Plunkett earns county hoop POY honors

Friday, March 22, 2019
Putnam County Player of the Year
Allen Plunkett
Senior, South Putnam

Allen Plunkett did something this season that few high school basketball players can say, when he became South Putnam’s all-time leading scorer.

Plunkett paced the Eagles to 16 wins this season, their most since 1994, and for his efforts the South Putnam senior has been named the Putnam County “Player of the Year.”

Plunkett, who will play collegiately for DePauw University, averaged 19.0 points per game this season to lead the county in scoring. He added 6.4 rebounds per game, along with 1.5 steals.

He had a high game of 34 points this season against Eastern Greene in the Monrovia Holiday Tournament.

Other members of the all-county team are seniors Thomas Fanning of South Putnam, Gavin Bollman of Greencastle, Andrew Pickel of North Putnam and Jake Wilkes of Cloverdale; sophomores Brody Whitaker and Benny Parmley of Greencastle; and freshman Kyle Thomas of Cloverdale.

Both Bollman and Plunkett are repeat all-county performers. Whitaker, Wilkes and Pickel were honored as second-team choices last year prior to a format change in the all-county team alignment.

Here is a look at the other all-county members:

• Gavin Bollman, Sr., Greencastle — Bollman was the dominating force underneath for the Tiger Cubs, who finished the season ranked No. 11 in Class 3A with their first sectional title since 2004.

Bollman closed out his career by scoring a team-high 19 points in a regional loss to Beech Grove.

For the season, he averaged 10.5 points per game and fell just short of a double-double with 9.5 rebounds.

• Thomas Fanning, Sr., — Fanning was the floor general for the Eagles, while also averaging 11.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game with two assists.

He will play tennis for DePauw.

• Benny Parmley, So., Greencastle — Parmley evolved into an additional outside shooting threat for the Tiger Cubs, hitting 13 of 17 in the three sectional games to help secure the victory.

For the season, he averaged 10.8 points and 2.5 assists per game.

• Andrew Pickel, Sr., North Putnam — Pickel challenged for the individual scoring lead, with his 18.3 average tying Whitaker for second place.

He also added 7.0 rebounds per game, and had a season high of 31 points against Greencastle.

• Kyle Thomas, Fr., Cloverdale — Thomas had a breakout freshman season, averaging 17.1 points per game while adding 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

His high game for the season was 28, against both Sullivan and Greencastle.

• Brody Whitaker, So., Greencastle — Whitaker took huge strides from a solid freshman season a year ago and increased his numbers in every category.

He scored 18.3 points per game this year, adding 6.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

Whitaker hit the game-winning layup with four seconds left to beat Crawfordsville in the sectional championship game.

• Jake Wilkes, Sr., Cloverdale — Wilkes provided the inside strength for the Clovers this season, averaging 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

His season high was 25 points against Danville.

Wilkes will play football for Culver-Stockton College in Missouri.