St. Ignace’s Jonny Ingalls started basketball young.
He was certainly in the gym enough as his mom coached the girls’ team at the high school and his dad led the boys’ squad.
“He was an awesome player when he was young,” his coach and father Doug Ingalls said. “He was a very unselfish player and is an unselfish player. He has the heart of a champion, he goes after it and does what it takes to win.”
Ingalls became a star on the varsity team, scoring 2,000 career points and led the Saints to the state semifinals earlier this month for the first time since 1983.
To cap it all off, he was named the Michigan Associated Press Division 4 Player of the Year.
The 6-foot senior point guard finished with 2,029 career points after starting for four years.
He averaged 30.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 4.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per game as a senior and he increased his scoring average to 35.5 a game in the postseason.
Ingalls scored 40 or more points five times this season, including 49 against Division 1 Marquette that led to a scholarship offer to to play at Division II Northern Michigan and a 44-point performance in a closely contested regional semifinal win over Onaway.
“He’s a gamer, he’s always been a gamer,” Doug Ingalls said. “I feel he can be really good when we need him to be good. It was tremendous how well Jonny could step up and have some great games, be consistent, but have some great games when we really needed it.”
Opposing coaches often raved about his jump shot. He added a mid-range jumper as an upperclassman, adding the shot to his ability to make 3-pointers and score off the dribble.
“He really elevates and finishes high. It’s a beautiful jump shot,” Doug Ingalls said. “He’s increased the range this year.”
Doug Ingalls was named AP Division 4 Coach of the Year. He was also a standout point guard for another Upper Peninsula school, Gladstone, and still holds Northern Michigan University’s assists record.
“Just playing for him means a lot because he’s my dad and he was a pretty good player, so he’s pretty smart,” Jonny Ingalls said.
Doug Ingalls is retiring after 25 years, over multiple stints for St. Ignace, due to health concerns. He has also been an assistant coach for the St. Ignace’s girls team, which has won five state championships, with his wife, head coach Dorene Ingalls.
“I think his basketball mind is pretty amazing,” she said. “He’s able to just draw up a play at the drop of a hat. And then the kids go out and get a bucket off of it. Even with my girls team, he’s able to do that.”
The other Division 4 First All-State selections are: Hillman’s Trenton Taratuta, Marine City Cardinal Mooney’s Brian Everhart, Adrian Lenawee Christian’s Jaxon Salenbien, Jordan VanKlompenberg of state champion Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, St. Joseph Lady of the Lake’s Owen McLoughlin, Fruitport Calvary Christian’s Bradley Richards, Buckley’s Landon Kulawiak, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central’s M.J. Yeager and Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s Ethan Esse.
Here’s the full list:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jonny Ingalls, St. Ignace
ALL-STATE
Trenton Taratuta, Hillman, Sr.
Jonny Ingalls, St. Ignace, Sr.
Brian Everhart, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, Sr.
Jaxon Salenbien, Adrian Lenawee Christian, Soph.
Jordan VanKlompenberg, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, Sr.
Owen McLoughlin, St. Joseph Lady of the Lake, Sr.
Bradley Richards, Fruitport Calvary Christian, Jr.
Landon Kulawiak, Buckley, Jr.
M.J. Yeager, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central, Sr.
Ethan Esse, Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, Soph.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Doug Ingalls, St. Ignace
SECOND-TEAM ALL-STATE (nominees receiving at least two votes)
Reece Broderick, Traverse City Christian, Jr.
Caleb Betz, Bellevue, Sr.
Noah Zeien, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, Soph.
Ethan Bennett, McBain Northern Michigan Christian, Sr.
Miles Shannon, Climax-Scotts, Sr.
Anthony Buford, Detroit Douglass, Sr.
Brandon Summer, Adrian Lenawee Christian, Sr.
Jacob Plamondon, Maple City Glen Lake, Soph.
Domonic Scharer, Hillsdale Academy, Sr.
Quintin Sartin, Marlette, Sr.
COACHES
Darren Shiels, Britton Deerfield; Mark Keeler, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian.
HONORABLE MENTION (nominees receiving one vote)
KeyMarryon Fishburn, Taylor Trillium, Sr.
Logan Shiels, Britton Deerfield, Sr.
Jonathan Morgan, Vandercook Lake, Fr.
Jadin Mix, Onaway, Sr.
Alex Ortman, Norway, Sr.
Gabe Popko, Lake Linden-Hubbell, Sr.
Trevor Nolan, Munising, Jr.
Owen Corlis, Kingston, Sr.
Brayden Franzel, Ubly, Jr.
COACH:
Justin Sherlock, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Voting panel: Doug Donnelly, Adrian Daily Telegram; Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer; Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal; James Cook, Traverse City Record-Eagle; David Goricki, Detroit News; Jason Juno, Ironwood Daily Globe; Fred Kelly, Midland Daily News; Brandon Watson, Sturgis Journal; Matthew Mowery, Oakland Press; Patrick Nothaft, Grand Rapids Press; Brenden Welper from the Port Huron Times Herald; Ben Sanders, Hearald-Palladium, Benton Harbor; Tom Green, Huron Daily Tribune, Bad Axe; Josh VanDyke, Muskeon Chronicle; Eric Ingles, Jackson-Citizen Patriots.
