edition of the All-Lake County basketball team as selected by the Record-Bee.
While Ellis was easily capable of scoring more points than his 16.5 team-leading average, according to Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad, that wasn’t what the Knights needed to overtake defending champion Cloverdale in the standings.
“He could have scored more points, but we probably wouldn’t have won as many games,” Conrad said earlier this season. “He was OK with that. He just wanted to win.”
And win the Knights did. They finished 13-1 in league play and 22-6 overall, the best of Ellis’ four seasons at Kelseyville.
Ellis’ arrival to the high school ranks happened at an opportune time for a Knights basketball program that bottomed out in 2012-13 with a 3-22 overall record. Ellis joined the team for the 2013-14 season and Kelseyville’s fortunes were immediately reversed. They were a combined 72-36 in his four seasons, including 40-16 in league play.
Ellis also averaged nearly 7.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game for the Knights this season. For his career, he scored 1,498 points, which is fifth on the list of all-time county scoring leaders.
First team
Joining Ellis on the All-League first team are two of his teammates, juniors Trey Conrad and Randy Pfann, Clear Lake junior Tanner Hutton and teammate Ryan Damiata, a senior, and Lower Lake junior Hokulani Wickard.
Conrad averaged 11 points and a team-leading 5.2 assists a game for the Knights while Pfann gave Kelseyville a legitimate third scoring option at 8.5 points per game.
Hutton led the Cardinals in scoring at 15.1 points a game while Damiata pretty much did it all for Clear Lake. He averaged 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks a game.
Wickard’s 16.1 points per game led the Trojans. He also scored his 1,000th point during the season.
Second team
Earning spots on the All-County second team are Kelseyville senior Logan Barrick, Clear Lake senior Max De Leon, Upper Lake sophomore Kenny Hodges, Middletown senior Trevor LaFave and Lower Lake senior Jordan McGrath.
Barrick provided the Knights with a strong inside presence during their title run and, according to Conrad, was a player who was greater than the sum of his parts.
“He does a lot of things that don’t always show up in the stats, things that need to be done,” Conrad said earlier this season.
De Leon certainly left it all out on the court for Clear Lake during the season, including part of a tooth during the Record-Bee Hoop Classic last December in Kelseyville. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
Hodges, the only sophomore to crack this year’s All-County squad, powered Upper Lake’s offense at 13.2 points a game.
LaFave was Middletown primary offensive threat during up-and-down season for the Mustangs.
McGrath averaged 11.9 points a game for the Trojans and was usually matched up with the opposition’s top scorer owing to his defensive prowess.
Coach of the Year
For leading the Knights to the undisputed league championship and displacing the two-time defending champion Eagles, who were loaded with senior talent this season, Kelseyville’s Conrad is the easy pick for Coach of the Year honors. The 22-6 record is the best of his 11-year career at the school.
