Friday, March 8, 2002
Four athletes were named players of the year.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
The late Frank Bubba, who was boys basketball coach at Warren Harding High, has been named the Northeast Inland District coach of the year in Division I.
Bubba passed away Jan. 4 at age 52 after a life-long battle with cystic fibrosis.
The team, released Thursday night by the Associated Press, was selected by a media panel from the district.
Warren Harding had an 11-1 record at the time of Bubba's death. It lost the next two games after voting to continue playing.
Since then, however, the Raiders gradually have regained the focus and command they showed under Bubba, capturing the Steel Valley Conference title and carrying that momentum into the tournament.
Top coaches: Bubba was joined on the all-district team by area coaches of the year Ron Moschella of Boardman (Div. I girls), Vic Marozzi of Southeast (Div. II girls) and Brian Clark of Sebring (Div. IV boys).
Highlighting area players of the year are two SVC sophomore standouts -- Amber Bland of Boardman (Div. I) and Courtney Davidson of Ursuline (Div. III).
On the boys side, Springfield junior Dan Schuler (Div. III) and Bristol senior John King (Div. IV) were named best in their divisions.
Boardman coach: Moschella, who shared the honor with North Canton Hoover's Paul Wackerly, has built a 410-103 record over a 21-year career as his teams have captured eight straight Steel Valley Conference titles.
Under Moschella, the Spartans have made 11 trips to the regional semifinals and four to the regional final.
Boardman compiled a 19-1 record in the regular season but was ousted by Wackerly's Vikings in the district championship game.
Southeast's Marozzi directed his team to a 20-0 record and Portage County League championship. He shared the honor with Don Smith of Walsh Jesuit.
In his third year, Clark led Sebring to a 17-3 record with just one senior and no varsity player over 6-foot-2.
The Trojans were 5-1 in close games, 2-0 in overtime, while allowing opponents to score an average of 46.4 points per game.
Clark shared the honor with Windham's Marty Hill.
Players of the year: Boardman's Bland (5-9), who won the state high jump title as a freshman, averaged a SVC-best 25.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. She and senior Ashlee Russo gave the Spartans a 1-2 punch that most teams could not stop.
A 5-5 point guard, Ursuline's Davidson was the second-highest scorer in the SVC at 23.2 points per game as she helped lead her team into the regional for the second straight season.
Davidson, who went over the 1,000-point mark for her career in Ursuline's district title game victory, also led the SVC in assists (5.7 per game) and 3-point proficiency (45.9 percent).
Springfield's Schuler helped direct his team to an 18-2 record and its third straight Inter-County League title.
The 6-4 Schuler averaged 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals per game, helping the Tigers stay on top despite the graduation of three All-Ohio players.
Bristol's King, a 5-11 point guard, capped his career as a four-year starter by leading his team to an East Suburban Conference title, its second straight 19-1 season and a No. 3 ranking in the final state poll.
King averaged 17.2 points and 8.6 assists per game while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.