All-State Boys Hoops: Wellsville’s Jusianiec selected to Class B’s 12th team; GV’s Schneider, Windus, Ellsessor named HMs in Class D in final small school rankings
ALBANY — The Winter Sports season may be over, but some local hoops stars are still garnering high praise for their performances all across the board for their teams, as the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA) officially released their final assembly of the All-State teams in the small schools division.
Starting in Class B, is Wellsville senior Max Jusianiec, who earned the highest placing out of the four local basketball selected for the annual list. Jusianiec, behind his 24.6 points per game which averaged second-most in Allegany County, earned a 12th Team honor from the Association after leading the Lions to an 11-11 finish on the season in his final year wearing Wellsville colors.
Down in Class D, the remaining three players in Allegany County all represent the same team, as Cody Schneider, Evan Windus and Brock Ellsessor all saw honorable mention nominations from the State after leading the Genesee Valley Jaguars toward an 18-5 season that including a number of big wins on their difficult schedule, as well as their first trip back to the Class D1 Finals at Blue Cross Arena for the first time since 2015.
Schneider has been the team’s leader since he stepped foot onto the court on day one for the Jaguars, as he finished his remarkable career for Genesee Valley by becoming a 1,000 point scorer, and then the school’s all-time leading scorer in back-to-back seasons. He went on to finish as the County’s third leading scorer, averaging just over 23 points a game for the team in green and white (23.2 ppg).
Windus finished not far behind Schneider in the standings, as he collected a 21.5 ppg average, fourth-most in the County this season. After he began rising to the occasion last season, Windus reached his truest potential in the 2019-20 season, as he closed in on the 1,000 career point mark in the final week of the regular season. He was able to reach that mark on the team’s Senior Night against Cuba-Rushford, becoming the program’s second straight scorer to reach the millennium mark, joining Schneider in the history books.
As for Ellsessor, he became the third head in the team’s three-headed monster all season for the Jaguars. Whether it came down to his aggressiveness to the net, or just creating opportunities inside and out, the Genesee Valley junior played a much more productive role in the team’s success that allowed them to finish with an 18-5 record, despite falling short to Avoca in the Finals. Ellsessor capped off his junior season by sneaking into the double digits on offense, averaging around 10 points per game for the Jaguars.
Next week, the New York State Sportswriters Association will release their All-State teams for Girls Basketball. Check back then to see who picked up honors for Allegany County!
