By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor
Two area basketball players earned Arkansas Activities Association All-State honors for their efforts this season.
Jacksonville senior guard Raheem Appleby and Beebe senior guard Devonte Young were selected to the East team coached by West Fork’s David Ferrell.
Appleby, 6-3, The Leader boys player of the year, averaged 19.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game and helped lead Jacksonville to its second 6A state final appearance in three years.
Little Rock Parkview beat Jacksonville 50-44 in this year’s championship at Hot Springs Summit Arena.
It was the third meeting between the teams and gave Parkview a 2-1 edge in their season series.
Appleby was a sophomore when Jacksonville beat Little Rock Hall to take the championship in 2009. He suffered an ankle injury late in this year’s state tournament run but still scored a game-high 19 points in the final.
Young, 6-2, was a first-team All-Leader pick under first-year coach Ryan Marshall and helped Beebe to the 5A state tournament where the Badgers took a first-round loss to Siloam Springs, 64-56.
Young averaged 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals a game.
Appleby and Young join an all-star team of high-profile college recruits.
The East squad features Texas-El Paso signee Hooper Vint, 6-11, of Van Buren; Arkansas Razorback recruits Ky Madden, 6-5, of East Poinsett Co.; Hunter Mickelson, 6-11, of Jonesboro-Westside, and Aaron Ross, 6-8, of Parkview.
There were no area selections to the girls teams or girls coaching staffs.
The all-star festivities are set for Fayetteville’s Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus on June 22.
