DARKE COUNTY – Two basketball players who are putting up huge numbers are this week’s Daily Advocate athletes of the week.
The Daily Advocate athletes of the week are Mississinawa Valley girls basketball player Kelsie Hunt and Versailles boys basketball player Justin Ahrens.
Hunt is currently the only Darke County basketball player averaging a double-double as she has 12.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game this season.
“Kelsie is our inside game,” Mississinawa Valley girls basketball coach John Hershey said. “Everybody that we play knows it. So they’re always doubling up on her and everything else, and she still manages to get in there and do the job.”
Hunt’s 12.1 rebounds per game are the most of any Darke County basketball player this season.
“She knows how to get herself in position, and she does that real well,” Hershey said. “That’s really the key to her getting so many rebounds.”
Hunt is a prolific rebounder despite being only 5 feet 8 inches tall.
“We played against Troy Christian, and they had two girls who are a head taller than her,” Hershey said. “She still managed to pull down the rebounds and get the shots off.”
With Hunt playing so well right now, the Lady Hawks try to get the senior the ball as often as possible.
“Her play right now is at the top of her game,” Hershey said. “We try to get it into her, and she’s not afraid to go against any of them.”
Among Darke County boys, Ahrens is in the top three in points, rebounds and assists. He averages 21.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists a game.
“He’s done a lot more than just score for us,” Versailles boys basketball coach Travis Swank said. “He’s becoming a well-rounded basketball player.”
Ahrens, who is verbally committed to play college basketball at The Ohio State University, is Versailles’ go-to player and has helped the Tigers build a 7-1 record.
“He does so much and we ask him to do so much, but he’s more than capable of doing that,” Swank said. “We want him to be able to do all those things because if he’s able to do all those things he’s going to help us win ball games.”
The Versailles junior is a terrific athlete but doesn’t just rely on his natural ability.
“He works on his craft and his game so much,” Swank said. “He’s constantly in the gym.”
