Mira Shulman, Solomon Young are Bee Basketball Players of the Year
The descriptions fit – to a point.
Mira Shulman of Elk Grove High School is described by coach Larry Price as “a monster” in high tops. The versatile, playmaking junior guard led the Thundering Herd to a record season.
Solomon Young of Sacramento High is called “a gentle giant” by coach Derek Swafford. But the senior forward was a force who played big in the season’s biggest games.
Shulman and Young are The Sacramento Bee’s 2015-16 Basketball Players of the Year, in large part because of their relentless passion for the game and their ability to turn games with a pass, score or defensive stop.
Shulman, a 5-foot-7 junior guard with excellent ball-handling skills and court awareness, averaged 18.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists for the Thundering Herd, who won the CIF Northern California Division II championship and reached the CIF State finals at Sleep Train Arena, ending a long stretch of mediocrity. Elk Grove had won only two league championships in 40 seasons, none in the past 20 years. Shulman is the first basketball player at Elk Grove – girls or boys – to win Bee Player of the Year honors since Bill Cartwright in 1975.
In contrast, Sacramento has grown accustomed to success, and Young helped lead the Dragons to new heights with a school-record 30-2 season. Young, a 6-7 forward headed to Iowa State on scholarship, averaged 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots for a team that was top ranked by The Bee from December until the end of the season.
After winning the Metropolitan Conference championship and the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II title, the Dragons were placed in the prestigious NorCal Open Division, where they defeated Folsom before falling at top-seeded De La Salle of Concord in the semifinals.
“We had a really good season, won a lot of games,” Young said. “It’s hard to lose your last game, but we gave it our all.”
While Sacramento’s success was not a surprise, Elk Grove’s sure was.
“Had someone told me we would have done this before the season,” Shulman said with a laugh, “I would’ve been like, ‘Who? Elk Grove?’ I might’ve laughed in their face.
“But I’m very proud. Once the season started, we knew we could be really good. It hasn’t hit me that we played for a state championship. It’s something I’ll tell my own kids about someday.”
I didn’t want to be outplayed as a freshman and it carried over.
Solomon Young
Sac High senior forwardShulman and Young didn’t give basketball much of a thought as youngsters.
Shulman, an only child, admitted to “hating basketball” before she learned to “love it.” The turning point was when Shulman’s father, Jeff, called her to the backyard with a surprise, with mother Wendi beaming.
“He came home with a basketball hoop, put it in the backyard, and I started playing, got hooked, and the rest is history,” Shulman said. “I started to play on that adjustable hoop every day, all the time.”
Once the season started, we knew we could be really good.
Mira Shulman
Elk Grove junior guardShulman, a 4.3 GPA student, is excited about her senior season, with Elk Grove expected to be strong again. She’s also curious about college but isn’t sure where she will go or what she will study. Shulman has embraced academics as much as athletics; in middle school, she would plead for her father to take her back to school when she forgot a homework assignment.
“My parents have been great, and my dad was my early mentor,” Shulman said.
Young, a 3.4 student who is the youngest of six children, didn’t begin to enjoy basketball until middle school, but was hooked by high school.
He started for Sacramento’s varsity team as a freshman, holding his own against national recruit prospects such as Ivan Rabb of Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland, now a standout at Cal.
“I didn’t want to be outplayed as a freshman and it carried over,” Young said. “That’s the competitor in me. Just play my hardest, give it your all, and play every game like it’s your last one.”
Despite Young scoring 24 points and dominating on both ends of the floor, Sacramento couldn’t hold off De La Salle, which pulled away late to win 63-56 in the NorCal Open semifinals.
After the game, Young was consoled by his mother, Tina, who wiped away tears, his and her own, and told him, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Mom’s my rock,” Young said. “Gotta love Mom. She tells me all the time that she’s proud. I love to hear it. I’ve been a good person, worked hard, for my mom.”
