Althoff’s Jordan Goodwin, Javon Pickett of Belleville East earn first team all-state honors
The 2015-16 high school basketball season keeps on getting better for Althoff junior Jordan Goodwin and the Crusaders.
Goodwin, who will lead Althoff into its second straight state tournament semifinal on Friday, along with Belleville East junior Javon Pickett were first-team all-state selections in the Associated Press Class 3A-4A Boys Basketball All-State Teams which were released on Thursday.
One of the leaders of the top-ranked Crusaders team which will take on Westchester St. Joseph in one of two Class 3A state semi-fnals at Carver Arena in Peoria on Friday, Goodwin was the only unanimous Class 3A selection on all 26 ballots cast by a statewide panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
The 6-foot-4 Goodwin averaged a team high 18.6 points and also has a team high 268 rebounds and 93 assists. The Class 3A state tournament runner-up a year ago, Althoff is 30-2 and ranked 20th in the MaxPreps XCellent 25 National Rankings.
While Goodwin headlines the Class 3A all-state team, the silky-smooth Javon Pickett was a first team Class 4A selection.
A University of Illinois recruit the 6-4 Pickett led the metro east area in scoring at 23.4 points, despite missing a few games late in the season with an injury. Pickett shot nearly 55 percent from the field for a Belleville East team which finished 18-11.
Several other local players were also honored as either second team or honorable mention all-state selections.
Edwardsville junior and three-sport standout A.J. Epenesa was chosen as a second team Class 4A all-state selection. One of the top-ranked high school defensive linemen in the nation has committed to play football at the University of Iowa and owns one of nation’s best discus throws last season.
On the basketball court, the 6-6 Epenesa avaraged 16.8 points and shot an amazing 70 percent from the floor for an Edwardsville team which finished 25-5 and went undefeated in the Southwestern Conference.
Althoff seniors Tarkus Ferguson and Brendon Gooch were named as Class 3A honorable mention all state selections. The 6-4 Ferguson averaged 13.6 points per game and was third on the team in rebounds. Gooch, a 6-6 guard-forward averaged 13.5 points and was second on the team in rebounds (260). He’ll be joining coach Barry Hinson at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale next year.
Also earning all-state honorable mention status — in Class 4A — were Belleville West freshman E.J. Liddell and Granite City senior Kenny Berry. Giving an indication of things to come in the next three years, the 6-4 Liddell averaged 17.3 points and shot 59 percent from the floor for the Maroons which finished 14-14 during the 2015-16 season.
Berry, a 6-2 guard, also missed playing time with an injury but was a major reason the Warriors finished a respectable 14-15 this season. Berry averaged 19.5 points, 4 rebounds and nearly three assists per game.
Dean Criddle: 618-239-2661, @CriddleDean
This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Althoff’s Jordan Goodwin, Javon Pickett of Belleville East earn first team all-state honors."