Vote for Lebanon County's top 5 boys basketball players of the last 50 years
Sam Bowie, Lebanon High- The 7-footer led the Cedars to the state finals in 1977-78 and later went on to star at Kentucky and play in the NBA for a decade, although much of his college and professional career was plagued by foot and leg injuries. Scored 2,226 career points for the Cedars.
Mark Linebaugh, Annville-Cleona - A sharpshooting guard , Linebaugh led A-C to the 1999 Class AA state title as a junior and also enjoyed a strong 4-year career at Colgate, before returning to serve as head coach at his alma mater from 2008-2011, where he went 45-30 before leaving to be an assistant in the college ranks. Scored 1,847 career points. Named Class AA Player of the Year in Pennsylvania in 1999.
Tom Brandt, Lebanon High Brandt led the notoriously difficult Central Penn League in scoring in 1971 and went on to play at the college level at Penn. He later became a PIAA official and his son, Mark Brandt, was key member of Annville-Cleona's 1999 AA state championship.
Mike Bechtold, Lebanon High A dead-eye perimeter scorer and slasher, Bechtold teamed with, among others, classmates Pat Daly and Todd Wike to push the Cedars to three straight Lancaster-Lebanon League titles from 1996-98. He played his college ball in the Ivy League at Princeton. Now a lawyer at the Buzgon Davis law firm in Lebanon
Pat Daly, Lebanon High The emotional catalyst for the Cedars' three consecutive L-L crowns, Daly was a streaky shooter and scorer, who could carry the team at times, and his competitive fire always burned brightly, setting the tone for Lebanon's trio of league crowns in that span.
Gary Kline, Lebanon High Formed a lethal post duo with Troy Krall during the mid-80s that helped Lebanon win back-to-back section and league titles 1985 and 1986. Spent one year playing Division 1 ball at San Diego State before transferring back east.
Anthony Trautman, Lebanon High A gifted perimeter scorer, Trautman was the key cog for the Cedars in the mid-2000s and later went on to a successful college career at Lebanon Valley, where he earned conference player of the year honors as a senior.
Troy Krall, Lebanon Teamed with Kline form an almost unstoppable paint tandem that many an opponent had no answer for during the '85 and '86 season.
Chris Kelliher, Lebanon The Cedars' early 90s floor leader, point guard Kelliher and shooting guard Jason Coletti were quite the backcourt duo back in the day, their accomplishments including leading Lebanon to the 1993 L-L crown.
Jason Coletti, Lebanon The youngest of three Lebanon basketball-playing brothers, Coletti was a talented scorer who meshed perfectly with Kelliher's playmaking skills. Went into coaching after his playing days were over and is now the head boys coach at Annville-Cleona.
Evan Horn, Cedar Crest The Falcons' do it-all point guard during their Section 1 and L-L title runs of 2014 and 2015, Horn could hurt opponents in so many ways offensively and defensively. Now a star defensive back at New Hampshire, Horn opted to play football in college, although he did spend one season also playing hoops at UNH. The ultimate competitor, he was also a state meet qualifier in the javelin for the Falcons' track and field team.
Andrew Eudy, Cedar Crest The man in the middle for Cedar Crest during the 2014 L-L title runs, Eudy is responsible for the most iconic play in county hoops history - the runner in the lane that beat the buzzer and gave the Falcons a dramatic district semifinal win at Giant Center in 2014. An ESPN Instant Classic moment if there ever was one. Eudy went on to play college hoops at the Division 1 level for Campbell University.
Will Lasky, Annville-Cleona One of the greatest shooters in county history, Lasky surpassed the career 2,000-point plateau (2,087 points) before moving on to star at the college level at F&M, where he was a two-time All-American and led the Dips to the NCAA Division III championship game in 1991.
Mike Witcoskie, Palmyra Led the Cougars to the 1996 3A district title, averaging 15 points per game, and played college ball at Susquehanna. Career 1,000-point scorer. Now an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State after a 10-year stint as an assistant at Rider.
Sam Light, Northern Lebanon The Vikings' all-time leading scorer was a ballhandling and scoring wizard for the Vikings, then did more of the same at Lebanon Valley College. Vikings' all-time leading scorer with 1,655 career points.
Travis Ludwig, Northern Lebanon Also a baseball standout, Ludwig led NL to Section 3 titles in 1989 and 1990 and is second behind Light with 1,567 career points.
Zach Hoover, Lebanon Catholic Part of an explosive backcourt with Randy Pierre, Hoover tallied 2,012 career points and lifted the Beavers to 1A district titles in 2005 and 2006. He played college hoops at DeSales and Lebanon Valley College.
Colton Lawrence, Elco Elco's all-time leading scorer with 1,558 points, Lawrence, an inside-outside scoring threat later played college hoops at Bentley College.
John Brandt, Lebanon Catholic A standout slasher at Catholic in the mid 90s, Brandt was one of the most athletic players in Beaver history and put those talents to use at St. Francis (Pa.) and Florida Atlantic
Braden Bohannon, Elco The Raiders' second all-time leading scorer with 1,448 points, Bohannon was an all-state pick this season after leading Elco to the state playoffs last season as a junior.
Travis Risser, Palmyra A big time scorer and competitor, Risser was better known for his baseball exploits and later pitched at the professional level. But he also scored over 1,000 points in his basketball career at Palmyra.
Billy Davidson, Annville-Cleona One of the keys to A-C's run to the Class AA state title game, Davidson poured in 29 points in the loss to Shady Side Academy and later played college hoops at Gettysburg.
Randy Pierre, Lebanon Catholic Hoover's running mate at Lebanon Catholic, Pierre was an equally skilled scorer who could create off the dribble or bomb away from 3-point territory. Now a PIAA basketball official.
Steve Kuhn, Cedar Crest - A 1976 grad, the former Cedar Crest star also played at Penn State and scored 1,452 points in his career with the Falcons.
Kyle McConnell, Cedar Crest A tough, athletic floor leader and heady point guard, McConnell is Cedar Crest's all-time leading scorer with 1,465 points and enjoyed a solid college hoops career at Elizabethtown.
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