Effort made players into All-City picks

PREP FOCUS: Desire, not size, characterizes PIL’s top five boys, girls

By steve brandon

The Portland Tribune, Apr 24, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Hard work prevailed for members of the Portland Tribune’s seventh annual All-City basketball teams from the Portland Interscholastic League.

The five boys and girls chosen stood above their peers in effort and performance much more so than in height.

The boys picked from PIL 6A and 5A teams average 6-1, and none of the elite team girls stands taller than 5-11.

The boys come from five schools, and all are new to the Tribune squad: Mario Gill of Wilson, Cameron Jackson of Roosevelt, Paul McCoy of Grant, Kevin Reynolds of Lincoln and Ameer Shamsud-din of Benson. Reynolds is a senior; the other four are juniors.

On the girls team, Jefferson landed two players —Janita Badon and Nyesha Sims. They are joined by Kelsey Goodell of Lincoln, Jessica Musgrave of Grant and Shardai Smith of Benson. Musgrave and Smith are seniors; the other three are juniors, and all are making their first appearance on the All-City team.

Point guard McCoy, one of the state’s top receivers/defensive backs in football and jumpers in track, averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Generals.

“Paul came to play every night. He’s one of the best all-around athletes the state has ever seen,” Grant coach Tony Broadous says.

PIL 6A coaches voted McCoy the league’s player of the year. The basketball programs at UNLV, Oregon State, Portland and Portland State have shown some interest in him.

Reynolds was a double threat

Reynolds led the PIL in scoring (21.3) and rebounding (11.2) and boosted Lincoln to the PIL 6A title.

“Just flat-out the most dominant all-around player in our league,” coach David Adelman says. “He saved his biggest moments for the hardest situations.”

Reynolds probably will play at a junior college next season.

Gill averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists for Wilson.

“Mario is a diamond in the rough,” Trojan coach Scott Aker says. “He works hard at improving his game and gets better daily, it seems. He has a work ethic that will allow him great success in life. We asked Mario to do many things for the team, and he always responded in a positive manner.”

Concordia and UP have shown early interest in Gill.

Jackson was the coaches’ pick as PIL 5A player of the year. His overall game, which included 3-point range, slashes to the hoop and good transition play, helped lift Roosevelt over rival Jefferson for the league title, and the Roughriders were only getting started. They advanced to the 5A state finals before losing to the state’s only undefeated team, tall and formidable North Eugene.

“Cameron made a tremendous turnaround,” Roosevelt coach Robert Key says. “He put in more work on his shot and got a better feel for the game.”

Shamsud-din and teammate Jamar Johnson, a 6-2 junior, provided a 1-2 punch that put Benson into the state playoffs. Shamsud-din averaged 17 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals.

“Ameer did everything above and beyond what I asked of him,” coach Troy Berry says. “He has worked real hard to improve his game, and because he’s a gym rat, he’ll continue to get better. He is real focused on making those around him better.”

Players took Demos far

Badon and Sims led Jefferson’s girls to a 26-2 season and third place in state. Badon averaged 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.7 steals. Sims had 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals.

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