Six YAIAA boys' basketball stars named all-state team; Central York coach earns top honor
Pennsylvania sports writers released their all-state boys' basketball teams Wednesday, and six YAIAA players made the cut.
And one coach earned the top honor.
Central York's state championship squad had three players earn honors in Class 6A: Senior Greg Guidinger on first team, junior Ben Rill on second team and junior Ben Natal on third team. Littlestown senior Christopher Meakin was named first team while Eastern York junior Carter Wamsley was named third team in Class 4A. York Catholic junior Jake Dallas was named second team in Class 3A.
Central York head coach Jeff Hoke was named Coach of the Year in Class 6A.
Nearly 100 sports writers across the state participated in the selection process.
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Central York honored for dream season
The 6-foot-7 Guidinger averaged 18.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists while making 55 3-pointers. He set Central York's school scoring record with 1,621 points. More importantly, he was the leader of a team that finished 29-3 and became the first York County public school to win a state title. He averaged 18 points per game in the state playoffs. Guidinger was named GameTimePA YAIAA Basketball Player of the Year for the second year in a row. He announced his commitment to Loyola Maryland last week.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Rill was a beast down low for the Panthers. He averaged 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds despite being consistently double-teamed throughout the season. Rill was a force in the playoffs and led the Panthers in points in the two biggest games of the season — scoring 28 against Reading in the semifinals and 17 against Parkland in the final. He's topped 1,000 career points in his first two seasons at Central York.
The 6-foot-2 Natal might've been Central York's most skilled player. The smooth combo guard averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists and is already closing in on 1,200 career points. He scored 25 points in a payback win over rival Red Lion in the state playoffs and scored 15 in the state final against Parkland.
Rill and Natal have both gotten interest from Division I colleges recently.
And while Hoke had plenty of talent at his disposal, he still guided the Panthers to a historic season during a pressure-filled season. Everyone wanted to knock off the Panthers. Red Lion eventually did in the District 3 quarterfinals. But Central York bounced back from a fifth-place finish at districts to become the first York County school to win a state title at the highest classification.
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Three other YAIAA players honored
A 6-foot-8 senior, Meakin led Littlestown to a 19-9 record and was named YAIAA Division III Player of the Year. He averaged 22.1 points and 10 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the field and knocking down 32 3-pointers. He finished his career by scoring 33 points in a state playoff loss to Neumann-Goretti. The Frostburg State commit finished his career with 1,666 points, most in Littlestown history and second-most for a boys' player from Adams County.
A 6-foot-6 junior, Wamsley led Eastern York to a 20-9 record and the District 3 Class 4A title. Wamsley averaged 15.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks and reached 1,000 career points. He had 31 points in a three-point loss to Central York in the YAIAA tournament and registered 20 points and 11 rebounds in the District 3 title win over Big Spring.
The 6-foot-3 Dallas led the YAIAA in scoring average at 23 points per game while shooting 47% from the field. He made 51 3-pointers and shot 35% from behind the arc. He also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game. Dallas reached 1,000 career points during the season and led York Catholic to a 12-12 record and an appearance in the District 3 Class 3A semifinals.
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on X at @bad2theallibone.