INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Ohio State lost national player of the year Evan Turner to the NBA, but Buckeyes fans need not worry. Deshaun Thomas is coming.
The 6-foot-7 forward from Fort Wayne Luers was the top vote-getter for The Associated Press 2010 Indiana all-state boys basketball team. He finished a dazzling prep career with 3,018 points, the third-highest total in state history, and was named last month to the AP All-Century Team, the only player active in 2010 who made the list.
Thomas made the first team for the third straight year after being a third-team choice as a freshman. He won state titles his sophomore and junior years, but lost to Tipton in a regional semifinal this season.
The all-state squads are chosen through balloting from statewide media and observations by The Associated Press.
Thomas soon will become familiar with three other members of the first team who are heading to Big Ten rival Purdue. Terone Johnson of Indianapolis North Central, Travis Carroll of Danville and Donnie Hale of New Albany will be Boilermakers next season.
Johnson, the No. 2 vote-getter, scored 26 points to lead North Central to the Class 4A title this season. He was a second-team selection last year.
Carroll and Hale, both 6-foot-10, will add size to help JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel, something the Boilermakers lacked this past season. Both were third-team selections as juniors.
The fifth member of the first team is junior Branden Dawson, who led Gary Wallace to the 3A final.
Seniors Russell Byrd of Fort Wayne Blackhawk and Erik Fromm of Bloomington South head the second team.
Byrd, who will play for Michigan State, averaged 23.2 points this season. Erik Fromm, who will join national runner-up Butler, is a 6-9 center who could help Matt Howard down low.
The remaining second-teamers are underclassmen. Washington's Cody Zeller, a junior, had 20 points and a championship record-tying 26 rebounds to help his team beat Gary Wallace in the 3A state final. Warsaw's Nic Moore, a junior, scored 28 points in the 4A final against North Central. The final member is North Central sophomore D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera.
The third teamers features three seniors: Jake Kitchell of South Central (LaPorte), Chrishawn Hopkins of Indianapolis Manual and Daniel Turner of Mount Vernon (Hancock).
Kitchell will head to Indiana State after averaging 23.5 points this past season. Hopkins, known for his spectacular dunks despite being just 6-1, averaged 25.8 points per game and will add a new degree of athletic ability to Butler's already formidable squad.
Turner will see Hopkins often; he will head to Butler's Horizon League rival, Green Bay.
Two underclassmen are on the third team: sophomore Kevin 'Yogi' Ferrell, who led Indianapolis Park Tudor to the 2A title game, and Dee Davis of Bloomington South, an Xavier commitment.
On the girls' side, Purdue and Valparaiso recruits dominate the first team.
The top vote-getter is Courtney Moses of Oak Hill, a second-teamer last year. The 5-7 senior guard averaged a state-best 31.7 points a game and will head to Purdue. Dee Dee Williams of Class 4A champion Indianapolis Ben Davis, will join her in West Lafayette.
The No. 2 vote-getter, Valparaiso commitment Tabitha Gerardot of Fort Wayne Canterbury, led her team to the Class A title. She was a second-team choice a year ago. Maegan Callaway of Mooresville will join Gerardot at Valpo.
The lone underclassman on the first team is junior Bria Goss of Ben Davis, a third-team pick last year.
Second-teamers are Jada Buggs of Elkhart Memorial, Katy McIntosh of 2A champion Austin, Gabrielle Minix of Oregon-Davis, Anna Munn of Decatur Central and Bryonna Davis of 4A runner-up Merrillville (Michigan State).
Third-teamers are seniors Andrea Newbauer of 3A champion Fort Wayne Concordia (Indiana) and Jasmine Penny of Logansport (DePaul) and juniors Liza Clemons of Fort Wayne Elmhurst, Jama Sharp of Mooresville and Jessica Carr of Hamilton Heights.
