NEW YORK STATE BASKETBALL: WAVERLY'S TOMASSO NAMED 7TH-TEAM ALL-STATE CLASS B; TRAUB EARNS 10TH-TEAM NOD (2022-04-22)

Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Waverly sophomore Joey Tomasso, and senior Brennan Traub both received all-state Class B boys basketball honors from the New York State Sportswriters Association Thursday.

Tomasso, a smooth scorer with an all-around game, was a seventh-team selection, while Traub, an athletic offensive threat, earned a 10th-team nod.

Tomasso averaged 19.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. He shot 48.8 percent from the field, and knocked down a team-best 40 3-pointers.

“Joey Tomasso is having an unbelievable high school career, arguably one of the best this Valley has ever seen, with two years still remaining,” said Waverly coach Lou Judson.

“He had an outstanding sophomore season averaging a school-record for a sophomore — 19.5 points per game and a team-best 40 3-pointers,” noted Judson. “Joey has the explosive ability to score in bunches, take over games offensively, and plays at a different level in crunch time.

“Joey's best games are against the best teams. He has that special attribute that very few athletes possess, that ‘IT’ factor,” continued Judson. “To go along with his sports accomplishments, he is one of the most humble, coachable, and well-mannered players I've coached.  

“To be honest, I felt he should've been a third- or fourth-team selection,” added Judson. “But like most things in sports, your team accomplishments help your individual player accomplishments, and I think we needed to get into the Sectional Finals to maybe have him move up an all-state team or two. However, he does have two more years left in his career which is quite astonishing when you think about it..”

Traub averaged 12 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He also canned 37 3-pointers.

“Brennan had a very productive senior season,” said Judson. “Long and lanky, Brennan could score in a variety of ways.  

“He started the season (first nine games) on fire — averaging close to 17 points per game,” noted Judson. “He was a deadly 3-point assassin and once he made one, could make three or four in a matter of minutes.  

“Brennan was one of the most improved players from his junior season to his senior season,” added Judson. “He worked very hard and wanted to get better.”

Judson believes Tomasso and Traub being named all-state is a reflection on the Waverly program.

“It's nice to know that all the hard work our coaching staff, players, parents, and community puts into the Waverly basketball program is paying off.

“Just three years ago we had a first-team all-state selection in Scotty Woodring — the first in school history,” said Judson. “A few years later, we have two players on the same team be recognized by the NYS Sportswriters Association.  

“Since basketball is a team sport and winning a state title is the highest achievement for a team; being chosen to all-state is the highest achievement individually.

“Scott Woodring was first team,” he added. “I equate making first team to winning a state title individually, like in sports such as wrestling and swimming, to name a couple.”

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IN PHOTO: Waverly’s Joey Tomasso (left) and Brennan Traub.