Pickin' Splinters

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Section V Class A2 Boys’ All-Tournament Team 2021

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Class A2 tournament MVP with All-Tournament team (top to bottom): Clinque Jackson, Patrick Lustyk, Kai McCullough and Nolan Smith. (Photo contributions: MIKE GENTILE and CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON)

By PAUL GOTHAM

East High won its second straight Class A2 championship and eighth overall sectional title under head coach Darrell Barley. With a starting lineup that includes three juniors the Eagles held off three Monroe County teams in its quest.

Circumstances surrounding COVID-19 prevented Section V from selecting all-tournament teams. This is the 2021 Pickin’ Splinters Class A2 Boys’ All-Tournament Team, starting with the MVP – East’s Justus Ross-Simmons.

MVP: Justus Ross-Simmons, East High

Ross-Simmons delivered when East needed it most. With teammates Damani Barley, Clinique Jackson and Kai McCullough combining to hit seven 3-pointers, Ross-Simmons did his work in the paint scoring 10 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter when the Eagles held off HF-L for a nine-point win.

“Coach told me I had to score somehow,” the 6-foot-4 guard commented. “He said I had to ‘get contact and finish.’ That’s what I did.”

VIEW MORE CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON PHOTOS HERE. 

Ross-Simmons finished with a game-high 19 points in East’s semi-final win over Greece Athena and a game-high 24 points in the quarter-final victory over Pittsford Sutherland.

Kai McCullough, East High

McCullough scored 13 of his 16 points in the second quarter of the A2 final when East turned a tie game into a 17-point advantage. Take three separate plays, string them together and one can see the versatility of this 6-foot-3 junior guard. McCullough drove baseline and drew contact for an and-one to start the stanza. Later he buried a 3-pointer before contributing another and-one, this time off a rebound and putback.

McCullough hit three 3-pointers and scored 16 in East’s semi-final win and scored 12 in the quarter-finals.

Clinique Jackson, East High

The popular term for a player who does a little bit of everything is a “Swiss Army Knife.” Go ahead and slap that one on East’s 6-foot-1 senior guard. Getting in the lane off the dribble and finishing, knocking down 3-pointers off the catch and keying East’s pressure defense. Where there’s a need, Jackson fills it for East. And where there’s loose ball on the floor, he can be found.

“Clinique is a beast,” Darrell Barley said. “He’s tough as nails. He was a catalyst during the whole sectionals. He does all the little things. He fills up the stat sheet.”

The senior guard scored 15 in the championship game. His pair of 3-pointers in the decisive second quarter were gut punches to the HF-L defense. When the Cougars made it a six-point game with less than four minutes remaining, it was Jackson who had East’s response: his third 3-pointer of the game. Jackson nine points apiece in East’s quarter-final and semi-final wins.

Nolan Smith, Honeoye Falls-Lima

Fans of back-to-basket post play will want to make their way to Varsity Media’s production of the Class A2 final. In a performance that would make NBA Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan smile, Smith scored a game-high 24.

Going against an East front court that measures 6-foot-4, 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-8, the 6-foot-5 sophomore forward connected 12 times in the paint. The “HF-L Fundamental” did damage inside the free throw line and at the rim. He established early the catch-and-drive before he cut, caught and finished in traffic. A pair of spin moves during the third quarter were highlights.

Smith scored eight in HF-L’s semi-final win over Eastridge. More importantly in that game, he played a big role in limiting the Lancers’ big man, Caquan Wester.

Patrick Lustyk, Honeoye Falls-Lima

Lustyk followed a 29-point performance in the semis with 13 in the championship game. But don’t be fooled into thinking he played any less of a role in the finals. While receiving plenty of attention from East’s defense, Lustyk became a facilitator. It was Lustyk who dished out the pass to teammate Mason Wanzenried to make it a six-point game late in the fourth of the finals.

“We couldn’t leave [him] open,” Jackson said of Lustyk. “A person had to follow him all game.”

The 6-foot-4 senior guard/forward routinely handled East’s pressure in the back court and helped provide the finishing touches in the front court.

Other notables

Damani Barley, East High: The Eagles don’t win a title without their junior guard. Barley hit three 3-pointers in the championship game and created for teammates when the situation dictated. Barley could easily be placed on the All-Tournament squad. And there is no retort for an argument to that point.

Mason Wanzenried, Honeoye Falls-Lima: Coming out of timeout with 4:19 remaining in the championship game, the Cougars went to the senior guard and he delivered with three. Six possessions later, the 5-foot-9 Wanzenried hit a baseline jumper to keep HF-L close. He finished with nine in the game.

Josh Vogt, Honeoye Falls-Lima: Vogt scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter of the finals. A 6-foot-4 guard, Vogt took advantage when East’s defense was forced to overplay on his teammates.

Emmanuel Leftenant, Eastridge: Leftenant scored 15 in the Lancers’ quarter-final win over School of the Arts and followed that with 17 against HF-L.

Darren Blocker Jr., East High: East’s big man scored 17 in the semi-final win over Greece Athena.

Austin Brown, Greece Athena: Brown scored a game-high 20 points in the semi-final matchup with East.

Caquan Wester, Eastridge: Wester scored 18 in Eastridge’s quarter-final win over School of the Arts.

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