The 2011 All-Kitsap County Boys Basketball Team was compiled by the sports writers for the Bremerton Patriot, the Central Kitsap Reporter, the North Kitsap Herald, Bainbridge Island Review and the Port Orchard Independent.

Candidates for the team are nominated by the writers for their respective areas. The nominees are then voted on by the writers; the top players make the teams. Honorable mentions are also selected from each school for each sport.

The teams include the best players from area schools that not only performed well individually, but played a role in the success of their team.

Starting lineup

Boys Coach of the Year — Kingston High School’s Blake Conley guided the Buccaneers to a 21-8 record and to the state tournament for the first time in program history, where they finished third.

Guard — Andre Coleman, Bremerton, senior: Coleman followed in the footsteps of former teammate Jarell Flora and cousin Marvin Williams by leading the Knights, this time to the district playoffs. Coleman was one of the top Olympic League players this season, averaging 19.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, three assists and 2.8 steals per game for Bremerton. One of his more impressive efforts came Jan. 28 against Kingston High School when Coleman led Bremerton with 28 points, including seven 3-pointers, en route to a 70-68 upset of the then-undefeated Buccaneers.

Coleman said Monday that he wasn’t happy with Bremerton’s absence from this year’s state tournament, but the senior is content with exceeding expectations.

“We proved people wrong again,” said Coleman, who was referring to the school’s surprising Olympic League title last year and district tournament appearance this season under first-year head coach Darren Bowden. “People didn’t think we could have a good year, but we picked up a lot of wins and for a while, there was no stopping us.”

Coleman is currently weighing his options for college. The Knights star visited Highline Community College (Des Moines) last week, and will tour Portland and Treasure Valley (Ore.) community colleges next week. He said he will make a decision in two weeks.

Guard — Derris Davis, Klahowya, senior: Davis was the bright spot in the Eagles’ season, leading the team with 17.3 points per game. He orchestrated Klahowya’s offense and kept his team competitive during the season.

Davis will attend Olympic College next fall, but he’s unsure if he’ll earn a spot on the mens basketball squad. He will meet with head coach Barry Janusch this week.

Guard — Chris Bell, Bainbridge, junior: Bell was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal season. He often finished as the top scorer for a majority of the games and led the team and the county in scoring with 19.9 points per game. He also averaged seven rebounds, two assists and one steal per game.

Forward — Sam Byers, Kingston, junior: Byers collected 65 rebounds during the Class 2A boys state tournament, the most out of any player vying for a state title. He stayed consistant throughout the season with 12.5 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game and 2 blocks per game, making him the only Olympic League player to average a double-double.

Forward — Zane Ravenholt, Kingston, senior: Ravenholt led the team with 15.9 points per game. He also averaged nine rebounds per game, 2.1 blocks per game and 1.8 steals per game. He produced more points (110) than anyone else at the 2A state tournament in Yakima.

Bench

G — Trent Gallagher, Olympic, junior: Gallagher played a vital role in leading Olympic to its first automatic berth into the West Central District tournament since 1999. He averaged 16.3 points per game for the Trojans, who relied on Gallagher’s quick feet and court vision for big wins this season.

G — Quintin Phillips, Olympic, sophomore: He tallied 15.4 points and two steals per game this season, helping the Trojans beat top-ranked teams Bremerton and Port Angeles on the way to the postseason.

G — Andrew Shadle, Bremerton, sophomore: Shadle averaged 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game this season. He helped the Knights earn a trip to the district tournament. Shadle developed a cohesive relationship with Coleman and Michael Lawrence, which led to big wins down the stretch.

F — Austin Hewett, Crosspoint Academy, senior: Hewett led the team with 15.2 points per game this season.

G — Rico Failla, Bainbridge, junior: Failla was the second scoring option to Bell and he could just as easily take over a game like Bell with his touch behind the arc. He averaged 16.4 points and five rebounds per game.

G — George Hill, Kingston, senior: With 10.4 points, 5.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, the four-year varsity player became a force on the court during the state tournament as well. Hill accumulated 17 assists during those final state games, tying for the most assists in the tournament.

G — Nars Martinez, South Kitsap, junior: A natural shooting guard, Martinez volunteered to switch to point guard this season to fill a void in the Wolves’ starting lineup. Despite that, he still averaged a team-high 13.4 points, 3.9 assists, three rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Central Kitsap High School honorable mentions: Jacob Sontag, senior; Steffan Collins, senior; Bremerton: Michael Lawrence, sophomore; Crosspoint: Josh Kreifels, senior; Klahowya: Clark Rose, junior; Olympic: Qui Jan Otis, senior; Chris Campbell, senior; Bainbridge: Michael Crowley, Eric Raustein; Kingston: Tucker Bowman, K.T. Deam, and Richie Sander; North Kitsap: Will Nguyen, TJ Reitan; South Kitsap: Steven Ebner.