Cole Currie, Robert Cartwright, Jeremy Major recognized for point guard play, Courtney Chen is Player of the Year and Armand Bagramyan Says No to Pros
Before we close the books on the 2012-13 basketball and soccer seasons, let’s take a look at our latest round of All-Area selections and recognize a few more athletes—a trio of talented point guards in particular—who earned league honors this week.
Having been voted the 2013 All-Area Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year by our staff of writers and editors, Crescenta Valley’s senior point guard Cole Currie was named Pacific League co-MVP with Pasadena’s UTEP-bound shooting guard Andre Spight. Currie averaged 19.6 points, five assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, leading the Falcons to a second place finish in league play.
Rival talent Robert Cartwright received the Prep League’s top honor, and he still has his senior year to play. The Flintridge Prep junior point guard scored 17.8 points per game despite sitting out large portions of several blowout contests.
Maranatha’s Jeremy Major was named to the All-CIF first team—for the third consecutive season. The point guard average 17.7 points per game in his senior season (after scoring 25.8 as a junior) and has been touted as the anchor of Pepperdine’s “Backcourt of the Future.”
Also worth noting is Providence’s Christian Ware-Berry’s selection to the All-CIF second team. Having played the better part of his junior season in the shadow of Marcus LoVett Jr., widely regarded as one of the most talented players in the country, Ware-Berry was forced into the spotlight when LoVett unexpectedly left the team and the school before the league playoffs. Ware-Berry stepped up in LoVett’s absense, scoring an average of 22.2 points per game and leading the Pioneers to the CIF playoffs.
Turning to the girls, we have to start in La Canada, whose 20-win season, Rio Hondo League title and trip to the CIF Southern Section Division III-A semifinals was largely the work of Courtney Chen, voted our 2013-13 All-Area Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year. She led the team in almost every major category, averaging 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 3.3 assists per game. Congratulations to Courtney, as well as the All-Area Girls’ Basketball First Team and Second Team.
Soccer fans, remember this name: Armand Bagramyan. La Canada’s star striker had plans to forego his senior season, having traveled to Spain last summer to tryout for European professional teams and securing offers to play for the RCD Espanyol and FSV Frankfurt youth academies.
But Bagramyan opted to return, and in doing so he made history, breaking a 16-year-old school record for goals scored in a single season with 43. He was the obvious choice for our 2012-13 All-Area Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year, and as he competes with the Chivas USA youth academy to prepare for collegiate play, rest assured that we’ll be hearing that name again. Congratulations to Armand, as well as the All-Area Boys’ Soccer First Team and Second Team.
--Peter Madden, Times Community News
Follow me on Twitter @pamadden.