Leading off today: Abraham Lincoln's Isaiah Whitehead and Oneonta's Mariah Ruff have been selected Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball, respectively, as the state's top senior players, the Basketball Coaches Association of New York announced Saturday.
Whitehead averaged 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists a game for the Railsplitters. The career 2,000-point scorer has committed to play at Seton Hall next season.
Ruff averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists this winter for Oneonta, where she was also the state Class B player of the year in soccer. She has signed to play at St. Bonaventure next winter.
Last year's awards recipients were Jon Severe of Christ the King and Saniya Chong of Ossining.
The Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball awards are voted on by BCANY members at the high school and college levels and via committee deliberations.
Sec. 2 star charged: State Police charged highly accomplished high school athlete Devon Willis with sending inappropriate digital photos and video to an underage person over the past several months, Albany-area media reported Saturday.
Willis, 18, a Schalmont senior who has signed with the University of Albany to run track, faces a felony charge of disseminating indecent material to a minor. He was arraigned Thursday in Duanesburg Town Court and released on his own recognizance.
Trooper Mark Cepiel, a spokesman for the State Police, said the victim is under the age of 16. He declined to say whether Willis sent images of himself or of others.
Cepiel told The Times Union there was no accusation of illegal sexual contact with the person.
A running back on the Sabres football team and the program's career rushing leader, Willis was first-team all-state in Class B aas a sophomore and junior and then a second-team selection last fall. In track, he finished second in the triple jump at the indoor state meet this season and outdoor states last spring; he was a previous champion in the triple jump and 55-meter hurdles.
A Schalmont schools spokeswoman said it was unclear if Willis' eligibility for spring sports might be affected.
Fixing a mistake: Remember how I posted "final" hockey rankings earlier this week? Well, they weren't as final as they should have been. As a couple of readers pointed out, I really shortchanged Suffern, an error I've gone back to clean up.
