RESERVE — Riverside boys basketball coach Timmy Byrd has often said when it comes to his standout starting backcourt, each of them are capable of posting an MVP caliber season.

The Louisiana Sportswriters Association backed up those words in a big way.

The Rebels’ Herb McGee became the third Riverside guard in as many years to earn Class 2A MVP honors, earning Outstanding Player honors as the LSWA All-State team was announced over the weekend after helping  lead Riverside to its third consecutive state championship.

Riverside’s Von Julien and Malik Crowfield earned that honor in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

All three of those players earned spots on this year’s 2A All-State squad, McGee and Crowfield taking first team nods while Julien was named to the second team.

Riverside’s Jordan Andrews was named honorable mention, as were St. James’ Trevin Gros and Lowell Narcisse.

On the Class 2A girls team, Riverside’s Ja’Keyra Gautreaux earned the nod to the second team.

Ballie Favorite and Nadia Braud of St. James each earned honorable mention, as did Riverside’s Kennedy White.

In Class 1A, West St. John’s Lady Rams posted a quarterfinalist season and earned two All-State selections, Maya Trench earning first team honors and JuJuan Nicholas making the second team.

On the 1A boys side, WSJ’s Morell Bartholomew earned honorable mention.

McGee entered his junior season known as one of the state’s top defensive stoppers, but expanded his offensive game to new heights. McGee led the Rebels in scoring for the first time in his career, posting 18.9 points per game to go along with seven rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

Byrd said he didn’t believe a string of three different MVPs in consecutive seasons had happened before in the state. McGee, he said, was a very deserving honoree.

“When Herb was a freshman, when we had Khalea, he was the one who was willing to be the sixth man,” Byrd said. “He’s the guy who always wants to take the assignment of the other team’s best scorer. When (Julien and Crowfield) won MVP, he’s always been sincerely happy for his teammates. He’s always been willing to sacrifice for his team.”

Crowfield, meanwhile, followed up his MVP season with averages of 17.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Julien averaged 11.4 points and 9.2 assists per game as his team’s floor general.

“Malik was a double-double guy again,” Byrd said. “It’s easy often to slack off after a big season. He was so consistent this year and, honestly, had a better season than he had last year when he won MVP.”

As for Julien, who just completed his senior season, Byrd called him “the face of our program” over the past four years.

“We couldn’t have had a better guy leading us,” Byrd said. “He’s a coach on the floor. He knew the kind of shooters and talent he had around him, and he wasn’t focused on scoring. He’s been a truly great player for us.”

Trench averaged 14 points per game while Nicholas averaged 12.7 for the Lady Rams, who repeated as district champions and fell just a win shy of the Top 28 tournament.

WSJ coach Lester Smith said Trench, a junior, impacted every phase of the game when she was on the court.

“We really missed her anytime she was on the bench,” Smith said. “Her leadership, her scoring ability, defense, rebounding, you name it. She plays so hard and she’s helped get our program to this level.”

Nicholas, meanwhile, returned to the court for her senior season after missing much of the team’s summer work with a knee injury.

“She worked hard in the offseason and right before the season to get back to form,” Smith said. “She worked on getting stronger and improved her offensive game. She was a big lift for us.”

Riverside coach Kathy Luke said Gauthreaux, a freshman, has grown a lot over the past two seasons, and is very deserving of the honor.

“She was a little out of control when I first got here,” Luke said, “but now she’s becoming a floor leader.

“Her shot selection and decision making has improved greatly, and we’re looking for her role to continue to evolve.”