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Mazama's Hesia, Rose honored by Skyline By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune Poof -- he's gone. Kevin Spacey's classic line in "The Usual Suspects" is an apt description for what defenders feel trying to stop Mazama's Levell Hesia. A 5-foot-7, 140-pound junior point guard, Hesia blended blinding quickness, fantastic finishing and an insatiable work ethic to lead the state in scoring at better than 28 points per game this season. He also paced the Skyline Conference in assists at seven per outing and chipped in 3.5 steals per game to lead the Vikings to the Skyline championship and a 20-4 overall record. Hesia, also a first-team all-conference pick as a sophomore, is the Skyline's player of the year. "He's the first player I've seen in the Skyline in quite some time that is pretty much unguardable," said Mazama fourth-year head coach Randy Rose, who was voted coach of the year by his peers for the second straight season. "We just got back from the (Class 3A) state tournament, and there's nobody up there as quick as him." After closing the regular season with 11 straight victories to finish 13-1 in Skyline action, the Vikings were bounced from the state tournament by consecutive losses to Madras and Yamhill-Carlton. Hesia's response will undoubtedly be more time in the gym, where Rose estimates Hesia spent six hours a day honing his game last summer. In jumping from 19 points per game as a sophomore to his average of 28 as a junior, Hesia improved his outside shot immensely. And now the recruiters are beginning to take particular interest, including the Oregon and Oregon State men's programs. Rose, who will have Hesia and three other teammates who warranted all-conference mention this season back next year, said he was more surprised by this coach-of-the-year award than he was by last season's. "You're only as good as your players," Rose said. "I've got a lot of good players, and they make me look real good." Joining Hesia on the all-Skyline first team are a pair of Illinois Valley seniors and a pair of Rogue River seniors. The Cougars, who tied for second in the Skyline with the Chieftains at 10-4, placed guard Justin Graven and forward Daniel Houston on the first team. The 6-1 Graven averaged 17 points and 6.5 assists per game for Illinois Valley, while the 6-2 Houston poured in 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds per contest. "Those guys were our leaders from last year," said fourth-year Cougars head coach Jeff Brimhall. "They supplied a level of toughness we needed to get through some overtime and close games. They're very talented young men." Rogue River, which finished 18-7 overall for its best season in decades, has guard Derrick Schoner and post Jason Luchterhand as its first-team representatives. The 5-8 Schoner was second in the Skyline in scoring behind Hesia, averaging near 19.5 points per game. The 6-4 Luchterhand produced close to 17 points and 11 rebounds in Skyline play. "Those two, they meant everything," said Chieftains second-year head coach Scott Anderson, a Rogue River alumnus who couldn't recall the last time the Chieftains had two first-team all-Skyline performers. "Pretty much one or the other led us in scoring every game. "I'm real proud of our eight seniors for getting us (to the playoffs), and hopefully we can build off that in the future." Player of the year - Levell Hesia, Mazama. Coach of the year - Randy Rose, Mazama. FIRST TEAM Levell Hesia, jr. guard, Mazama. Justin Graven, sr. guard, Illinois Valley. Daniel Houston, sr. post, Illinois Valley. Derrick Schoner, sr. guard, Rogue River. Jason Luchterhand, sr. forward, Rogue River. SECOND TEAM Sean Gronholm, so. post, North Valley. Jared Giacomelli, sr. guard, Mazama. Tyler Larson, jr. forward, Mazama. Derek Wright, sr. post, North Valley. Carl Fairburn, sr. forward, Lakeview. THIRD TEAM Chris Jiron, sr. guard, Hidden Valley. Beau Brown, sr. forward, Illinois Valley. Brady Rhodes, jr. forward, Phoenix. Brian Smith, so. post, Henley. Eric Brosterhous, jr. post, Mazama. HONORABLE MENTION Chris Bocchi, sr. post, Mazama; Gary Wagner, jr. guard, Mazama; Brock Richards, jr. post, Hidden Valley; Josh Gotfried, fr. guard, Hidden Valley; Tyler Mikels, jr. guard, Illinois Valley; Brian Paul, jr. forward, Illinois Valley; Luke Mortinson, sr. guard, Rogue River; Ryan Girodat, so. guard, Rogue River; J.T. Vaughn, jr. forward, Rogue River; Derek Armstrong, sr. guard, North Valley; Matt Grosenbach, jr. guard, North Valley; Brett Ellis, so. guard, Phoenix; Martin Gonzalez, so. guard, Phoenix; Ryan Kiely, sr. forward, Lakeview; Logan Sheridan, jr. post, Lakeview; Frank Gauntz, sr. guard, Henley; Kirk Cunningham, sr. forward, Henley. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.