By Chris Chaney
Sun staff
Before the Milford basketball program closes the book on an unforgettable winter season, the Eastern Cincinnati Conference made sure to honor the Eagles’ historic romp through the league with their annual honor rolls.
While six Milford players landed on the trio of All-Conference lists, it was head coach Joe Cambron who walked away with the biggest individual honor: Coach of the Year.
“(Winning the award) means that I’ve got good players,” Cambron said humbly. “I got a text from a friend congratulating me on winning. I said, ‘Thank you. And as any smart person knows, typically when a coach gets a Coach of the Year award, he has a lot players who get Player of the Year or First Team All-Conference.’
“I know that my leadership and interaction with the players is important, but the reality is that without these great players, there’s no such thing as 22 wins, there’s no such thing as (me) getting Coach of the Year.”
While the coach was fast to hand off credit to the players on the court, there is something to be said about leading a team to a sectional championship and a pair of school records — most consecutive wins (18) and most total wins in a season (22).
The group effort taken by Milford was evidenced, as Cambron stated, by a solid group effort headed up by a four-pack of senior leaders.
Ryan Gallimore and Will Hannah were all First Team All-ECC selections and Grant Riesenberg was a Second Team pick. Justin Arnold, also a senior, was a key contributor as well. Their experience and leadership on the floor were a big reason that Milford was able to have such an exceptional season.
“You couldn’t ask for a group of players to blend as well as they did,” Cambron said. “They each had their own specialties: Will (Hannah) was a great scorer, Ryan (Gallimore) was a great facilitator and point guard, Grant (Riesenberg) was a do-all, do-everything defender, rebounder and Justin (Arnold) was a great energy kid and a great shooter.
“We’ve had some good seniors in the past, but I don’t know if we’ve had a collection of four seniors that are completely, 100 percent selfless and have completely bought in to the game plan. No matter what we told them, they went and did it. And when it worked, their confidence grew.
“The younger players will have a lot to live up to. In our view, (the seniors) have set a great example of what Milford basketball is all about. These four seniors have left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.”
Perhaps the younger players best poised to take over for their graduating brethren are Brad Hall, Ben Greenwell and Jack Engelman, although Cambron declined to point to any individual as having the need to fill those roles just yet.
Hall, a junior guard, was a First Team selection while Greenwell, a junior forward, was a Second Team pick and Engelmen, also a junior forward, was an All-League Honorable Mention.
The junior trio will headline a class of five others who were a part of the Eagles’ varsity roster this season, as were a pair of sophomores.
Full ECC All-Star teams can be found on the league’s website at eccsports.com.