Joe Davidson: 916-321-1280, @SacBee_JoeD
Boys
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
SOLOMON YOUNG
Forward, Sacramento, senior
FIRST TEAM
JORDAN FORD
Guard, Folsom, senior
JARED WALL
Guard, Folsom, senior
CHRISTIAN TERRELL
Guard, Sacramento, senior
MATT MANNING
Forward, Sheldon, senior
JORDAN BROWN
Center, Woodcreek, sophomore
SECOND TEAM
ISAIAH BROOKS
Guard, Sheldon, senior
ELISHJA DUPLECHAN
Guard, Sheldon, junior
ISAIAH HALSEY
Guard, Liberty Ranch, senior
KAI TEASE
Guard, Antelope, senior
MALIK DUFFY
Center, Jesuit, senior
THIRD TEAM
TIEGEN JONES
Guard, Capital Christian, senior
MATT LYON
Guard, Rio Americano, senior
KENNETH OLSEM
Guard, El Camino, senior
GIOVANNI ROBERTS
Guard, Placer, senior
CHARLIE TOOLEY
Guard, Granite Bay, senior
HONORABLE MENTION
Guards/wings: Alec Andrews, Folsom; B.J. Askew, Sacramento Country Day; Luke Avdalovic, Vista del Lago; Justin Asuncion, Woodcreek; Matt Battaglia, Oak Ridge; Kamren Belden, Pleasant Grove; Drew Cobb, Sheldon; Zach Detillion, Lincoln; Jeff Dresser, Cosumnes Oaks; Zethan Dumpson, Rio Linda; Tre Finch, Folsom; William FitzPatrick, Vista del Lago; Chandler Garcia, Liberty Ranch; James Gill, Burbank; Josh Gonzalez, Sacramento; Cornell Greenwood, Marysville; Jermaine Henderson, Sacramento; Scotty Henrichs, Granite Bay; Sayvon Hines, Sacramento; Khari Hutt, Kennedy; Devin Greene, Sheldon; Monty Khela, West Campus; Zach Lowe, Lincoln; Jeryn Lucas, West Campus; David O'Brien, Bear River; Ken Olsem, El Camino; Xavier Osby, Johnson; Ethan Pangelinan, Jesuit; Vernon Robertson, Foothill; Gabriel Serna, Elk Grove; TreShon Smoots-Jones, Grant; Cole Taira, Kennedy; Isaiah Tenette, Highlands; Glen Welch, Davis; Malachi Wharry, Yuba City; Andrew Williams, Sacramento; L.J. Williams, Bradshaw Christian
Forward/centers: Montel Aaron, Antelope; Moe Ali, Whitney; Austin Alexander, Capital Christian; Isaiah Bates, West Campus; Keshawn Bruner, Burbank; Aaron Burkness, Bella Vista; Cameron Eden, Yuba City; Mason Forbes, Folsom; Elias King, Christian Brothers; Ryan Kreidler, Davis; Matt Lambdin, Bella Vista; Jeremy Lillis, Placer; Xavier Lovelace, Placer; Kenneth Macklin, Ponderosa; David Menary, Nevada Union; Tanner Minton, Mesa Verde; Darren Nelson, Granite Bay; Melvin Parker, Rosemont; Corey Potthoff, Liberty Ranch; Kyle Price, Whitney; Da’Ron Reid, Monterey Trail; Tim Strijaous, Antelope; Brennan Wheeler, Ponderosa; DeAnte Wilkins, Cordova
COACH OF THE YEAR
JOSH WILLIAMS, LIBERTY RANCH
Though Williams had no starters back from a 27-6 team, he welcomed back a host of reserves, though none taller than 6-foot-3. Liberty Ranch used team play, fundamentals and hustle to go 30-2 and advance to the CIF Northern California Regional Division IV playoffs. The Hawks’ 27-0 regular-season made them the first Sac-Joaquin Section public school in any division since Kennedy in 1991 to be unbeaten heading into the playoffs. The last section team unbeaten in the regular season was Modesto Christian in 1997.
