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EC’s Thomas tops Gamble finalists/Game Is March 27th!!!

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EC’s Thomas tops Gamble finalists

By Cody Pastorella

The Port Arthur News

The sixth annual James Gamble awards finalists have been selected and will begin practice Thursday for the fifth annual Port Arthur News/Gamble Award Game.

Gamble coached teams will be going for a fifth consecutive victory against a team of Houston area all stars coached by Memorial’s Terrul Henderson. The game is set for Thursday, March 27, with the Gamble Awards banquet to follow on Saturday.

Both events are at the Parker Center.

As usual, there will be a Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside Award given to one of the five players selected in each category.

The Gamble Awards, named for the Hall of Fame Port Arthur Lincoln High coach who guided that school to four state championships in the 1980s, and a total of 641 wins, began in 2003 as a way to recognize the top high school basketball players in Southeast Texas.

This year's Gamble team may lack some of the firepower that last year's squad showed on paper, but the talent chosen to represent Southeast Texas this year figures to live up to the high standards set before them.

The 2008 team is more quick and athletic than big, with the headliner being East Chambers’ Tramain Thomas. A repeat Mr. Outside finalist, Thomas was recently named winner of the Willie Ray Smith Defensive Player of the Year Award for his football exploits as a quarterback-defensive back for the Bucs.

He’s headed to Arkansas on a football scholarship.

Thomas averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and four assists for East Chambers in the recently completed basketball season. He was the MVP of District 24-2A, the MVP of the EC Holiday Classic and was named to the All-Tournament teams at the Big Sandy and Hardin-Jefferson Tournaments this year as well.

The only player to average more points per game than the 6-3 guard from EC was Shannon Robinson, a Mr. Outside nominee from Silsbee.

The 5-6 Robinson averaged 25 points, seven assists and two steals for the Tigers. He was chosen as District 21-3A's Offensive Player of the Year and was recently crowned the MVP of the Class 3A regional playoffs.

Robinson was also named to the Orangefield All-Tournament team.

Joining Thomas and Robinson as Mr. Outside nominees are Jarvis Bernard of Hardin-Jefferson, Donte Lopez of West Brook and Breon Johnson of Ozen.

There will be three players from Ozen playing for this year's Gamble All-Star team. Panther teammates joining Johnson

are Mr. Inside finalists Willie Jefferson and Jacoby Joseph.

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bulldog81

bulldog81

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This is the rest of the PA News article:

Joseph, a 6-5 forward, is the only other second-time finalist besides Thomas.

Joseph averaged 10 points, eight boards and two steals for Ozen this year and was named to the 22-4A first team All-District squad.

At 6-7, Jefferson, the 22-4A Defensive Player of the Year for the secodn time, will be team's only true post

player.

Jefferson averaged 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks this season, and was named to the Nederland All-Tournament team.

Nederland’s Chris Hammond, the first Bulldog to be selected as a Gamble Award finalist, is also a member of the Mr. Inside group. The 6-3 junior forward nearly helped Nederland break into the playoffs for the first time since 1993, but the Dogs were edged out in the final two games of the season.

Hammond averaged 16.6 points and seven boards per game this season. He also dropped in 66 treys and had 62 steals on the year.

Other Mr. Inside finalists include Marcus Malbrough of West Brook and Jamar Gulley of Central.

Gulley, who like Hammond is more of a swing player than an inside player, was chosen District 22-4A's Offensive

Player of the Year. He averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 boards and hit a sizzling 51 percent from the field this season.

Gulley was also named to the James White Classic, YMBL and James Gamble Classic All-Tournament teams.

Malbrough, a first team 21-5A All-District choice, helped lead the Bruins to the playoffs this season. The 6-5 forward, a Port Athur News Super teamer in football, averaged 13 points, seven boards and three blocks on the year. He has accepted a football scholarship to Missouri.

Of the 10 players on this year's squad, only Hammond was not part of a playoff team. Hammond certainly did his best to get the Dogs there, however, as he averaged 18.4 points in league play this year.

Of the other teams with players representing this year's squad, only Central's Gulley and West Brook's Malbrough and Lopez did not make it to at least the regional round of the playoffs.

Lopez averaged 14.6 points, five assists and 2.5 steals per game for the Bruins and was named to the YMBL and James White Classic All-Tournament teams.

The Bruins and Jags fell in the first round of the playoffs.

Johnson, one of the smallest player on this year's team at 5-10, averaged 7.5 points, eight assists and three steals for the Panthers.

Ozen marched through District 22-4A with a perfect record and did not lose in the postseason until falling to No. 1 ranked Houston Yates in the Class 4A region three semi-finals.

Silsbee, meanwhile, was a state semi-finalist, who knocked off Bernard and Hardin-Jefferson to get there.

Bernard was the District 21-3A MVP and averaged 22 points, six boards, 3.5 assist and 3.2 steals per game this year. Bernard was also named to the HJ Classic and East Chambers All-Tournament teams.

Past Mr. Inside winners include Kendrick Perkins (Ozen 2003), Ashton Hall (Kountze 2004, 2005), Dominique Keller (Memorial 2006) and Richard Netherly West Orange-Stark (2007).

Past recipients for the Mr. Outside Award include Trey McDowell (West Brook 2003), Keithan Hancock (Kountze 2004), Roderick Bellard (Ozen 2005), and Kris Richard, of Ozen, who took home the prize the past two years.

JAMES GAMBLE AWARD FINALISTS

Mr. Inside

Willie Jefferson Ozen 6-7 Junior

Jacoby Joseph Ozen 6-5 Senior

Marcus Malbrough West Brook 6-5 Senior

Chris Hammond Nederland 6-3 Junior

Jamar Gulley Central 6-3 Junior

Mr. Outside

Tramain Thomas East Chambers 6-3 Senior

Jarvis Bernard Hardin-Jeff 5-9 Junior

Donte Lopez WB 5-11 Junior

Shannon Robinson Silsbee 5-6 Junior

Breon Johnson Ozen 5-10 Junior

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

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