DIVISION III HONORS: Agassi’s Booker top star in Southern League

Agassi Prep’s Deishuan Booker wasted no time making a name for himself in the Division III Southern League.

Booker had 49 points in his first league game, and followed that with a 44-point performance.

It certainly wasn’t a fluke, but rather an indication of what was to come.

After leading the Stars to a 26-1 record and a state championship, Booker was named the Division III Southern League Player of the Year by the coaches.

“He had a tremendous season,” Agassi Prep coach Trevor Diggs said. “I’m happy for him. He’s a great student, great kid. It was good for him and his confidence.”

In his first varsity season, Booker averaged 25 points and seven assists per game. In the state championship game, he had 30 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals in the Stars’ comeback win over Incline.

Even when other teams caught on and started double-teaming him, Booker still found a way to get his teammates involved. He was instrumental in helping the Stars finish with a perfect league record, and in closing the season on a 19-game win streak.

“I knew he had talent,” said Diggs, who coached Booker on junior varsity last season. “But I didn’t know how that would translate to varsity. He’s just going to keep getting better. It’s up to him how far of a level he wants to go.”

Teammate Dennis Walker was named to the All-Southern League first team, and was joined by The Meadows’ Eric Hirsberg and Matt Biafore, Needles’ Wyatt Upshaw, Lincoln County’s McClain O’Connor and Mountain View’s Connor LeBoeuf.

“(Walker) had a terrific season for us,” Diggs said. “I told him at the beginning of the season that I’d be on him. I saw potential in him, but he had to see it in himself. He’s got a nose for the ball. He’s going to be a monster.”

Diggs was selected Coach of the Year in his first year at the varsity level.

“I feel blessed to have been able to coach this group of guys,” he said. “We had a great season.”

Calvary Chapel senior guard Phallen Nelson took home the girls Player of the Year award by averaging 17.1 points per game, while leading the Lions to the playoffs.

The Meadows’ Frank DeSantis won Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to their first playoff appearance since 2006.

Lincoln County’s Savannah Harr and Jaycee Wadsworth were named to the All-Southern League first team for the top-seeded Lynx, who eventually lost in the state semifinals. They were joined by Needles’ Demi Limon, The Meadows’ Bailey Gosse, Lake Mead’s Savannah Schmidt and Calvary Chapel’s Lianne Reyes.