Freeman, Shears garner RCAC Player of the Year honors

By JOHN LIKANJE

Sha’mere Freeman ignited Franklin to its best season in 11 years. Jaquan Shears led Monroe to its most single-season victories in program history. The pair of seniors were named the 2023 Players of the Year as announced by Rochester City Athletic Conference (RCAC) coaches.

Freeman amassed 24.7 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals per game to earn RCAC Division I honors. The senior guard poured in 20-plus points in nine contests this season, including 30-plus six times. Freeman unloaded three consecutive 30-point contests at the beginning of the campaign: 37 on December 3rd in a 75-72 victory over Webster Schroeder, 34 on December 6th in a 96-60 victory over Gates-Chili and 32 on December 8th in an 82-70 victory over McQuaid.

Freeman’s three other 30-point scoring binges consisted of 34 points on December 20th in a 113-83 victory over Eugenio Maria and 31 points twice (January 12th against UPrep and January 24th in a 75-58 victory over Penfield).

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The senior guard concluded his high school career with 1,079 varsity points in three seasons. Freeman guided the program to a 15-6 record this season as well, their best mark since 2011-12 when the Quakers tallied 17 victories and advanced to the class A sectional semifinals as the top seed. Franklin finished as the No. 2 seed in class AA this campaign.

Teammate Terence Thompson joined Freeman on the Division I First Team. The junior center posted a double-double of 17 points and 13 boards along with six blocks per game. Thompson accumulated 271 boards as well.

Tyler Bethea and Davijon Lipscomb were named to the Division I First Team for Edison Tech. Lipscomb filled the basket for 350 points in 20 games played (17.5 points per contest). Bethea recorded 14.3 points per game.

Quentin Gordon-Smith (East) and Chris Woodard (McQuaid) rounded out the RCAC Division I First Team. Gordon-Smith led four players in double figures with 17.1 points per game (273 points in 16 matches). Woodard scored 13.6 points, grabbed 6.1 rebounds and converted 52.7 percent of his field goals.

Shears accrued 24.4 points per game in all 20 contests played to earn Division II Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The senior forward dropped 20-plus points 14 times, including 30-plus points thrice and 40 points once. On December 16th, Shears dominated with a career-high-tying 42 points in an 84-68 victory at World Of Inquiry. The 6-foot-2 forward made 15 field goals, including three treys and went 3-for-3 from the line.

The senior forward’s three 30-point games consisted of 37 points on January 5th in a 76-56 win at Wilson Magnet, 34 points on January 12th in an 80-68 win over Eastridge and 30 points on February 15th in a 70-58 win over Rochester Prep.

Shears’s efforts in his final season resulted in a program-record 19 victories and the Red Jackets progressing to the sectional semifinals as the top seed in class A2.

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Teammate Davion Jones joined Shears on the Division II First team. The senior guard was the only other Red Jacket to average double figures with 14.3 points per game in all 20 contests played.

Jaedon Adams-Griffin and Diego Martinez were named to the Division II First Team for World Of Inquiry. The guard duo both averaged 14 points per game.

Sam Howland (School Of The Arts) and Loren Thomas (Northeast) were named to the RCAC Division II First Team for their respective teams. Howland was a consistent bright spot for the Silverhawks with 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals per game. The junior guard poured in 500 points this season, including a pair of 30-point binges. Howland tallied seven double-doubles and a triple-double as well. Thomas stepped up and led the Panthers with 10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.4 steals as the longest-tenured player on the team. The senior guard made 46 percent of his shots from inside the arc as well.