2023-24 BOYS ALL-STATE TOP 5 BIOS
 
 

DAVID COBIN, DE SOTO
 
5-foot-10 senior point guard
 
2023-24

• 454 points (19.7 ppg), 127 rebounds (5.5 rpg), 125 assists (5.4 apg), 95 steals (4.1 spg)

 
Career

• 1,267 points (18.1 ppg), 397 rebounds (5.7 rpg), 287 assists (4.1 apg), 236 steals (3.4 spg)

 
Worth Noting
 
Led De Soto to 18-5 record this season and second Class 5A state tournament berth in three years with Wildcats falling in quarterfinals to eventual champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. … Also led De Soto to runner-up state finish in 2022 as sophomore. … Is two-time United Kansas Conference player of the year and a three-time first-team all-UKC selection. … Ranks No. 1 on De Soto’s career charts for points, assists and steals and is third in career rebounds. … Also has two of the top three single-season marks for assists, three of the top six single-season steal totals and three of the top nine single-season points totals, including the No. 2 and 3 spots. … Shot 37% from 3-point range for his career and 59% overall from the field. … Is a finalist for the DiRenna Award given annually to the top player in the Kansas City metro area. … Was second-team All-Class 5A as sophomore and junior. … Also a two-year member of De Soto’s Unified Bowling team.
 
Coach’s comment
 
“He made my decisions look like they were the right decisions because the kid can just flat out play. He can just flat out play,” De Soto coach Matt Rice said. “It’s a luxury. I know for a fact that, and I don’t care what team he would go to in the city of Kansas, he would make them instantly better. He would make them contenders in their league. He would make them contenders at the state level, no matter what team he was on.”
 
 

TANNER HECKEL, LYNDON
 
6-foot senior guard
 
2023-24

• 515 points (19.8 ppg), 189 rebounds (7.3 rpg), 100 assists (3.8 apg)

 
Career

• 1,549 points (17.6 ppg), 465 rebounds (5.3 rpg), 298 assists (3.4 apg)

 
Worth Noting
 
Helped lead Lyndon to runner-up finish in Class 2A, matching the best finish in program history along with a second in 2011. … Tigers finished 25-1, losing only to Moundridge in the state championship game. … Was leading scorer for Tigers and unanimous first-team All-Flint Hills League selection. … Also had 88 steals and 28 blocks this year and 244 career steals. … Spent first three years as starter at Inman before transferring to Lyndon this season. … Helped Teutons to 36-9 combined mark as sophomore and junior with both seasons ending in sub-state with losses to eventual state champions Hillsboro (2022) and Moundridge (2023). … Was a Top 11 All-State selection in football this fall after leading Lyndon to a 13-0 season and program’s first-ever state championship with the Tigers capturing the Eight-Player Division I title. … Also is a state champion in track, sweeping the Class 2A long jump and triple jump titles last spring. … Has committed to Illinois for football.
 
Coach’s comment
 
“Tanner is arguably the best athlete in the state,” Lyndon coach Michael Massey said. “You add in his high basketball IQ and skill level, it makes him one of the top basketball players in any class. He is a great leader and is very humble. He does things the right way on and off the court.”
 
 

JOEY MATTEONI, BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST
 
6-foot-8 senior forward
 
2023-24

• 435 points (19.8 ppg), 188 rebounds (8.5 rpg)

 
Career

• 805 points (18.3 ppg), 427 rebounds (9.7 rpg)

 
Worth Noting
 
Two-year starter for Northwest who helped Huskies captured 2023 Class 6A state championship and qualify for state in 2024. … Took over as Northwest’s primary go-to player this season after playing complementary role to 2023 Top 5 selection Grant Stubblefield. … Had season-high of 32 points on 14-of-16 shooting against KC Central this season. … Shot 64% from the floor for the season. … Had season-high of 17 rebounds against Confluence Prep Academy from St. Louis. … Two-time first-team All-Eastern Kansas League selection and was the league MVP this season. … Has committed to Northwest Missouri State. … Played sparingly as sophomore reserve on Northwest’s 2022 state runner-up team. … Also had 38 career blocks, 78 career assists and 62 career steals in two years as starter.
 
Coach’s comment
 
“It’s a few things with Joey,” Northwest coach Aaron Ihm said. “Being in a program like ours he’s had the opportunity to watch some of those that have come before him and we talk about honoring the past by the way we play in the present and setting it up for the future. He’s one of those kids that embodied that. … There’s a lot of work that goes with that, but having that as an example is powerful and it helped Joey. He’s had the opportunity to learn lessons from guys above him while playing and some of his failures during that time. One of the things he did this year was rededicated himself to the weight room, getting functional strength and explosion and that helped him carry a larger load this year. When you’re the No. 1 man as opposed to the No. 2, it’s a lot heavier lifting. When you’re the focal point of opposing teams, it’s a lot harder to do that. He’s a good teammate, selfless and he helps our culture around here, too.”
 
