With six District 9 teams getting eliminated in the second round of the PIAA playoffs last week, it marked the end of another incredible basketball season around these parts.

Both the boys and girls sides had plenty of standout players and teams deserving of some recognition this year. And while the North Tier League and D-9 will issue their year-end awards in the days to come, I decided to make my own short list.

It should be noted that my picks are far from official, but rather just my observations after covering high school hoops for the past four months. For the purpose of these awards, I limited them to the 12 teams that The Era covers on a regular basis: all nine NTL schools, as well as Bradford, Kane and Elk County Catholic.

Boys coach of the year

Brian Hobbs, Bradford

The Bradford Owls started off this season 2-5. After going 25-63 over the past four seasons, it would’ve been easy for this to become just another forgettable season for Bradford. Hobbs, however, really rallied his team and wasn’t going to let that happen this go-around.

After that rough start, the Owls finished the season 12-4, including a trip to the Class AAAA title game. It wasn’t always rosy for the Owls, as they dealt with their share of injuries, including to senior Brice Whelan and second-leading scorer Tyler Gigliotti. Still, Bradford overcame nearly every obstacle, including several rough patches mid-season.

The Owls lost back-to-back games to ECC (double overtime) and Otto-Eldred (buzzer-beater) in mid-January by a combined four points. Instead of letting those losses linger, Bradford rallied to win six of their final seven games to close the regular season, which included a 56-54 revenge win over ECC on Feb. 13.

Gigliotti and Terwilliger formed a potent backcourt for Hobbs, and helped Bradford to win plenty of games with standout defense. The Owls averaged just 48 points against in their 14 wins this season.

Honorable mentions: Brian Furman (Coudersport), Aaron Straub (Elk County Catholic)

Girls coach of the year

Brian Green, Coudersport

When Green took over the coaching duties in June, he inherited a roster that returned only two girls who had played significant minutes last year. One of those girls, of course, was reigning NTL MVP Haley Keck, who had another tremendous year for the Falcons. Even so, Green had to push this team and was able to get the most of nearly every player on his roster. Freshman Sarah Chambers played a critical role for Coudy, and had several other underclassmen step up in playoff games.

After Coudy started off the season 1-2, the team went a remarkable 21-2 down the stretch to claim the NTL regular season crown and go into the playoffs as the league’s hottest team.  The Falcons won their two D-9 playoff games by a combined 28 points, including an 18-point victory over Kane, and claimed their second consecutive D-9 title.

While Keck and fellow senior EmmaRae Easton will be graduating this year, Coudy has a solid, young nucleus that should make Green and the Falcons a continued force for the foreseeable future.

Honorable mentions: Barb Close (Otto-Eldred), Dave Kiehl (Kane)

Boys player of the year

Owen Chambers, Coudersport  

Chambers was the second-leading scorer in all of District 9, averaging 24.9 points per game and helping to lead Coudy to another superb campaign that ended with a second straight D-9 Class AA Title. Chambers formed a dynamic backcourt with Jared Green, and allowed Coudersport to really spread the ball around on offense. The Falcons went 23-4, and lead the district averaging 77 points per game during the regular season.

As good as Chambers was in December and January, he really switched into another gear when playoffs started. The junior dropped 27 points in Coudy’s win over Ridgway to end the Elkers undefeated season and claim the title at Clarion University. Chambers then followed that up with 25 and 27-point performances in Coudy’s two state playoff games. Chambers already reached the 1,000-point mark this January for Coudersport and may have a chance to be the school’s all-time leading scorer by the time his career wraps up next season.

Honorable mentions: Deondre Terwilliger (Bradford), Theo Henry (Oswayo Valley), Ryan Newton (Elk County Catholic)

Girls player of the year

Camryn Thomas, Otto-Eldred

Thomas was the 12th-leading scorer in D-9, but you’d be extremely hard-pressed to find another girl who meant more to their team than Thomas did to the Lady Terrors. Thomas helped Otto-Eldred to one of their best seasons in school history, posting a 21-5 mark that included 14 wins in the NTL. Thomas averaged 16.5 ppg, and was one of the hardest-working players in the District. While Thomas towered over most of his opponents, she demanded plenty of attention and constantly had to work through double teams and help defense. Still, she stuffed the stat sheet nightly with rebounds and trips to the free-throw line.

You’d have to look no further than Otto’s regular season finale to see how much Thomas meant to her team. The Terrors led Northern Potter 23-22 when Thomas got banged up at the end of the third quarter. She was unable to return, and the Terrors went on to lose the game 40-29. Unfortunately for Otto, the loss gave Coudersport the NTL regular season title. Thomas, however, returned the next game and helped Otto to secure third place in the Class A playoffs and a trip to the state tournament.

Honorable mentions: Haley Keck (Coudersport), Ella Marconi (Kane), Abbey Woodard (Smethport)

Boys team of the year

Coudersport

The Falcons not only beat teams this season, they absolutely dominated them. Of Coudy’s 23 wins, just one came by single-digits, as Coudersport had usually built up at least a 20-point lead by halftime.

After a three-point loss to Johnsonburg on Dec. 18, Coudersport rolled off 14 straight victories that saw them score over 80 points on eight different occasions. Coudy wasn’t the deepest of teams, but head coach Brian Furman didn’t need to look much at his bench with the contributions of the starting five he had. In addition to Green and Chambers’s impressive seasons, senior Hunter Ricke was one of the best three-point shooters in D-9 this season, and gave the team another viable scoring option.

The Falcons’ four losses came against teams that had a combined 82 wins on the season.

Coudersport lost to Ridgway by two in early February, but enacted their revenge in the best way possible, defeating the Elkers at Tippin Gym to win the Class AA title. The win marked two straight titles for Furman and Coudy, marking the first time that has happened since the 1950s.

Girls team of the year

Kane

After starting the season 4-0, Kane lost to North Clarion on Dec. 27. From there, the Lady Wolves went on an absolute tear. The team won 20 consecutive games, and didn’t lose again until the Class AA Championship to Coudersport.

During that winning streak, Kane developed into one of the best teams in the District, and won big games over teams like Otto and Coudy.

Coach Dave Kiehl had three fantastic players in Rachael Morgan, Trinity Clark and Ella Marconi to give opposing defenses too much to handle. The Wolves went undefeated in their 10 Allegheny Mountain League games, winning by an average of 31 points and had no trouble lighting up the scoreboard.

Clark hit 1,000 rebounds on the season to go along with her 1,000 points which made her the school’s all-time leader in both categories. That record may only last a season, as Marconi — only a junior — has already reached 1,000 points as part of a fantastic season in 2017-18 for her. Marconi averaged a double-double on the year with points and boards, and finished 17th in all of D-9 with 17 ppg.

Kane’s 24 wins were a school record, and with Marconi returning next season, that could be the next record to fall.