Bee’s Best: 2024-25 boys basketball All-Stars and Players of the Year
Guarding Buchanan High Conner Sheets was a problem for defenders this past season.
Just ask Clovis North, when the teams played in the Central Section semifinals.
The senior guard/forward was untouchable in guiding the Bears to a 58-44 victory and a spot in the Central Section championship, where they fell to St. Joseph at Selland Arena.
Sheets finished with 31 points against Clovis North, and it seemed every shot he threw up went down. It was that way for the majority of the season for Sheets as he helped lead the Bears to a 27-6 record and an 8-2 first-place finish in the Tri-River Athletic Conference.
“I felt like we had a great year, and all the hard work paid off,” Sheets said. “It’s a good feeling.”
Sheets transferred from a Nevada school to Buchanan prior to last season and helped pave a turnaround, in which the Bears finished the 2023 season at 19-9 after going 8-17 the season before.
For the season, Sheets shot 54% from the field and averaged 18.5 points per game, 3.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds. He is The Fresno Bee Player of the Year.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “It’s a testament to the season. Being with the team is my favorite part, for sure. Getting to stay in the hotels together, just being around the guys, is great. Getting to try to play in one of the best conferences in California, I feel like it was just a great year.”
Buchanan coach Tom Orlich has been around some great players when he coached at South Tahoe High (1975-2000) and Clovis West (2002-2016).
When looking at Sheets, he said it’s rare to have a player of that caliber walk through the door and become a focal point.
“He’s just a great high school basketball player,” he said. “They don’t come around very often like him. He really helped and he was the final piece of our team.”
In describing Sheets, Orlich said “he’s not a one-dimensional player.”
He explained further.
“He can do so many different things, whether with the ball or without the ball or defensively. He’s a great passer. He can shoot well beyond the 3-point arc, which really is something that’s changing in the game where you have guys really shooting 25 feet now. He’s able to get to the basket on his own, but he just complements everybody.”
Next up for Sheets is college basketball. He will play at College of Idaho of the NAIA.
He said he’s excited to get the next journey of his career going,
“They just got off an NAIA national championship, so I’m very excited to be heading up there to play for those guys,” Sheets said.
Coaches of the Year: Tom Orlich, Buchanan and Jon Penberthy, Fresno Christian
About two seasons ago, it was a tumultuous time at Buchanan. The school parted ways with Ed Madec.
Buchanan needed a coach and in stepped Orlich. He would have to make do with the players there and he still believed in them.
He also had a two-part plan:
Be better in 2023. Check. Be TRAC champions in 2024. Check.
It worked out well for the Bears.
“He’s a true legend,” Sheets said. “He’s got so many great things.”
Orlich is the type to not take the full credit. He gives it to his assistants and his players for believing him and buying into the program.
“To be very honest, the longer you’re in the game, the more you understand that if you’re going to achieve greatness in high school basketball, you’re going to have a great player. I had great players, and nobody gets there without great players. Every time we do well it’s because we had some really good players. It’s that simple.”
That came to fruition this season when he coached the team to a TRAC title. For that, he and Fresno Christian coach Jon Penberthy are The Bee’s Coaches of the Year.
Penberthy had a player like that in Aiden Milwee, who engineered a run in the Central Section playoffs, topped by a section championship. That wasn’t the end for Penberthy as he coached the Eagles to a SoCal Division IV title and a spot in the state championship.
While Fresno Christian fell short, it was still a dream season for Penberthy and his crew.
“It was one of those years where you could see it starting to come together,” he said. “This group has been together for three years. A couple of early exits in the (section) playoffs really lit a fire underneath them.”
Fresno Christian routed Monache 73-50 for the Division IV section title.
The trip to Sacramento for the state final didn’t go the way the Eagles wanted in an 83-66 loss to Priory, but it was an experience they enjoyed.
“Most of the guys gave up a lot of personal stats for the betterment of the team,” Penberthy said. “As a coach, that’s what you’re most proud of.”
Large School Player of the Year: Loukas Jones, Sr., Clovis North
Jones became the all-time leading scorer this past season for the Broncos.
Jones was the go-to player for Tony Amundsen, averaging 20.5 points per game in helping Clovis North to a 24-8 record and 8-2 in the TRAC.
He will play for Fresno Pacific next season.
Medium School Player of the Year: G Daniel Bibioff, Sr., Kerman
Bibioff had a big season for Kerman.
While the Lions finished with a 16-12 record and 6-2 in the Tri-County - Sequoia, Bibioff still came up big for Kerman.
He made 74 3-pointers and also set a section record in scoring average for a season, according to section historian Bob Barnett, as Bibioff scored 959 points in 27 games for a 35.5 scoring average.
Small School Player of the Year: G Aden Milwee, Sr., Fresno Christian
He was the key for the Eagles’ successful season.
When Fresno Christian needed a big basket, Milwee came through.
He helped Fresno Christian to a section title, SoCal title and a spot in the state championships in Sacramento.
For the season, Milwee finished averaging 20.1 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists. He shot 55% from the field and 39% from 3-point range.
The Bee All-Stars
McKae Amundsen, Jr., Clovis North
Malachi Barnes, Sr., Sunnyside
Ty Baxter, Sr., Monache
Tristan Beechler, Fr., Clovis East
Javon Bragg, Sr., Corcoran
Cruz Campos, Jr., Granite Hills
Javance Coleman Jr., Jr., Bullard
Chayce Duerksen, Sr., Sierra
Dalen Felder, Jr., Bullard
Malachi Ficher, Sr., Tulare Western
Cole Gilcrest, Sr., Redwood
Izaiah Gonzalez, Sr., Corcoran
Samantha Gonzalez, Soph., Dinuba
Brayden Harris, Jr., Buchanan
Jensen Hirschkorn, Jr., Kingsburg
Caden Lloyd, Sr., Central Valley Christian
Jeremiah Mason, Sr., Fresno Christian
Blaine McFall, Sr., Exeter
James Miller, Sr., Roosevelt
Giovanni Navarro, Jr., Mendota
Julius Olanrewaju, Sr., San Joaquin Memorial
Jaden Pena, Sr., Coalinga
Nevin Pitkin, Sr., Sierra Pacific
Aden Plyman, Jr., Exeter
Abram Potts, Sr., San Joaquin Memorial
Cobi Posas, Soph. Roosevelt
Caleb Ramirez, Sr., Sanger
Demaje Riley, Jr., Tulare Union
Ja’Vyne Roddy, Soph., Orange Cove
Diego Sanchez, Sr., Orange Cove
Moses Saulsbury, Sr., Redwood
Julian Silva, Jr., Mendota
Parker Spees, Jr., San Joaquin Memorial
Brayden Stevenson, Sr., Tulare Union
DJ Stickman, Sr. Clovis West
Dax Stout, Sr., Buchanan
Gus Swenning, Sr., Kingsburg
Damyen Tamayo, Jr., Coalinga
Jonathan Vega, Sr., Washington Union
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
