DIVISION IV HONORS: Pahranagat Valley’s Higbee, Tonopah’s Van Poucke take MVP awards
Tyler Higbee has never ended a season on a sour note.
In the Pahranagat Valley senior’s high school career, every outcome has been sweet.
The Panthers have captured four straight state titles in football and basketball and three consecutive baseball state championships.
“I tell him all the time this isn’t the way it usually is,” Pahranagat Valley basketball coach Brian Higbee said. “There are actually sad locker rooms at the end of the season.”
But the Panthers’ (15-11) basketball team wasn’t one of them, as Higbee guided the team to the Division IV state title.
For his efforts, coaches named Tyler Higbee the Division IV Southern League’s Most Valuable Player. The 5-foot-10-inch guard averaged 18 points, six assists and five steals per game.
“There’s a lot of good guards in the Southern League. I think he’s just a real competitor,” Brian Higbee said of his son. “He’s not real tall, but he’s spent a lot of time working real hard at it. He’s developed himself into a real fine defender and a real team player passing the ball.”
The progression wasn’t easy though.
Battered and bruised from the football season, the Panthers limped out to a 2-7 start early in the basketball season.
Tyler Higbee’s play at both ends of the court proved beneficial as Pahranagat Valley recovered down the stretch. The Panthers won nine straight games en route to the league title and the state championship.
“I think Tyler’s become more of a complete player,” Brian Higbee said. “He became a better defender, a better passer and a better scorer. Confidence-wise, his leadership has also improved.”
Tyler Higbee also excelled in the classroom. Brian Higbee said Tyler, who maintains a 4.0 GPA, will attend Brigham Young University following a two-year mission.
“He’ll walk-on in one of the three sports or all three,” Brian Higbee said with a laugh. “His dad’s going to kind of push him to walk on.”
Tyler Higbee was joined by teammates Tyson Sparrow and Austin Poulsen on the all-league first team. Also making the squad was Round Mountain’s Serjio Chavez and Mitchell Doheny, Beatty’s Jake Zamora, and Spring Mountain’s Roemello Tatum, Christopher Munro, and Develle Williams.
When it came to post players in the girls Division IV Southern League, Deanna Van Poucke was in a league of her own.
“I don’t think there was anybody in the conference that compared to her,” Tonopah coach Ed Cobb said. “Deanna, she just gives 100 percent every game. She hustles and stays completely focused every practice, between running and shooting.”
The senior forward, who led the Muckers to the Division IV state semifinal, was selected by coaches as the league’s MVP.
Cobb said Van Poucke, who also stars on the volleyball and softball teams, blossomed into a versatile player in the post. Tonopah’s offensive attack was concentrated around her ability to get into the paint and control the boards.
“Her shot has really come around,” said Cobb, who recently announced the end of his 12-year coaching career with the Muckers. “Every year it just gets better and better. Not only is she strong underneath, but she can shoot anywhere on the floor. I kind of let her shoot and decide wherever she wants.”
Pahranagat Valley’s Traci Strong, Kennedy Huntsman and Bailee Hosier were named to the league’s first team. Others selected were Tonopah’s Alli Friel, Indian Springs’ Heather Thormahlen, and Beatty’s Melynda Gross, Shakara Venezio and Lucero Hernandez.