 

WILLIAM THENGVALL, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
6-foot-4 senior guard
 
2023-24

• 455 points (18.2 ppg), 175 rebounds (7 rpg), 78 assists (3.1 apg)

 
Career

• 1,005 points (11.1 ppg)

 
Worth Noting
 
Led Kapaun Mt. Carmel to program’s first state championship since 2012 as Crusaders came from behind to beat Piper 62-59 in Class 5A title game. … Scored 29 points in championship game while also adding four assists. … Led all scorers at Class 5A tourney with 73 points (24.3 ppg), including 31 in 67-64 overtime win over Highland Park, a season high after previously going for 30 against Bishop Carroll during the regular season. … Is a two-time first-team All-Greater Wichita Athletic League pick and helped Kapaun to a runner-up finish in Class 5A last year, falling to Andover in the title game. … Had season highs of 12 rebounds and 8 assists. … Also was starter for Kapaun football team that finished runner-up in Class 5A this season to Mill Valley.
 
Coach’s comment
 
“He showed some good leadership and he became more of a scorer,” Kapaun coach Steve Eck said. “When he was a sophomore and junior – especially a sophomore – he was more of a 3-point shooter. He really worked hard on his mid-range game and that paid off in the state tournament. Instead of shooting 3s, he was able to get to that mid-range and shoot that shot pulling up. It just helped him with confidence to get those shots down. … We had special options for Will to get open, but Will could also get them on his own, too. We basically just let him play. When you have Corbin Johnson on one wing and Will on the other, it’s kind of hard to double-team somebody. Will basically had the green light and he knew it.”
 
 

TJ WILLIAMS, WICHITA HEIGHTS
 
6-foot-5 senior guard
 
2023-24

• 351 points (14 ppg), 177 rebounds (7.1 rpg), 96 assists (3.8 apg)

 
Career

• 1,278 points (13.2 ppg), 546 rebounds (5.6 rpg), 280 assists (2.9 apg)

 
Worth Noting
 
Is a two-time Top 5 selection and the lone repeat selection off last year’s Top 5. … Led Heights to class 6A state runner-up finishes the past two years after helping Falcons capture Class 6A state title in 2022. … Is a three-time first-team All-Greater Wichita Athletic League selection. … Also has 150 career steals and 112 career blocked shots. … Is only player in Heights’ rich history to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 steals and 100 blocks in his career. … Was Falcons’ third-leading scorer and rebounder as a freshman in 2020-21. … Shot 70% from two-point range this season and 64% overall, his second straight year of shooting 60% or better from the field. … State’s overall top recruit this season, has signed with Wichita State. … Was finalist for Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year last year and is again this year.
 
Coach’s comment
 
“We felt early on (leadership) was something he had a real natural gift for,” Heights coach Joe Auer said. “There are leaders by example, there are leaders by their energy level, there’s a lot of different types of leaders. But as far as all the kids I’ve coached in two sports at Heights, I’ve never had a kid who embraces every aspect of leadership like he has. He set an example academically, with how he treated other people, how hard he played and produced, and how important it was getting better every day in practice – not just for him but for the team. He took ownership in every aspect. We would just keep giving him more as we coached him longer and saw what he was capable of. We called him the pied piper. All those guys wanted to follow his example.”
 
 

DAVID BIRCH, SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST
 
Coach of the year
 
2023-24

• 25-0, Class 6A state champions

 
Career

• 94-21

 
Worth Noting
 
Led Shawnee Mission Northwest to an undefeated season and the first state championship in program history as Cougars topped Wichita Heights 47-39 in the Class 6A title game to finish 25-0. … Birch is 72-20 overall in his four years as head coach at Northwest. … Spent one year at Piper prior to taking Northwest job, leading Pirates to a 22-1 record and the Class 4A state semifinals before the tournament was canceled for COVID reasons. … Was named Sunflower League coach of the year this season and was the 4A coach of the year in 2020. … Has never lost a sub-state game in head coaching career, going 10-0 as head coach and 16-0 overall. … Served as an assistant coach under Ed Fritz at Blue Valley Northwest as Huskies captured three Class 6A state championships. … Played collegiately as Ottawa University and is the Braves’ all-time leading scorer with 2,258 career points, earning NAIA All-American honors in 2008 and 2009. … Was inducted into Ottawa Hall of Fame in 2023.
 
Coach’s comment
 
"I think it's a big deal for our school. This school has never won one for boys basketball and we were happy to get the first one,” Birch said. “Not only that, but to do it undefeated was pretty special. There've been a lot of good players here and, and definitely some good coaches, just trying to climb that mountain top and break through. … What we talked about yesterday is that the second hardest thing to do in sports is to climb that mountain top and finally break through and win a championship. But the hardest thing to do is stay there. That’s what we’re focused on now."