Girls
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MIRA SHULMAN
Guard, Elk Grove, junior
FIRST TEAM
ANGELICA BAYLON
Guard, Antelope, senior
BRIANA DULGAR
Guard, Oak Ridge, senior
ALICEAH HERNANDEZ
Guard, Sacramento, senior
McKENZIE FORBES
Guard, Folsom, sophomore
LAUREN CRAIG
Center, St. Francis, senior
SECOND TEAM
BRANDY HUFFHINES
Guard, Rio Linda, junior
MADISON WONG
Guard, Elk Grove, senior
KELSEY WONG
Guard, McClatchy, senior
HAILEY McCOY
Forward, Oak Ridge, sophomore
BAYLEE VANDERDOES
Forward, Placer, senior
THIRD TEAM
DANIELLE CRAFT
Guard, Ponderosa, senior
NADIA JOHNSON
Guard, Antelope, junior
NIA JOHNSON
Guard, Antelope, sophomore
PAITON DEMPS
Forward, Elk Grove, junior
JORDAN CRUZ
Forward, McClatchy, junior
HONORABLE MENTION
Guards/wings: Namiko Adams, West Campus; Anna Belenis, Davis; Alyssa Black, Valley; Akylah Bowens, Center; Danielle Biggs, Del Campo; Airahseli Chavez, Laguna Creek; Irene Colivalu, Rosemont; Maddison Coleman, El Camino; Shanaijah Davison, Pioneer; Janae Fairbrook, St. Francis; Payton Garvey, Casa Roble; Kaliya Griffin, Inderkum; Quayonna Harris, Sacramento; Kelsey Forrester, Davis; Kelsie Graf, Cordova; Tia Hay, St. Francis; Kiara Jefferson, West Campus; Abreanna Lake, Cosumnes Oaks; Tiana Lowery, River City; Kalani Mark, Christian Brothers; Cierra McClain, Capital Christian; Shantanice Mendoza, Sheldon; Brittany Nguyen, Pleasant Grove; Cassie Piski, Lincoln; Jordan Purvis, Rocklin; Sara Shimizu, McClatchy; Saraya Smith, Ponderosa; Chanel Stuart, Franklin; Lyric Wilson, Sacramento; Daisia Williams, Inderkum; Madison Witcher, Cosumnes Oaks; Kristi Wong, McClatchy; Alexis Zimmerman, Rio Linda
Forwards/centers: Adriana Avent, Sacramento; Kylee Bauer, Colfax; Daeja Black, Granite Bay; MacKenzie Crouch, Oakmont; Kassidy DeLapp, Oak Ridge; Rachael DiRegolo, Bella Vista; Rebeccah DiRegolo, Bella Vista; Jada Ellison, Rosemont; Cailyn Francis, River Valley; Kamryn Hall, McClatchy; Bailey Hawkins, Antelope; Ariyan Hudson, Franklin; Kyra Huffman, St. Francis; Quoquese Jackson, Foothill; Samantha Klinkenborg, El Dorado; Katie MacKenzie, Dixon; Lillian Olson, Sacramento Waldorf; Brea Price, Burbank; Kaely Rath, Bear River; Adrienne Russell, Granite Bay; Jikara Sellers, Florin; Arianna Spann, Antelope; Acacia Tyler, Casa Roble; Kyanna Thurston, Highlands; Destiny Walker, Capital Christian; Kamrynn Williams, Monterey Trail
COACH OF THE YEAR
VIC PITTON, ST. FRANCIS
With Pitton stressing effort, fundamentals and trust on the floor, St. Francis was 29-6, its finest season in Division I. The Troubadours won the Delta League and the CIF Northern California Division I championship before losing to 10-time CIF State champion Brea Olinda in the state finals at Sleep Train Arena. It was St. Francis’ first appearance in the state finals since 1993, in Division III. Pitton, who called this his best and most enjoyable team, said the loss in the state title game didn’t define the team, the entire season did.
This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 5:12 PM.