Gelow wins GHT Player of the Year; meet the 2023-24 boys basketball all-area teams

Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review

GAYLORD ― It's time to put the 2023-24 winter sports season officially in the rearview mirror.

State champions have been crowned in basketball, wrestling, skiing, hockey and everything in between, all-conference and all-state honors have been handed out and the spring sports programs are fighting against the early "spring" weather in Northern Michigan as the first games on the schedule rapidly approach.

That means its time to hand out the final honors of the season; the Gaylord Herald Times All-Area teams and Player of the Year Award.

Take a look at this year's honorees:

Gaylord Herald Times Boys Basketball All-Area

Player of the year: Luke Gelow, Gaylord

Luke Gelow was unstoppable during his senior season, earning him GHT POY honors for the second-straight season.
Luke Gelow was unstoppable during his senior season, earning him GHT POY honors for the second-straight season.

In an inconsistent, up-and-down season for the Gaylord Blue Devils boys basketball team, one player stayed consistent through it all; senior Luke Gelow.

Gelow battled through a torn labrum in his shooting shoulder as a junior in 2022-23, still ending up as one of the top scorers in the Big North Conference (21.4 points per game) despite never being 100% healthy.

This season, a 100% healthy Gelow took his game to another level.

Gelow finished his final high school season with some impressive numbers; he scored 30.1 points per game, shot 57% from the field (58% from 2-point range, 37% from 3-point) and averaged 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game.

He finishes his Gaylord career with the second most career points in school history, the most points and points per game in a single season and the most 3-pointers made in single season in GHS history. He is also holds the school record for the most career 3-pointers.

Gelow currently holds multiple offers to continue his career in college, most notably from Oakland University, a Division I program in Rochester, Mich.

First team

Luke Gelow, Gaylord, Sr., Daniel Jacobson, Gaylord St. Mary Jr., Rylan Matelski, Gaylord St. Mary, Sr., Torino Lamerato, Gaylord, Sr., Thomas Fox, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Sr.

Daniel Jacobson, Jr., GSM

Daniel jacobson fought through an ankle injury late in the seaosn but was still undoubedtly one of the best in the area in 2023-24.
Daniel jacobson fought through an ankle injury late in the seaosn but was still undoubedtly one of the best in the area in 2023-24.

Perhaps no single player had a bigger impact on his team's outcomes than junior guard Daniel Jacobson.

When Jacobson missed time down the stretch, GSM looked pedestrian, losing three of there final four regular season games after DJ's ankle injury at Onaway in early February. When he came back, GSM looked like an entirely different team, winning a district semifinal matchup in overtime while battling with the eventual district champions, Bellaire, in the final game of the season.

A first-team all SKi Valley honoree and the lone junior on the first-team all-area list, DJ should be the top returner in the area coming into next season.

Rylan Matelski, Sr., GSM

Rylan Matelski took his game to a new level this season, and hopes to continue to grow his game at the college level.
Rylan Matelski took his game to a new level this season, and hopes to continue to grow his game at the college level.

Despite being a senior, Rylan Matelski can still be classified as a raw athlete.

Still, the steps he made this season in fine tuning his game on the court went a long way, helping become the second option for the GSM offense while turning into one of the tougher defenders in the Ski Valley Conference.

Matelski, a future North Central Michigan College basketball player, finished the season with second team All-SVC honors.

Torino Lamerato, Sr., Gaylord

Torino Lamerato (2) hit an acrobatic layup as time expired to give Gaylord a 56-54 victory over Alpena on Friday, Feb. 3.
Torino Lamerato (2) hit an acrobatic layup as time expired to give Gaylord a 56-54 victory over Alpena on Friday, Feb. 3.

Gaylord's senior captain and on-court quarterback, Gaylord's Torino Lamerato didn't necessarily have stats to blow you away, but undoubtedly helped pace what was a streaky Blue Devil offense.

Lamerato averaged 5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assist and 1.2 steals per game while maybe turning in the highlight of the season, a buzzer-beater layup that gave Gaylord a 56-54 win over Alpena.

Thomas Fox, Sr., Johannesburg-Lewiston

Thomas Fox led JoBurg with 14 ppg in 2023-24, leading the Cards to the programs first win over GSM since 2022.
Thomas Fox led JoBurg with 14 ppg in 2023-24, leading the Cards to the programs first win over GSM since 2022.

JoBurg is ready to put the last two seasons behind them, but will have to say goodbye to some of the program's best players in order to do so.

Undoubedtly, the best player for the past two seasons was Thomas Fox.

Fox led the 2023-24 team with 14 points per game, was second on the team with 5 rebounds per game and third on the team with 1.7 assists per game for a JoBurg team that finished with the seventh-best record in the SVC. his performance in the upset win over GSM left a lasting impact on the program, scoring 13 points for the Cardinals first win over the Snwobirds since 2022.

Second team

Collin Piehl, Jr., Gaylord

Dillon Croff, Sr., GSM

Kyler Nowak, So., JoBurg

Cayden Keck, Jr., Gaylord

Lucas Cherwinski, Jr., GSM

Honorable Mention

Malaki Gascho, Sr., JoBurg

Javier Baragrey, Sr., JoBurg

Hogan McKinley, Sr., GSM

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Luke Gelow wins Gaylord Herald Times boys basketball player of the year

Advertisement