Hey folks,

St. Francis senior Shawn Grant is the Mercury News Player of the Year. Bellarmine College Prep's Niyi Harrison was a very close second and is the Senior of the Year. Players were chosen from schools within Santa Clara County.

Here's the first team, with second, third team and honorable mention.

SHAWN GRANT, ST. FRANCIS

Guard, 6-4, sr.

Grant was the go-to man in crunch time for the Lancers, who won a share of the West Catholic Athletic League title by beating Sacred Heart Cathedral in the WCAL tournament final. Grant delivered a clutch fadeway jumper late in the game to put the Lancers ahead. The co-MVP of the WCAL has a scholarship offer from Toledo and averaged 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as the Lancers won the Central Coast Section Division II title before advancing to the NorCal final.

NIYI HARRISON, BELLARMINE COLLEGE PREP

Forward, 6-7, sr.

The Santa Clara-University bound Harrison was a force for the Bells on both sides of the court. In the CCS Division I final, Harrison put on a first-half clinic, throwing down four dunks and scoring 18 of his 24 points to lead the Bells to a victory over Salinas. He averaged 17 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. "I loved Niyi's competitive enthusiasm and ability to rise to the biggest moment of a game or the season," Bellarmine Coach Patrick Schneider said.

TYLER JOHNSON, ST. FRANCIS

Guard, 6-1, jr.

In his first year playing varsity basketball, Johnson developed into one of the best all-around players in the section and was a key part of the Lancers run to a CCS title. "Once he got comfortable with the speed of the game, he gained confidence and had a great season," Lancer Coach Michael Motil said. Johnson has a quick first step and gets to the basket quickly. He is also an accurate three-point shooter, hitting 40 percent from beyond the arc. He averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and two assists per game.

KYLE PERRICONE, GUNN

Forward, 6-3, sr.

Perricone was a steady presence for the Titans who nearly beat Mitty in the CCS Division II semifinals. A three-year starter, Perricone was a workhorse who became a team leader who excelled on both ends of the court. Teaming with 6-8 teammate Gus Brennan, Perricone helped lead the Titans to the De Anza Divsion title. "Kyle has a versatile all-around game," Coach Chris Redfield said. "He helped Gus score with nice post entry passes and Kyle was our workhorse. He's a great defender and a difference maker on both ends." Perricone averaged 14.1 points, five rebounds and three assists per game.

BRANDON SCOTT, ARCHBISHOP MITTY

Guard, 6-1, sr.

The Monarchs' top player is adept at creating his own shot, and big time shots were his specialty _ he won three games by sinking buzzer beaters. Blessed with excellent jumping ability, Scott was able to springboard above defenders to launch his accurate jumper or blaze by them to take the ball to the basket. Scott led the Monarchs to an upset victory over St. Francis by scoring 30 points and also totaled 30 in a big early season win over Fairfield. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

COACH OF THE YEAR

MICHAEL MOTIL, ST. FRANCIS

In his first year coaching the varsity basketball, Motil led the Lancers to the 10th CCS title in school history and the first since 2002. A calming influence on the sideline, Motil realized his team wasn't going to win with size, so he stressed conditioning and the Lancers embraced the style _ running and gunning throughout their games from the opening whistle to the final buzzer. Not many teams could keep up, and the Lancers pulled away in the fourth quarter of many games.

Second team

Gus Brennan, Gunn, C, 6-8, sr.
Tim Harris, Valley Christian, G, 6-4, sr.
Kyle Hypes, St. Francis, G, 6-1, sr.
Kristoffer Olugbode, Bellarmine College Prep, PG, 5-8, soph.
Ronnie Staden, Piedmont Hills, G, 6-1, sr.
3rd team
Nake Dhillon, Piedmont Hills, 6-5, C, sr.
Patrick Fletcher, Mitty, 6-3, F, sr.
Momir Gataric, Homestead, 6-3, F, soph.
Freddie Eberhardt, Bellarmine, 6-4, F, jr.
Max Hooper, Valley Christian, 6-6, G, jr.

Honorable mention:

Guards: Moses Kinnah, Gunderson, sr.; Steve Sanders, Lynbrook, sr.; Damon Bates, Piedmont Hills, soph.; Spencer Britschgi, St. Francis, jr.; ; Alex Abarca, Harker School, sr.; Lasjohn Johnson, sr.; Anthony Cuellar, Piedmont Hills, sr.; Muktar Abdi, Willow Glen, soph.; Kirk Law, Mid-Peninsula, sr.; jason Berticevich, Pioneer, jr.; Anthony Ngo, Santa Clara, sr.; Michael Hodgman, Los Gatos, jr.; Kevin Lang, Monta Vista, sr.; Amir Carlisle, The King's Academy, soph.; Spencer Wells, Los Altos, jr.; Jim Cabading, Yerba Buena, sr.; Rich Azure, Lincoln, jr.; Ben Neves, Westmont, jr.
Forwards: Dalton Gary, Mitty, sr.; Terrance Duncan, Pioneer, sr.; Gregg Hipwell, Leland, sr.; James Weimer, Westmont, sr.; A.J. Hanley, Santa Teresa, sr.; Jordan Adkins, Evergreen Valley, sr.; Shane Miller, Prospect, sr.; Tyler Hartman, Gilroy, sr.; Matt Davies, Leigh, sr.; Jimmy Renneke, Willow Glen, sr.; Robby Anderson, Branham, soph.; Ryan Williams, Sobrato, jr. Trevor Scott, Wilcox, sr.; Stephan Castro, Gunn, sr.; Connor Cassidy, Santa Teresa, jr.
Centers: Chijoke Nwuzi, Silver Creek, jr.; Roy Talactac, Independence, sr.; Nick Taylor, Leigh, sr.