Local players participate in Blue-Gold all-star boys’, girls’ basketball games

Top notch senior varsity basketball players throughout the state of Delaware got an opportunity to showcase their individual skills, possibly for the last time as high schoolers, in two organized games on Saturday, March 22, during the annual Blue-Gold All Star event. The contest was held at the Smyrna High School and hosted by the Delaware Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association (DIBCA).

Woodbridge forward Isaiah Giles  maneuvers under the basket for an attempt to score a basket.

The girls’ game started first and was followed by the boys’ game. The Gold teams consisted of players from the Henlopen Conference, including Laela Brown and Dustin Pedersen from Delmar, Kimyra Cornish-Baine, and Jordan Smith from Seaford, Kei’Shawn Copes and Brock Hill from Laurel, Isaiah Giles from Woodbridge, Malachi Light and Layni Dukes, from Delmarva Christian, and Elisha Johnson from Early College High School at Delaware State University, all who played in the  HC Southern Division. Each squad was made up of 15 players. The Gold coaches were Ron Dukes (Indian River- girls), and Darrell Jones (Early College- boys).

In the first game, the girls’ Blue team won, 108-74, with Jada Snow of Sanford (11 points) winning the MVP award. The high scorers for the Gold team included Layni Dukes of Delmarva Christian and Sara Benson from Dover each netting 10 points.

The second game was a much closer contest as the Gold team was victorious with a final score of 113-109. Brock Hill from Laurel led all scorers with 21 points and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). His Bulldog teammate Kei’Shawn Copes hit the final basket that won the exhibition. Copes finished the game with nine points. Early College’s Elisha Johnson added 12 points.

Coach Jones was very happy with the team victory, “The experience was dope, and it was an honor to bring my guys  with me, it meant the world to me. Us coaches, Jermaine Miller, Raymond Jackson, and, Kyle White, we all share the same mentality. We will always hold players accountable. We want players to put just as much effort into scoring as they do defending. The game plan was  to play together and defend well, all while having fun. The fact that they played great defense blessed me.”

Jones gave credit to his starting five. “My staff and I selected the starting five based on chemistry and practice performance.” They included, Eisha Johnson (ECHS), Jordan Smith ((Seaford), Dustin Pedersen (Delmar), Darius Miller (Lake Forest), and Darnell Lloyd (St. Andrew). Jones was selected as the head coach by the DIBCA committee.