Drew Thomas, Scott County Central

6-0, guard

Scott County Central, the third-place finisher in the Class 1 state tournament and the No. 2 team in the final state rankings, had three candidates for this spot.

Drew Thomas, D.D Gillespie and Caleb Johnson all were recognized for all-state teams but Thomas was the only one selected first-team all-state by the writers and to the all-state list by the Missouri Association of Basketball Coaches as well as the five-member first-team all-state list selected by MaxPreps.

The high-jumping junior forward is worthy of the accolades. He led the Braves with a scoring average of 19.5 points per game and was a worthy rebounder at 6.5 boards per game.

He had his most impressive run in the playoffs -- scoring 18 points and getting the Braves off to a fast start in an 80-58 win against Bell City in the sectional; and scoring 32 points -- 15 in the first period -- with five rebounds against Chadwick in th quarterfinals.

He also had a team-high 21 in the 70-68 semifinal loss to Jefferson, rallying his team when it was reeling and in foul trouble with 6-for-6 shooting and 13 points in the third period.

See the video interview with Drew Thomas