BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS — H-DNL boys battle all the way

By barstoolfanatics on March 23, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Seth Dyer

By Ray Hamill — There was no shortage of excitement on the local basketball courts this year, with lots of twists and turns along the way.

And it was a memorable season for four H-DNL teams in particular, all of which are represented in our list of finalists for the 2023/24 Humboldt Sports Boys Player of the Year.

The McKinleyville Panthers and Arcata Tigers were crowned co-champs of the Big 5, while the St. Bernard’s Crusaders ended South Fork’s two-year reign as Little 4 champs.

The South Fork Cubs enjoyed perhaps the most impressive postseason run of any H-DNL boys team and were the league’s lone representative in a North Coast Section championship game, reaching a final for the first time in more than three decades.

The Fortuna Huskies are also represented in our finalists for player of the year.

The Huskies battled injuries more than most teams this year — so too did Arcata — but had one of the best one-two punches in the area, along with St. Bernard’s.

So here then are our list of six finalists for boys player of the year.

The award encompasses not just the players’ talents and achievements, but how they carry themselves on and off the court, their importance to their team, their leadership and their impact on the H-DNL season.

All decisions are made by Humboldt Sports, in conjunction with feedback from coaches throughout the year.

We’ll announce our boys and girls players of the year next week, along with our boys and girls teams of the year and boys and girls coaches of the year.