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Spain Park's Colin Turner was named to this year's Class 7A All-State First Team, while seven other players earned a spot on this year's list in their respective classification as well. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor 

The 2022 Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State basketball teams were released on Sunday, March 20, and eight players from Shelby County had a reason to celebrate after earning a spot.

This year’s All-State teams, which honor the top players across the state from each classification, featured four boys and four girls with one first-team player, four second-team players, two third-team players and one honorable-mention player.

The eight players came from six different schools throughout Shelby County, including Spain Park, Pelham, Chelsea, Oak Mountain, Thompson and Coosa Valley Academy.

None, however, were as honored as Spain Park’s Colin Turner, who was the lone player to make his classification’s first team.

Turner earned a spot on the Class 7A All-State First Team after a remarkable season for the Jaguars that saw him help lead the team back to the Final Four.

As a post player, Turner averaged 16.6 points per game, finishing sixth in scoring in the county, while he led the county with 8.7 rebounds per game. He caused problems for just about every team the Jaguars faced this season, also totaling 26 blocks and 25 steals on the defensive end.

The three other boys players to find a spot on this year’s list included Oak Mountain’s Brady Dunn, Pelham’s Michael Jones and Coosa Valley’s Brayden Wilson.

As for the girls, Spain Park’s Camille Chase, Thompson’s Alecia Reasor, Pelham’s Laci Gogan and Chelsea’s Sydney Schwallie all earned a spot.

That gave Spain Park and Pelham two combined players as part of this year’s group, while Oak Mountain, Thompson, Chelsea and Coosa Valley each had one.

Dunn was a big part of Oak Mountain’s success this season, as he was the team’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game.

He earned a spot on the Class 7A All-State Second Team this year for that effort, also adding 5.2 rebounds and two assists per game with 31 blocks to help lead the Eagles to the Elite Eight for the third year in a row.

Jones was named to this year’s talented All-State Second Team for the 6A classification after finishing off a stellar four years as a starter in the county.

As a senior, he led the county in scoring with 23.7 points per game, while he also averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 assists per game. He finished in the top two in scoring in the county each of the last three years, leading the county as a sophomore and senior.

On the AISA All-State team, Coosa Valley’s Wilson earned a spot after also having an impressive and balanced year for the Rebels. He totaled 21.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists to help his team put together a special run and earn a second-team nod as an All-State player.

Gogan earned the highest recognition for the four girls players to make this year’s list, as the junior at Pelham was named to the Class 6A All-State Second Team.

She averaged 16 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game to help lead the Panthers to their first-ever appearance in the Final Four. She also totaled 58 steals and 23 blocks as one of the county’s most active players.

Chase and Schwallie earned spots on their respective classification’s third team, with Chase doing so in Class 7A and Schwallie in Class 6A.

Chase earned a spot as a balanced player for the Jaguars, scoring 10.8 points per game and averaging 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. She also finished with 46 steals defensively.

Schwallie got her recognition thanks to being one of the top defenders and leaders in the county, helping Chelsea reach the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.

She finished the season averaging 8.9 points, four rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, while she was one of the state’s top defenders as well, totaling 80 steals.

As for Reasor, she finished as the second-leading scorer in the county this season, trying to lead the Warriors through a season that featured an array of injuries to teammates around her.

She finished with 14.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while also adding 62 steals on the defensive end of the floor. With that, she was named as an honorable mention player on the Class 7A All-State Team.

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