2020-21 Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ All-State Team (3A Classification)
Written by: Andy Herr on April 28, 2021
Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP…
“The only thing on my bucket list that I really want,’’ Loyalsock boys’ basketball coach Ron Insinger told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette last month, was a state championship.
Insinger’s Lancers got him there a few days later, defeating Brookville 75-53 for the PIAA Class 3A championship and completing the puzzle of a long and historic career.
Insinger was named 3A coach of the year, and two of his players, brothers Idris and Saraj Ali, were chosen to the first team in voting for the Pennsylvania Sportswriters all-state team.
Idris, a 5-9 senior point guard who averaged 19.8 points, 3.8 assists and three steals per game, is the 3A Player of the year. Loyalsock went 102-13 over Ali’s four seasons.
Saraj, a 6-5 junior, averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. He played in 19 games and had 15 double-doubles, shooting 60 percent from the field.
Insinger is the winningest coach in Pennsylvania boys’ high school basketball history, with a career record of 1066-201 (including 53-2 over the past two years), 24 district championships and a staggering 38 20-win seasons.
Joining the Loyalsock gang on the first team: Nisine Poplar of Philadelphia’s Math, Civics and Sciences Charter, Jevin Muniz of Executive Education Charter in Allentown, Aaron Collins of Erie First Christian and Brendan Boyle of Notre Dame-Green Pond.
Poplar, a 6-5 senior guard who will attend the University of Miami, was the state player of the year last season in Class A, and made second team all-state in 2018-19.
Poplar averaged 18.8 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game.
Muniz, a 6-5 senior, made the second team a year ago. He averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and 4.5 assists, and scored 24 in a 79-75 loss to Loyalsock in the state quarterfinals. His team has won three straight District 11 titles and his teammate, 6-4 junior Kody Magee, made the second team.
Boyle, a 5-10 junior, racked up big numbers – 25.4 points, 6-5 assists per game – for a team that reached the District 11 championship game. He scored 42 in a semifinal of the Colonial League playoffs.
Collins, a 5-11 senior, is the fourth-leading scorer in Erie County history with over 1,600 career points. This season, he led PIAA District 10 in scoring at 24 per game. A Division II college recruit, Collins made third-team all-state last season.
Class 3A
First team
Idris Ali, 5-9 Sr. Loyalsock (POY)
Nisine Poplar, 6-5 Sr., Math, Civics & Sciences
Saraj Ali, 6-5 Jr., Loyalsock
Jevin Muniz, 6-5 Sr., Executive Education
Aaron Collins, 5-11 Sr., Erie First Christian
Brendan Boyle, 5-10 Jr., Notre Dame-Green Pond
Second team
Ty Barrett, 6-0 Jr., Troy
Justin Moore, 6-1 Jr., Bishop McDevitt
Michael Balichik, 6-3 Sr., Mount Carmel
Devin Atkinson 6-0 Sr., Lancaster Catholic
IV Pettit, 6-2 Jr., Devon Prep
Kody Magee, 6-4 Jr., Executive Education
Third team
Kody Kratzer, 6-3 Sr., Palmerton
Matt Whysong, 6-0 Jr., Chestnut Ridge
Brandon Reed, 5-9 Sr., Riverside
Ethan Hartman, 6-5 Sr., Warrior Run
Benny Cano, 6-3 Sr., Greenville
Cameron Khoza, 6-7 Sr., Bishop Guilfoyle
Jace Miner, 6-3 Sr., Brookville
Coach: Ron Insinger, Loyalsock
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