GCL South Payer of the Year: Cam Williams

Fri, Feb 21

Elder senior guard Cam Williams has been named the 2024-2025 GCL South Player of the Year in basketball! Williams by his Panthers teammates Alex Dugan and Dylan Palicki on the all-GCL South teams this season. A three year varsity player for head coach Joe Schoenfeld, Williams has written his name throughout the Elder basketball record books ranking among the top 10 all-time leaders in scoring and three pointers made and ranks in the top 15 for assists. "There are many talented players in our league, but I feel no one is more deserving of the Player of the Year award than Cam. He does everything for us: handle the ball, shoot, run the offense, defend, and rebound. He brings out the best in his teammates and gives us all a boost on confidence knowing you have the best player on the court on your team. Cam is an awesome leader and competitor, but he is an even better person. There is no better player or person to represent our league this year as POY than Cam Williams," said Schoenfeld. Coach continued, "Cam is a like a coach on the floor for us. He is extremely smart and is an excellent communicator and leader. He makes everyone around him better. Cam was at or near the top in every statistical category and played his best games in the league games when the competition was the best and the lights were brightest. It has been a long time since I've heard our fieldhouse roar as loudly as it did when Cam returned to the floor from the training room after being injured in the 2nd half against St. X on senior night. On one good leg, he willed us to victory." Coach Schoenfeld on Dugan's honor: "Alex is an outstanding multi-sport athlete. In football, he earned 1st team all-GCL as a linebacker, a position he hadn't played since grade school, and followed that up by also earning a spot on the GCL all-star basketball team. Alex had a fantastic regular season. He led the league in FG%, while finishing 5th in rebounding, and 7th in scoring. As a 6'3" junior, Alex is our "big man" on a team full of guards. We wouldn't have accomplished what we did this season without him. He is a battler with a high basketball IQ." Coach Schoenfeld on Dylan Palicki: "No one at Elder spent more time working on their game in the past two seasons than Dylan. So, I am so happy he was named a 2nd team GCL all-star. He is the second leading 3FG% shooter in the league, shooting at a remarkable 43.5% clip. He is also in the top 10 league-wide in assist/turnover ratio. I am very proud of Dylan for his all-star selection because I know how hard he worked to make our team better. Dylan is another Elder multi-sport athlete - he is a third baseman on the baseball team." [Read More]

All-GCL Basketball

Fri, Feb 21

Congrats to our all-GCL basketball selections! Cam Williams - First team all-GCL Alex Dugan - Second team all-GCL Dylan Palicki - Second team all-GCL [Read More]

Coach Schoenfeld reaches 500 wins

Wed, Dec 04

On 12/3/24, Coach Schoenfeld acheived his 500th win when the Panthers beat Turpin 46-37. When he spoke with us (WCPO) before the season began, Schoenfeld didn't dwell on his 500th win. Instead of a number, he focused on the rapport he's built with countless student-athletes, families and coaches over a coaching career that started in 1982 at his alma mater. "I have an affinity towards Elder as a former student and former player," Schoenfeld said. "And coaching for a number of years, I just want Elder to do well. I want the kids to grow up and be good people and be successful people. And basketball is a way of teaching that." The 66-year-old Schoenfeld, a 1977 Elder graduate, entered this season with a 499-267 record since the former Xavier University player became the Elder head coach in the 1991-92 season. Schoenfeld started teaching at Elder in January 1983. (Mike Dyer, WCPO) "I've been lucky to be at Elder for an awfully long time and I'm very appreciative of all the players that have actually won the games for Elder while I've been here," Schoenfeld said. "It's just kind of a special feeling to have been here this long and to have learned from the best, from Coach Frey who coached me when I played here and just having coached a bunch of good players and great kids over the years." Frey and Schoenfeld have been the last two head coaches for Elder's basketball program in a stretch that started in the 1969-70 season and has spanned 883 wins and three state titles. "The only reason you would have two coaches in all those years is Elder is just a great place to coach," Schoenfeld said. "I think the fact that two coaches stayed here this long and have been successful says a lot, mostly about the kids we were able to coach." (Alex Harrison, Cincinnati Enquirer) [Read More]