Recently in Alex Varner Category

Inland Empire Basketball is having a banquet to honor the Eisenhower boys basketball team's back-to-back CIF-SS Division 2-A championships on Tuesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Sierra Lakes Golf Club in Fontana. The black-tie-optional event will feature UC Riverside athletic director Stan Morrison will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will celebrate the Eagles' achievements from the last two years, including their Division II state championship of 2009 and the awarding of the Wooden Award to senior guard Alex Varner.
Entry fee to the event is $30, with checks payable to Inland Empire Basketball.

The school winners for the annual Ken Hubbs Award, named after the late Colton graduate and 1962 Rookie of the Year for the Chicago Cubs, will be honored tonight at the 66ers' game with the Quakes today at Arrowhead Credit Union Park.

They are listed below. The overall winner will be announced Monday at the Ken Hubbs Banquet at the Elks Club in San Bernardino.

Alex Saunders - soccer and cross country - Aquinas
William Quanstrom - volleyball and basketball - Arrowhead Christian
Damon Ogburn - football and track & field - Arroyo Valley
Jake Murie - cross country and track - Big Bear
Richard Marquez - soccer and football - Bloomington
Tanner Clark - baseball and wrestling - Cajon
Ryan Coleman - football - Carter
Derrick Malone - football and track & field - Colton
Alex Varner - basketball - Eisenhower
Hugo Cardoza - soccer and water polo - Fontana
Joshua Shirley - football and wrestling - Kaiser
Trevor Pascoe - football - Miller
Canon John Castro - water polo, wrestling, soccer, swimming, golf - Pacific
Joe Barich - water polo, volleyball and soccer - Redlands
Andrew Hudson - football, wrestling and track & field - Redlands East Valley
Giordan Porter - wrestling and football - Rialto
Dustin Fay - cross country and track & field - Rim of the World
Devonte Chattman - basketball - San Bernardino
Greg Valdivia - cross country and track & field - San Gorgonio
Corey Jennings - soccer and cross country - Summit
Wyatt Padgett - baseball and football - Yucaipa

Eisenhower boys basketball player Alex Varner and former Colony boys basketball player Tyler Lamb will be honored Friday by the John R. Wooden Award Comittee, as they won the Wooden Awards for Division 2 and Division I respectively.

Varner, the D2 winner, and Lamb, the D1 winner, will be honored at a banquet at the Los Angeles Athletic Club alongside the men's and women's college basketball players of the year. They will also receive a plaque and $300 to go to their school's athletic fund.

Before I start I want to apologize for not posting in the past week. Had a death in the family, so I was out of town on personal business. So I have some catching up to do.

Here are the local all-CIF boys basketball players. Eisenhower dominated the 2-A superlatives, with Alex Varner, Kirby Gardner and Steve Johnson all being honored.

Division 1-AA
First Team
Byron Wesley, Etiwanda, Jr.
Kendall Williams, Los Osos, Sr.
John Gilliam, Upland, Jr.

Second Team
Jordan Daniels, Etiwanda, Jr.
Khalil Kelly, Los Osos, Sr.
Christopher Powell, Upland, Sr.

Division 1-A
First Team
Tyree Harrison, Cajon, Sr.
Derek Brown, Chino Hills, Sr.
Evan Brooks, Colony, Sr.

Second Team
Julian Caldwell, Colony, Sr.
Justin Long, Rancho Cucamonga, Sr.

Division 2-AA
First Team
J.J. O'Brien, Alta Loma, Sr.
Ken Morgan, Summit, Sr.

Second Team
Zeke DeBlase, Victor Valley, Jr.

Division 2-A
Players of the Year: Alex Varner, Eisenhower, Sr. and Kirby Gardner, Eisenhower, Sr.
Coaches of the Year: Steve Johnson, Eisenhower and Marc Hart, Baldwin Park

Second Team
Bryan Bock, Eisenhower, Sr.
Devonte Chattman, San Bernardino, Sr.

Division 3-AA
Second Team
Keauyon Fields, Apple Valley, Sr.

Division 5-AA
Second Team
Zack Cruz, Loma Linda Academy, Sr.
Sammy Santillano, Western Christian, Sr.

Division 5-A
First Team
Courtland Wharton, Aquinas, Jr.

Second Team
Joey Szczepanski, Bloomington Christian, Sr.

Division 6-AA
First Team
Chris Maeerzluft, Hesperia Christian, Sr.
Eric O'Brien, Hesperia Christian, So.

Second Team
Josh Ford, Hesperia Christian, Sr.

Division 6-A
Second Team
Kyle Franklin, Public Safety Academy, Jr.

Just got the e-mail on this from Redlands athletic director Ken Morse. The player of the year wasn't really a surprise, as Eisenhower senior guard Alex Varner - the "closer" in many of Ike's victories this year - won MVP honors.

As for other leagues in the area, please send all-league basketball and soccer teams to tj.berka@inlandnewspapers.com or sports@inlandnewspapers.com.

Most Valuable Player: Alex Varner, Eisenhower, G, Sr.

FIRST TEAM
Bryan Bock, Eisenhower, Sr.
Kirby Gardner, Eisenhower, Sr.
Bernard Ireland, Eisenhower, Jr.
Darius Batts, Miller, Sr.
Marcus Davis, Redlands, Sr.
Matt Green, Redlands, Sr.
Paulin Mpawe, Redlands East Valley, Jr.
Terrell Todd, Redlands East Valley, Jr.
Jonathan Redman, Rialto, Sr.
Cole Hauso, Yucaipa, Sr.
Taijuan Walker, Yucaipa, Sr.

Ike scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter and holds a 60-50 lead with a little under five minutes left. Alex Varner provided a spark, scoring the first four points and assisting on a Bryan Bock 3-pointer that gave Ike the double-digit margin.

Bernard Ireland has continued his hot play, scoring six quick points for the Eagles. Loyola scored four points in the first 16 seconds of the period, but Ike seems to have weathered that storm. Coming back from a timeout after a nice hustle rebound by Ike's Alex Varner