2021 boys basketball Dream Team

At the start of the 2020-2021 season, the Parkway boys basketball team was coming off its most successful year to date but had to replace its all-time leading scorer.

Caleb Kinney, who averaged 19 points per game in 2019-2020, left massive shoes to fill.

Senior Dylan Hughes stepped into the void and put up 23 points per game, and although they weren't able to replicate their tournament success, the Panthers now have the last two boys basketball players to be named the Daily Standard Dream Team Player of the Year as Hughes takes the mantle from Kinney.

"I had to pick up some slack on that this year," Hughes said. "We had some young guys who were just having their first varsity experience. I knew that losing our all-time leading scorer, that along with having some younger guys who are going to have to step up and play some bigger minutes, I might have to take on some of that scoring ability."

Hughes' scoring ability was very different from Kinney. Where Kinney dominated the post, Hughes was a threat to score from all over, combining sharpshooting from the perimeter with the ability to drive the lane and create looks inside.

But more importantly, Hughes had to take up the slack off the floor. As the only senior and one of only two returning varsity players, the challenge of maintaining a culture of success fell squarely on his shoulders.

"Losing seven seniors, and specifically Caleb and Nick (Hawk), two guys who were really big for us in the leadership aspect of the game, I really knew that I had to come in this year and be a leader," Hughes said. "(I had to) come into practice every day and make sure everybody got better."

The 2019-2020 team reached the regional final for the first time in program history before the tournament was called off due to the pandemic. In the opener of the 2021 tournament, Hughes scored 20 points and went coast-to-coast for a layup with 0.5 seconds left in overtime to keep the Panthers alive, but it wasn't enough. Parkway fell 58-54 in the second overtime to Ridgemont.

Although the Panthers couldn't get as far, the young team acquitted itself well many times over the course of the season.

"There's a lot of games we hit adversity, and we kept battling," Hughes said. "A lot of the young guys, it could've been easy for them to just put their heads down, stop working and just give up on the season. But I felt like we did a good job of battling adversity. Things didn't always go our way, but we were just always out there giving effort."

For Hughes personally, the early exit cost him a chance to make a run at Kinney's scoring record, and he finished 114 points short. But he eclipsed 1,000 career points in a February game against New Knoxville, which was his goal.

"As a kid, that's just one thing you always want to accomplish one day," Hughes said. "That was just an amazing feeling and something I'm glad I had the chance to achieve."

Hughes still has to decide where he'll continue his basketball career, with a few more weeks to consider his options. Regardless of where he plays, he plans to major in early childhood education with a minor in special education.

But with his Parkway chapter closed, he came back to the support he received from the community as the most special thing about his experience.

"The past four years, the support that they have given me personally, and the team, the organization, the program, has been terrific," Hughes said. "Words can't really describe how I feel toward the community and how grateful I am for all the support they've given me."

Dream Team:
Alex Eyink, Marion Local
Bennett Gels, St. Henry
Reece Busse, New Bremen
Bryan Falk, Minster
Justin Nixon, Minster
Austin Parks, St. Marys
Dylan Hughes, Parkway
Coach: Cory Stephens, New Bremen

Honorable Mention:

Celina: Josh Rasawehr

Coldwater: Ethan Post, Myles Blasingame

Fort Recovery: Owen Jutte, Brian Bihn, Cale Rammel

Marion Local: Charlie Huelsman, Peyton Otte

Minster: Johnny Nixon, Eric Schmidt

New Bremen: David Homan

New Knoxville: Patrick Covert, Carson Bierlein

Parkway: Gabe Schaaf, Caden Slusher

St. Henry: Logan Lefeld, Carter Ontrop

St. Marys: LeTrey Williams, Jadin Davis