—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Bishop Garrigan’s Audi Crooks celebrates with teammate Emma Grandgenett (2) after their semifinal win at the state tournament. Crooks was named the IBCA player of the year recently.

ALGONA — Audi Crooks is one of the best players in the state, but when she is honored as such, she is quick to deflect the prestige back to her teammates.

The Bishop Garrigan junior was recently named the Class 1A Iowa Basketball Coaches Association player of the year.

Receiving such an award is a great achievement, but Crooks knows it’s not possible on her own.

“It’s definitely a huge honor to be recognized,” Crooks said. “It’s a prestigious award that is handed out to such great athletes in the state.

“People call it a team, but I call it a family, both on and off the court. My teammates have pushed me and we operate as a unit and win as a unit.”

This is the second time Crooks has earned the honor, winning the award as a freshman.

Crooks, the daughter of Fort Dodge graduate, the late Jimmie Crooks and Michelle (Vitzthum) Cook a Bishop Garrigan alumni, had another banner season for the Golden Bears, and helped add a state championship to the school’s trophy case.

“Audi and nobody on this team cares about individual awards,” said Bishop Garrigan head coach Brandon Schwab. “Whether she scored 15 or 45, as long as we won the state championship that’s what matters to her.”

In her first two seasons the Golden Bears were ousted by Newell-Fonda in the championship game, but this time around Bishop Garrigan grabbed the title with a win over MMCRU.

“This season we didn’t know what we were coming in with, but we found our groove throughout the season,” Crooks said. “We had some tough losses against bigger schools in 5A, and from that point on, we were exposed and vulnerable.

“We rebuilt ourselves and every day we showed up to work hard and got back to the state tournament.”

Now entering her final season, Crooks and the Golden Bears will be the hunted, taking everyone’s best shot.

“We didn’t win the previous two years and we were giving our best shot,” Crooks said. “Now we will definitely be held to a higher standard every time we play and the way we practice.”

Crooks, who has been a first team all-state selection all three seasons, had the highest point and rebound totals of her career with 659 and 349 respectively. She became the school’s all-time scoring leader with 1,845 points and is closing in on 1,000 rebounds (955).

“She’s getting double and triple teamed every time, but she stays confident in her abilities and picks her spots,” Schwab said. “She makes the right passes and does what’s best for the team.

“Not everyone has that maturity and it doesn’t have to be about Audi and scoring points.”

Heading into her senior season, Crooks looks to become only the 21st player in state history to score 2,000 points.

She is averaging 22.5 points and 11.6 rebounds, along with 3.5 blocks per game. Her career field goal percentage is 71.1 percent.

In her nine state tournament games, she is the state tournament’s career leader in rebounds with 120 and is second in points with 214. She has been named to three all-tournament teams and was the captain as a freshman.

Crooks, who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020, is one of the top recruits in the nation. She has received offers from all the state school’s as well as from the west and east coast. She has yet to make her decision.

Crooks stands 6-3 and is usually the tallest player on the floor. With her presence comes the need for finesse to be able to stay away from foul trouble and avoid getting into problems with her strength.

“She has to make heads up plays,” Schwab said. “She’s a lot stronger than the other players, so she has to be able to know what she can do. In the state finals with about 35 seconds left, she had a girl on her right side. She felt the left was there, so she spun left and had to trust her left.

“She has adapted to the game and never complains about the officiating, adjusting her game to the flow.”