WINONA, Minn. – Winona High School athlete Jasper Hedin, who scored 20 or more points in eight of his 14 games in the Covid-shortened season, was named the area’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year by the Winona Daily News. Sports editor Alex VandenHouten made announcement. Hedin, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, had a career-high 40 points in the Winhawks’ 78-49 victory over Faribault on March 12. The day before he scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 55-48 victory over Northfield. He averaged 24 points and nine rebounds per game, while shooting 53.6% from the field and 44.3% from outside the three-point line. Hedin also made the newspaper’s all-area first team, selected by VandenHouten in consultation with coaches. Others on the first team:
> Collin Bonow, Lewiston-Altura: A junior. Scored 12.5 points per game and grabbed 8.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
> Thomas Menk, Lewiston-Altura: A junior. Shot 43% from beyond the three-point line and averaged 17.6 points per game to lead the Cardinals.
> Justin Ruberg, Rushford-Peterson: A junior. A 6-foot-4 forward. He averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game to help the Trojans reach the Section 1A semifinals.
> Cody Schmitz, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau: A freshman. Averaged 18 points, six rebounds and two assists per game for the Red Hawks.
Second team:
> Ethan Hunger, Cochrane-Fountain City: A junior.
> Luke O’Hare, Rushford-Peterson: A senior.
> Sawyer Schmidt, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau: A senior.
> Chandler Sonsalla, Arcadia: A senior.
Hedin. A Winhawk junior. Also plays with amateur Minnesota Lightning out of Rochester. Yes, he’s looking to the NBA.