Cody Kessler's scoring average (29.4) led all Central Section players and was the sixth-highest in the section's history.

He also averaged 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

The two amazing things are: 1) he's only a junior; and 2), that basketball might not even be his best sport.

Kessler, a quarterback, was also the football Player of the Year in the fall. He becomes the first athlete to win All-Area top player awards in football and basketball the same year.

It's football that will determine his basketball future at Centennial.

"It depends on which school I commit to," Kessler said, referring to a football scholarship. "If they want me to come in early, I'll graduate early and go there in the spring. Then I won't play basketball."

But he says -- for now -- that he'll play basketball next season if he finishes out the school year.

"Basketball was my first love when I was young," said Kessler, a 6-foot-2, 218-pound guard. "But in eighth grade it was football that I decided I wanted to do."

Kessler's domination on the basketball floor was notable. He scored 40-plus points three times, including 47 in a 71-68 upset win over Fresno-Bullard in the Central Section playoffs.

That game is Kessler's basketball career highlight.

"They beat us in the Valley championship game in football, and their whole crowd was on me (at the basketball playoff)," Kessler said. "They pointed their fingers, they said they had the ring.

"I had 47 in that game and it shut everyone up. By the end of the game, everyone was dead quiet on their whole side. It was great."

The Golden Hawks finished 19-11. Their season ended in the Division I semifinals, a 79-71 loss to top-seeded Clovis-Buchanan.

Kessler's specialty was sinking off-balance shots that displayed his body control.

"Just a wide array of shots: flip shots, floaters, hook shots, fadeaways, using the glass and his tremendous strength going to the rim," Hawks coach Alex Lee said.

While football is Kessler's preferred sport, Lee said Kessler could be a Division I basketball player if he wanted.

"No doubt about it," Lee said. "When preparing for his sophomore year, we went to all these Division I camps: at UC Santa Barbara and San Jose State. By the time we were done with camp, they were all interested in him."

But beyond everything else, Lee said he's most impressed with how Kessler is staying focused despite the recruiting distractions.

"He has a lot on his shoulders," Lee said. "I don't think people on the outside looking in have any idea what's swirling around him. We're excited to see what happens with him the next few seasons."

-- JEFF EVANS, Californian staff