TeamFYNSports All-Area Basketball Awards & Honors

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FYN- What a ride it was for our coverage area basketball teams in 2023. From the Robbinsville girl’s unprecedented run to the Regional Finals to the Lumpkin County girl’s back-to-back state championship appearances, every time we saw one of our teams take the court you knew you were in for a show. Now that we have had some time to digest things after everyone has wrapped up their seasons, we would like to present our 2022-2023 TeamFYNSports Media Awards and All-Area Teams, starting with our Players of The Year.

Desta Trammell, 2023 Area Player of The Year

23.4 Points Per Game, 5.1 Assists Per Game, 2.2 Rebounds Per Game

In her Senior campaign, Trammell helped her team advance to the Regional Finals for the first time in school history. She wrapped up her career at Robbinsville as the Lady Knight’s All-Time assists leader while also tallying 1,950 total points for her career- good enough for second in school history. Trammell will go down in Lady Knight’s history as one of the best to lace ’em up, and her contributions to the team and the community will not soon be forgotten.

“A phenomenal player and an even better person, Desta is the kind of player that makes everyone around her better in games and practice. She finished her career as 2X Smoky Mountain Conference Player of The Year, 4X All-Conference Honors, and 3X All-Western North Carolina Honors. She is getting a lot of looks and offers coming right now, so we look forward to seeing where she decides to further her education and play at the next level! Whoever get her is getting a diamond.” -Lady Knights Head Coach Lucas Ford

David Dowse & Lucas Ford, 2023 Area Coaches of The Year

David Dowse led his Lumpkin County Lady Indians squad to their second State Championship game appearance in as many years. The Lady Indians finished the season with a 26-5 overall record, including an 11-1 record in region play. Dowse’s homegrown squad was undefeated at home in the gold city and made Dahlonegah one of the hardest places in all of Georgia for opposing teams to come to play a basketball game. Dowse helped put Lumpkin County basketball on the map, and although this may have been his final year at the helm of the Purple and Gold, he’ll go down in history as one of the best to ever carry a whistle in North Georgia.

Lucas Ford‘s Robbinsville Lady Knights looked much different this year than they did last year, but that didn’t stop them from making history. Ford coached his team to the Final Four-Regional Championship game, the deepest run a male or female basketball team had made in school history. After a 1 and 4 start to the new calendar year in 2023, Ford’s team rallied down the stretch and finished the year on an 11 and 2 run, including a 1 point OT loss to rival Cherokee in the Conference Championship game. Coach Ford had this to say about his year with this 2023 team:

“This team was the epitome of the phrase “Hard work Pays off.” At the first of the season, we were not a real good basketball team at all. They continued to grind and with each day things slowly started coming together. We knew we had a great scorer/player in Desta and a great athlete/shooter and best defender all around in Kensley, and then the rest of the girls had to figure out who they were and what they could do. As coaches we had to figure out how to fit it all together. Our post players Aubrie and Liz developed very nicely through the year and they played a huge role in our success down the stretch! WE really started playing well at the right time and had some things fall our way. I felt like God sure showed favor on our team! We stayed healthy and the stars aligned and we hosted the first round of the regionals for the first time in school history. Our saying since round 1 was #NoExcuses and that kept us mentally tough throughout our run… that #NoExcuses mindset started when we got down 17-3 in the first quarter of round 2 vs Albemarle, & that mental toughness kicked in. We didn’t completely reach our goal that we had for this team, but our coaches, parents, school system, and community were certainly proud of what this team accomplished and how they put Robbinsville girls basketball on the map!”

Courtney Davis, 2023 North Georgia Player of The Year

Courtney Davis was the cornerstone of a 20 win Fannin County girls basketball team. Anytime the Lady rebels needed a bucket, they looked to #1. In the Rebels road playoff win vs Athens Academy, Courtney led the way with 25 points on 7 for 12 shooting, including going 3 for 5 from the 3 point line. In her Junior season, Davis led Fannin County in nearly all statistical categories and scored the 1,000th point of her career earlier this season. Davis was very efficient in her shooting, shooting 49% from the field and 40% from three this season.

Zack Skogen, 2023 Western North Carolina Player of The Year

Averaging a double-double in a league like the Smoky Mountain Conference is no small feat, but Zack Skogen came into the 2022 season and put everyone on notice. The 6 foot 5, 180lb big man was a force to be reckoned with down low, and was the focal point of the Murphy Bulldogs offense. Defensively, Skogen also helped anchor the Bulldogs as he averaged .5 blocks per game and over 3 steals per contest. With one more season to go in his high school career, if he can take another step forward like he did this year, his production could be unmatched.

 

Now, lets take a look at some of the best players in our coverage area that make up our #TeamFYNSports All-Area Basketball Teams-

Mens All-Area teams:

All-Area First Team:

Jackson McVey, F, Gilmer Co. (GA)

Brock Adams, G, Robbinsville (NC)

Zack Skogen, F, Murphy (NC)

Jadon Yeh, G, White Co. (GA)

Cal Faulkner, G, Lumpkin Co. (GA)

All-Area Second Team:

Trey Harvey, G, Dawson Co. (GA)

Dillian Brown, G, Murphy (NC)

Houston Henry, G, Union Co. (GA)

Donovan Carpenter, F, Robbinsville (NC)

Eli Underwood, F, Union Co. (GA)

All-Area Third Team:

Ethan Hooper, G, Hayesville (NC)

Jordan Richerson, G, Fannin Co. (GA)

Caleb Lanford, G, Pickens Co. (GA)

Hayden Hughes, F, Union Co. (GA)

Josiah Glaspie, F, Swain Co. (NC)

Girls All-Area Teams:

All-Area First Team:

Desta Trammell, G, Robbinsville (NC)

Courtney Davis, G, Fannin Co. (GA)

Mary Mullinax, F, Lumpkin Co. (GA)

Caroline Mullins, G, Pickens Co. (GA)

Averie Jones, G, Lumpkin Co. (GA)

All-Area Second Team:

Lexi Pierce, G, Lumpkin Co. (GA)

Morgan Chester, F, Dawson Co. (GA)

Dvdaya Swimmer, G, Cherokee (NC)

Isabella Hopkins, G, Pickens Co. (GA)

Whitney Rogers, G, Cherokee (NC)

All-Area Third Team:

Addie Johnson, F, Murphy (NC)

Ellie Cook, G, Fannin Co. (GA)

Kensley Phillips, G, Robbinsville (NC)

Ava Queen, F, Fannin Co. (GA)

Lara Turner, F, Union Co. (GA)

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