Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Drew Vizenor

By Ray Hamill — Little 4 rivals Oliver Tatton of South Fork and Drew Vizenor of St. Bernard’s have both been named to the MaxPreps Division-6 all-state boys team in basketball, which was released on Friday.

Vizenor’s fellow Crusader Lele Tanuvasa also has been included on the Division-4 girls all-state second team.

All three players are coming off huge MVP seasons for their respective teams, with Tatton and Vizenor named co-MVPs of the Little 4 for the boys and Tanuvasa L4 MVP for the girls.

Vizenor, a 6-3 senior guard, averaged 15.5 points a game and led the Crusaders to an historic North Coast Section and NorCal state championship double, the first time an H-DNL team has ever achieved that.

Tatton, a 6-5 senior forward, was equally impressive and led the Cubs to a first Little 4 championship in almost three decades.

The all-state D-6 team included just five players in total, two of them from the Little 4.

Tanuvasa, a 6-0 junior forward, averaged 24.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 7 assists per game, and, according to MaxPreps,“showed outstanding shooting range.”

She also earned respect of SB head coach Augie Valdez.

“In my 22 years of coaching, I have never seen a player with such an upside as Lele,” Valdez said after Tanuvasa was named L4 MVP. “She’s always the main focus of teams we play against, drawing double and sometimes triple team. 

“She has great court vision, deep range, rebounds well, and can create scoring opportunities for herself and teammates.”

Submitted photo – Oliver Tatton (24) and his teammates celebrate their Little 4 championship this past season.

Tatton, who intends on continuing his playing career at the collegiate level, also earned the respect of his teammates and coaches after playing a pivotal role all season for the Cubs.

“Oliver is super talented,” South Fork head coach Taylor Morrow said. “It’s a coach’s dream to have a player that is tall, athletic and highly skilled. He is the guy every team had to prepare for, or else he would roast them.

“He was the cornerstone of our success this season. I’m excited to follow his journey at the next level.”

Lele Tanuvasa

Vizenor also played a huge role for his team in their historic playoff run.

“Drew is a complete basketball player,” St. Bernard’s head coach Issac Gildea said. “There are no holes in his game. He is a great defender and a superior offensive player.”

The senior’s stats this past postseason backed that assessment, and in six playoff games he averaged 16.7 points, 3.5 assists, 5 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 4.5 deflections, 2.2 blocks and just one turnover.