(NOTE: Summer school is to keep the upcoming high school season on your mind with issues, trends and ideas related to the high school sports scene around Lorain County.)

Thursday's NBA Draft got me thinking: What if I could draft a team of the best high school players?

Well, I'm not going to do a draft from one through whatever, but here's what I think would make the perfect team based on who¹s back next season:

First, let's start with a point guard, and no one fits the prototypical point guard role better than Morgan Jones. It's been awhile since the area has scene a better on-ball defender at the point than Jones. A few come to mind, like Avon's Steve Vega and Oberlin's Jeff Chambers -- who had the classic of classic head-to-head battles -- 10 years ago, but I'll take Jones and his defense over them or anyone since then at the point.

Finding a shooting guard may be the toughest position to fill.

Chris Kimbro comes to mind. Admiral King coach Michael Scott made an effort to move him to shooting guard, but that plan got nixed when sophomore point guard Malcolm Barnett was hurt. There's also Wellington's Brandon Schmidt, another would-be converted point guard, and Western Reserve's Brett Pickens, who had to come back from a broken femur in football. But, I'll go with Kimbro. Besides, it can't hurt to have two point guards on the floor.

At small forward, it's a no-brainer. We go with Josh Biber. He's normally a four or five in Southview's lineup, but this setup is essentially an all-star team -- an all-star team that allows these guys to play a position that may best serve their needs. Don;t get me wrong, I think Biber is most productive at power forward because of his rebounding ability and the presence of junior Marshall Crum at Southview. If I'm coach Andy Bastock, I'm grinning at the thoughts of this winter and having those two to anchor my frontcourt.

The power forward is Admiral King's Adrian Casey. He's come along way from a J.V. standout as a freshman to what will be his third year starting on varsity this year. No one has made a bigger jump, and the way he handles himself is also second to none.

The center is Drew McGhee, last season's Morning Journal Player of the Year. Our player of the year came down to McGhee and Casey last season, but leading North Ridgeville to its first conference title in 31 years was too much to ignore. Even in this lineup, McGhee -- at 6-foot-10 -- is too big to ignore.

Now, of course, we should probably find a coach. I don't think these guys would listen to me on the bench. So, I'm going with Western Reserve's Chris Sheldon. He's the only non-Lorain County representative on this list, but the job he's done earns him a distinct recognition. His teams are in contention every year, and that comes with mind-boggling preparation and attention to detail.

There you have it. Try and beat that lineup.

***

School is no longer in session, but Duane Sunagel gets to practically coach the Elyria Pioneers with some added punch.

Fresh off their Division I state championship loss to North Canton Hoover, most of the Pioneers from that softball team got a little revenge by beating Hoover's Jessica Simpson and her Grand Slam travel team, 4-3, last weekend. Tess Sito got the win after suffering a 1-0 loss to Simpson in the state championship game.

Also on that Elyria SunDogs team with Sito is Megan Bashak, Jen Bower and Jessica Bellottie. Take that core, plus a few more from Elyria, and add Lorain County Miss Softball Jillian Van Wagnen and North Ridgeville shortstop Jaime Frindt.

It's Lorain County's Ulimate Softball Alliance.

***

Finally, the decision to go with male and female athletes of the year is a new thing here. It's a big part of this week's Edge, and is one final chance to recognize the area's high school talents.

A little debating went into the decisions to select Cory Leslie as Male Athlete of the Year and Van Wagnen as Female Athlete of the Year.

A few others were in consideration, like Midview¹s Drew Ebersole, who was a sack master in football on top of what he did in track. Kull McClurg from Wellington was also considered, as was Sito.

The criteria broke down this way: Who is the best all-around athlete? The two main factors, which can easily become debating points are how many sports does an athlete participate vs. how good is an athlete in a given sport.

Leslie was a state champion in two sports, which made him the standout choice. The number of sports which Van Wagnen earned letters is mind boggling. She not only played just about every sport she could, she was also good in them.
mgoul@MorningJournal.com