All-State In Good Hands With Lee, Lamb Central Valley, Sje Standouts Named Aaa, B Players Of Year

Two offensive standouts who led their respective teams in virtually every category top the 1996-97 Associated Press All-State basketball teams.

Doug Wrenn, who led O’Dea to the Class AA state championship, and Megan Franza, the AP Class A Player of the Year last year, have been selected AP Players of the Year.

The Class AAA girls Player of the Year award goes to Central Valley’s Crystal Lee. Tricia Lamb of St. John-Endicott is the girls Class B Player of the Year.

Sports writers and broadcasters selected the All-State teams and Players of the Year in balloting conducted March 5-17.

Wrenn, selected as the most valuable player in the state tournament, averaged 17.4 points per game as a junior and will likely be one of the most highly recruited players in the state next year.

Franza led Cascade (Leavenworth) to league and district championships and to fourth place in the state tournament.

“She’s a very good offensive basketball player with considerable skills, but the most important thing is she’s very coachable,” said her coach, Michael Lewis.

She averaged 26 points, four assists and 3.7 steals per game during the regular season. The MVP of last year’s state tournament, she has signed to play at the University of Washington.

“She’s a team player. This year, she stepped up defensively for us and did an excellent job. She works at making her teammates better ballplayers,” Lewis said.

Besides being named overall girls Player of the Year, Franza was selected Class A Player of the Year. Other top players included Lee; Sheila Lambert, Chief Sealth, Class AA; and Lamb.

Lee, a senior, was the Greater Spokane League MVP and led the league with a record 20.9 points per game as she became the league’s and Central Valley’s all-time leading scorer. She has signed to play with Hawaii.

Lambert, a junior, led the Metro League in scoring with 29.5 points per game, one of the highest totals in state history. She’s already drawing attention from many Division I colleges.

Lamb, a senior, surpassed 2,000 career points for last year’s Class B state champions and has committed to play at Washington State.

Besides Wrenn, boys Players of the Year by classification included Dan Dickau, Prairie, Class AAA; Derek Van Weerdhuizen, La Center, Class A; and Jon Johnson, North Beath, Class B.

Dickau, a senior, averaged 20 points per game with a seaosn high of 47 and was The Columbian’s Player of the Year. He has been signed by the University of Washington.

VanWeerdhuizen led La Center to consecutive state championships along with his younger brother, Dustin, also an All-State selection.

Johnson, a senior, led North Beach to the state B tournament, averaging 22.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos