Why there’s nobody from the area’s best basketball team on the MMC’s all-league team.

The last act in the Modesto Metro Conference was a messy one, punctuated by a walkout by one of its boys basketball coaches.

Modesto Christian’s Brice Fantazia reportedly left the all-league meeting at Enochs High on Tuesday evening, removing his players from award consideration after a contentious MVP voting.

Beyer High senior Ben Polack was named the league’s most outstanding player, emerging from a pool of four candidates, according to Randy Rubio, the Enochs athletic director and boys basketball coach.

Fantazia nominated senior Junior Ballard for the MVP award, while Gregori coach John Ebster put up senior center James Bland. Enochs’ Wesley Williams Burse rounded out the ballot.

Polack was the offensive catalyst for the Patriots, a No. 2 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III tournament. Headed to San Jose State on a baseball scholarship, Polack averaged a team-high 17.2 points, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals. He shot 40.1 percent from the 3-point line and 80.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Bland anchored the block for Gregori. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds before suffering a season-ending injury.

Williams Burse had the MMC’s best statistical season, netting 24.3 points per game with 8.3 rebounds. He had 20 or more points in five games against the league’s top three, including 34 against Beyer.

Ballard stepped into the MMC and confirmed his status as one of the Stanislaus District’s elite scorers. A transfer from Lathrop, Ballard became eligible Jan. 1 and led the Crusaders in scoring over the final 16 games of the regular season. He averaged 16.6 points and scored in double figures in league play 10 times, despite sitting out most fourth quarters.

Ballard received just two MVP votes, one of which belonged to Fantazia, according to a torrent of tweets Tuesday evening by the second-year coach. In the MMC, coaches are allowed to vote for their own players.

Fantazia walked out of the meeting, requesting that the league's coaches honor his players' desire not to be named to an all-league team. None were named to the first, second or honorable mention roster.

He said Ballard was punished by the other coaches for sitting out the fourth quarter of blowouts.

Modesto Christian (24-3) went 14-0 in the final season of the MMC, running its nation-best league winning streak to 184 games.

In a vote of the league’s athletic directors, the Crusaders were prohibited from winning the league title for a second straight season.

Second-place Gregori was awarded the league title. The Jaguars (21-5) were 12-2, with both losses coming to the Crusaders. Modesto Christian won its league games by an average margin of 30.7 points and sat many of its starters in the fourth quarter of games.

Against the top public-school teams – Gregori and Beyer (10-4, 17-10) – Modesto Christian won by nearly 28 points.

“Was literally told a kid was punished for not playing fourth quarters,” read one of Fantazia’s tweets. The tweets have since been removed. “When you see the all-league and don’t see any MC basketball players on it, it is because my guys knew what was going to happen and asked not to have anyone receive all-league. Much respect to them.”

Fantazia declined further comment. He asked that all questions be steered toward athletic director Robb Spencer, who didn’t return a message from The Bee.

The final MMC season will be remembered, in part, for the controversy surrounding the Crusaders, ranked No. 7 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Twitter erupted with commentary and barbed banter following the Crusaders’ 113-26 victory over Davis on Jan. 31, and Modesto Christian players were subject to heckling at many of its league games.

The boys basketball team opens the D-I tournament Wednesday against No. 15 Turlock.

The second-seeded Crusaders are a heavy favorite to win its second Division I title in three years.

Ebster was named the Coach of the Year. The all-MMC first team was comprised of Bland, Williams Burse, Downey’s Miko Sablan, Gregori’s Drew McClellan and Tremayne Whatley, and Modesto’s Ryan Silva. The second team included Beyer’s Kris Fore, Johansen’s Allen Benjamin, Modesto’s Jaquile Ingram, Enochs’ Nephrey Donasco, and Downey’s Malachi Butler.

Those receiving an honorable mention were: Beyer’s McKay Bundy, Davis’ Tim Wilcox, Downey’s Jairol Harris-Red, Enochs’ Champ Sangha, Gregori’s Jamin Crenshaw, Johansen’s Alex Aguirre, and Modesto’s Joseph Perez.

This story was originally published February 21, 2018 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Why there’s nobody from the area’s best basketball team on the MMC’s all-league team.."