Dickerson named to all-state hoops team

The awards keep rolling in for Federal Way senior Cole Dickerson.

The 6-foot-6 wing was named to the Associated Press’ Class 4A all-state first-team Thursday. Dickerson was joined on the first-team by Kentwood senior center Josh Smith, Jackson junior guard Brett Kingma, Walla Walla senior guard Gary Winston and Gonzaga Prep senior forward Ryan Nicholas.

During the last three seasons, Dickerson helped the Federal Way Eagles place first, second and third at the Class 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament. As a senior, Dickerson has already been named the South Puget Sound League North Player of the Year, The News Tribune’s All-Area Player of the Year and the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association’s 4A Player of the Year.

Dickerson was one of the most consistent players in the state after averaging 22.9 points and nine rebounds a game for the Eagles, who were the top-ranked team in Washington all season long before finishing third at the state tournament.

Dickerson will take his game to the University of San Francisco next season. He signed to play for the Dons in November after a stellar junior season when he led the Eagles to the 2009 state championship while averaging 17.5 points a game.

“From the first time I saw Cole play, I loved his feel for the game. He has good size, can really shoot the basketball and has an advanced offensive understanding of the game,” said USF head coach Rex Walters. “Cole can score a lot of different ways. He can post up, can shoot the three, can bounce it and get his own shot. His family is a basketball family.”

Dickerson is the half-brother of former Federal Way star Michael Dickerson, who went on to win a national championship at the University of Arizona and was a first-round NBA draft pick by the Houston Rockets.

Kentwood’s Smith was named the 2010 Associated Press Washington prep basketball player of the year on the boys’ side and Auburn Riverside’s Mercedes Wetmore won the girls’ player of the year. The winners are chosen by sports editors and writers around the state.

Both of their teams won Class 4A state championships. Smith will play next season at UCLA and Wetmore will play at Washington.

Smith led the Conquerers to the Class 4A title with a victory over Jackson in the title game. He averaged 23.2 points, 15 rebounds and four assists during the tournament. Smith also played in the McDonald’s All-American game on Wednesday night at Ohio State’s Value City Arena and scored 10 points in the West’s victory.

Wetmore concluded her four-year run at Auburn Riverside with three state titles and an overall record of 104-14.

Federal Way senior guard Isiah Umipig was named honorable mention by the AP. Umipig, who will play next year at Cal State Fullerton, averaged 14.1 points a game, led the SPSL in assists with 7.4 a game and shot 93.8 percent from the free-throw line.