Meet The Courier Journal's Sixth and Seventh Region basketball Players of the Year
Leroy Hickerson may not have the most talented boys basketball team in the Seventh Region, but the Seneca High School coach will tell you he does have the No. 1 weapon.
“What we do have is Patrick Mahomes,” said Hickerson, referring to the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who has won three Super Bowls. “When you have Patrick Mahomes, you have a shot.”
Quel’Ron House has played that role for Seneca this season, leading the city in scoring at 27.6 points per game and ranking seventh in the state.
Coaches have taken notice, voting House as The Courier Journal’s Seventh Region Player of the Year.
Also taking Player of the Year honors are Butler’s Dayton Williams (Sixth Region boys), Butler’s Mariah Knight (Sixth Region girls) and Central’s Destiny Jones (Seventh Region girls).
Here’s a look at the winners:
Seneca’s Quel’Ron House
A 5-foot-11 senior, House received 11 votes from the 17 coaches who returned ballots. Male’s Cole Edelen was the runner-up with three.
House had helped Seneca to a 15-14 record entering Thursday’s 27th District championship game against Trinity. Hickerson said House routinely faces double- and triple-teams.
“That’s respect,” Hickerson said. “They wouldn’t be double-teaming you if they didn’t think you were capable of scoring against one man. His midrange game is the best I’ve ever seen. It’s crazy, his ability to make shots.”
House has reached 40 points in three games this season, including a season-high 43 in a 66-56 victory over Elizabethtown on Feb. 23.
House, who played at Ballard as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Seneca, has not yet announced his college plans. Hickerson is certain he will be a star wherever he goes.
“People don’t see him when there’s no popcorn popping,” Hickerson said. “He’s putting in the work. That man will stay in the gym 3-4 hours and shoot and shoot and shoot. He texts me after games sometimes, ‘Can we get in the gym?’ He puts in the work, and that’s why he gets the results he gets.”
Butler’s Dayton Williams
Williams, a 6-4 senior, received six first-place votes from the 16 coaches who returned ballots. Evangel Christian’s Kyran Tilley and DeSales’ Damone King received four apiece.
Williams is averaging 19.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for a Butler team that took a 14-15 record into Thursday’s 22nd District final against DeSales.
Williams said he had to step up his production after Butler lost several players to graduation after last season. He has 1,215 career points in three seasons with the Bears.
“I just knew I had to get in the gym,” Williams said. “This summer I put in the work. We were in the weight room every day, and I developed my game from pass-first to being a leader. When a college coach asks me what kind of player I am, I tell him I’m whatever he needs.”
Williams said he’s considering several options following high school: four-year colleges, junior colleges and prep schools.
“He’s still only 17, doesn’t turn 18 until July,” Butler coach Kevin Geary said. “So, as far as I’m concerned, he has unlimited potential because he isn’t finished growing yet. … He’s going to play Division I basketball somewhere along the line.”
Butler’s Mariah Knight
Knight, a 6-foot senior guard/forward, received four first-place votes from the 13 coaches who returned ballots. Pleasure Ridge Park’s Jeannae Bolin was the runner-up with three.
Knight is averaging 15.5 points and 7.1 rebounds for a Butler squad that was 22-8 entering Thursday’s 22nd District final against Western. The Bearettes are ranked No. 14 in the state.
First-year coach Candyce Wheeler said the addition of Knight, who transferred from Christian Academy, set the tone for Butler’s success this season.
“She brought leadership right away,” Wheeler said. “In the preseason she’s asking me, ‘Coach, can we get in the gym at 6 a.m.?’ I’m like, ‘Sure.’ I don’t know if that’s happened in a while (at Butler). From then, I knew I had something special.”
One of Knight’s biggest strengths is her versatility, as she can play in the post and also shoots 35.2% from 3-point range (37 of 105). She has committed to Jacksonville University.
“I think that’s a great spot for her,” Wheeler said. “I think they’re going to use her at a stretch 4, which I think is what she wants. She’s only going to develop and grow.”
Central’s Destiny Jones
Jones, a 5-10 senior, received four first-place votes from the eight coaches who returned ballots. Sacred Heart junior ZaKiyah Johnson, who won the award as a freshman and sophomore, was the runner-up with two.
Jones ranks among the top 25 players in the state in field-goal shooting (60.9%, seventh), scoring (23.5 ppg, eighth) and rebounding (11.5 rpg, 21st).
“She’s really improved as an overall leader,” Central coach Deshawn Pendleton said. “She expanded her game, handling the basketball more and playing outside of the paint and making plays for others. She’s a willing passer, but I’ve forced her to shoot the ball more because she shoots such a high percentage.”
Jones helped Central to a 23-8 record entering Thursday’s 25th District final against Manual. She has signed with West Georgia, a school in Carrollton, Georgia, that is making the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. West Georgia is scheduled to join the Atlantic Sun Conference in July.
More high school basketball: Who will make KHSAA Sweet 16 fields at Rupp Arena? Predictions for boys, girls
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA basketball: Sixth and Seventh Region Players of the Year named
