(Lander, WY) – Following a 17-11 season that culminated with a trip to the state tournament, a quartet of Lander Valley Tigers received post-season accolades from Wyoming’s 3A basketball coaches.
Finn McFadden earned a spot on the 3A All-State Team announced by the Wyoming Coaches Association. The junior point guard was a unanimous selection.
Senior Noah St. Clair received West Conference First Team honors for the second consecutive season. He was also selected to play in the WCA North-South All-Star Game this summer.
Caleb Andrews was one of only five players chosen for the West All-Defensive team. The junior was also recognized as All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Senior Paxson Hollingshead garnered All-Conference Honorable Mention, as well.
Stu Mullins, LVHS head coach, commented on the contributions and accomplishments of each of the four Tigers.
Finn McFadden: 3A All-State / 3A West All-Conference First Team
“Every opposing coach knew Finn had elite athleticism and strength. He was near the top or led us in almost every statistical category and was also top five to ten in the state and conference in a few categories. He was asked to not only bring the ball up, where he averaged 4.5+ assists a game, but to score at a good rate with his ability to get to the rim. Finn also guarded our opponent’s first or second-best player. He did a great job on Lovell’s 6’8” Owen Walker in the regional semifinal, just using his strength to keep him out of the paint. Once subs occurred, Finn would switch to guard lightning-quick Matthew Newman or a lights-out shooter like Kaeseon Anderson.
“Finn made other teams really have to adjust to us. Early on we saw a lot of man defense and we were scoring at will at the rim. Teams started to zone and begged us to hit from outside where we struggled for a stretch. We made the adjustment to have Noah and Finn attack the middle of the zone, and we got really good at it. They worked really well together. Once we started hitting from the outside again, we became really hard to defend. For a guard to be willing to move inside for the betterment of the team says a lot about Finn.
“Finn was selected by his teammates at the beginning of the year to be a captain and practiced harder each and every day all the way to the end. He and Darion Hereford really set the tone on how hard we practiced.”
“He was a unanimous All-State selection which is pretty awesome.”
Noah St. Clair: 3A West All-Conference First Team / WCA North-South All-Star
“Noah was the glue that tied the whole group together. He loved his teammates and was the most loyal to them. I was really happy for him to have the opportunity to make it to state his senior year. Noah played bigger minutes starting his sophomore year and really got some good experience. Our offense involved him touching the ball down the floor a majority of the time to either score or facilitate. His strength was his ability to pass. He’d also go on streaks where he’d really be able to score as well against the right matchup. He finished the year leading us in points and rebounds. He had a fantastic career.”
Caleb Andrews: 3A West All-Defensive Team / 3A West All-Conference Honorable Mention
“Caleb really started to turn it on toward the end of his sophomore season. It was like it all clicked. Once he got the bug, he spent all spring and summer in the gym. He’s very self-motivated. Caleb is a kid that didn’t really start playing organized basketball until middle school. He’s extremely strong and athletic, and his acceleration is as fast as I’ve seen. Opposing coaches really pointed to him as making a difference to our team this year. He finished the season really strong and capped it off with one of his best performances in the 4OT game versus Pinedale at the state tournament.”
Paxon Hollingshead: 3A West All-Conference Honorable Mention
“Pax had a great career for us. He’s always been a good shooter and really shot it well at the beginning of the season when he was lights out, and then we started to see it again at tournament time when we needed it. He was a versatile defender that could guard any position with his length and athleticism. He put on good weight and muscle between his junior and senior years. Pax started every game for us this year and played a crucial role for us at regionals and state. He was always coachable and was loved by all of our guys, young and old.”
The above write-up was provided to County 10 by Chase McFadden.