This year, ERA Sports, a sports photography group for the Southern Indiana area, hosted the first-ever All-Star night in Scottsburg, Indiana, on Wednesday, May 1. The night started with a dunk contest, followed by a 3-point contest, and the All-Star game ended the night off.
Local media outlets and a handful of local coaches nominated junior and senior players to be selected for the game. Two senior captains, Cody Clancy of Scottsburg High School and Kayson Nash of Borden High School, selected the players for their teams. Each senior selected five starters and their reserves. Clancy from Scottsburg selected junior Fletcher Cole as a starter.
“It was a really fun time playing with other really good players in the All-Star game. I am grateful being given the opportunity to play with some of the best in the state,” said Fletcher.
Cole was one of many All-Star players who competed in the game. Cole ended the ERA All-Star game with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists to help Team Clancy win.
Dusty Cole, Fletcher’s dad and coach, was honored that his son was selected for the first ERA All-Star game.
“It’s quite an honor to be selected to play in the ERA All Star game against some of the best players in Southern Indiana. Any time you see a player that has worked as hard as Fletcher get recognized for that hard work and time, it is rewarding for a Coach. It is also a credit to Paoli Basketball,” said Dusty Cole.
A total of 20 players participated in this year’s inaugural event.
“If you look at the players that were selected to play in the game, there are very, very few that played for losing teams. And it certainly takes more than one kid for a team to be successful. There are also a lot of young people and players from Paoli that look up to Fletcher. They see what he has accomplished and they begin dreaming and hoping that one day they can do the same. That is part of building a great tradition and a great culture. Hopefully Fletcher will be the first of many Paoli kids to play in future ERA All Star games,” said Dusty.
