Plano East senior forward DJ Hall has been named the unanimous most valuable player of District 6-6A. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Coaches in District 6-6A took note of the success of the Plano East boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and rightfully rewarded the two Panthers’ squads with a total of 11 selections on the all-district team, which included two superlative winners.
Senior forward DJ Hall was named the unanimous boys’ district MVP, while freshman guard Arianna Robinson garnered girls’ offensive player of the year after she helped to lead the Lady Panthers to their best season in program history.
The Lady Panthers leaned heavily on the scoring and defense of Robinson.
And Robinson, who holds 21 NCAA Division I offers, saved her best for last.
Robinson was unstoppable at times during her first go-around of the UIL playoffs. She averaged a whopping 23 points and seven rebounds per game in five playoff games, including a 31-point outburst in a 61-51 loss to Cedar Hill in the Class 6A Division I state semifinals.
Robinson was one of six Lady Panthers to crack the all-6-6A team.
Earning their way on the first team were sophomore Kennedy Borders and senior forward Sema Udo.
Borders made two clutch free throws with 11 seconds left in Plano East’s 49-45 victory against North Crowley in the Region I-6A final. Udo, a UT-San Antonio signee, who missed the last three games of the regular season, returned to the playoffs and provided great leadership for her squad. Udo poured in 14 points in Plano East’s 65-47 rout of Keller Timber Creek in the Region I-6A-I semifinals.
Borders and Robinson were named to the TABC Class 6A All-Region I Team last Thursday, and on March 2, Robinson earned a nod on the UIL 6A State Girls Basketball All-Tournament Team.
Senior forward Didi Chineke and junior shooting guard Hailey Reed were honored on the second team, while junior forward Nariah Witherspoon was an honorable mention selection. Reed tallied 14 points, including four 3-pointers in Plano East’s win over Timber Creek, while Chineke was a force inside the paint for the Lady Panthers. Witherspoon contributed in multiple ways for Plano East.
On the boys’ side, Hall was the only returning starter for a Panther team that graduated 11 seniors from their 2023-24 team that went 40-0 and captured the school’s first state championship in any team sport.
Plano East rode the experience of Hall, a Texas State signee this season. The future Bobcat put the team on his back and authored a stellar season on the hardwood, one in which he averaged 24.6 points and nine rebounds, on his way to earning the district’s top individual award for the second year in a row. Hall won 6-6A co-MVP during his junior season.
Earning first-team 6-6A honors for the Panthers was senior Izan Qazi. Qazi stepped up and was the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.1 points per game. During the championship game of the Mavs Fall Classic in mid-November, he had a dunk that sparked a late-game run to lead the Panthers to a 72-65 win over Stony Point in a rematch of last season’s state championship game.
Junior Mustafa Abualneel was honored on the all-district second team after averaging 8.3 points.
Freshman guard Alex Brewington and junior point guard Jayden Parker were named to the all-defensive team. Parker averaged 7.0 points to accompany 36 assists despite missing 10 games because of a lower-body injury and Brewington racked up 57 assists for the season to accompany 6.3 points per game.
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