by JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
A basketball has been in Briley Cramer’s hands for a good chunk of his life and that dedication to the sport has helped him earn the 2024 Bob Bowsher Memorial Award as Pickaway County’s most outstanding senior boys’ basketball player.
“I’ve been shooting the basketball every day for as long as I can remember,” Cramer said.
His comfort with the basketball led to a record-breaking senior season as he wraps up his career as Circleville High School’s all-time leading scorer for boys’ basketball.
And while his individual hard work has paid off, he knows his success is part of a group effort.
“I loved it,” Cramer said of his senior year. “I hit a couple of my goals, but I couldn’t have done it without my team, though. There were a lot of ups and down and it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but there were still a lot of good, positive moments.
“This team was special – we love each other.”
“The biggest thing that sets him apart is he’s a very unselfish player,” coach Cody Carpenter said. “When you see a lot of these individual accolades that kids get, that someone like him, as unselfish as he is, that he would be able to achieve those goals — he had really good teammates that celebrated his success and were a big part in helping him get that.
“Those small moments right there made the season extremely fun.”
Cramer had several big nights throughout his senior season.
He went for a career-high 40 points in an overtime win against Westfall and, a week later, reached 1,000 career points in a double-overtime win against Fairfield Union.
Late in the season, he set a new career-high with 46 in a road game against Athens and broke the school all-time scoring record with 37 against Alexander in the tournament.
“Like at the Athens game, I had 20-something at halftime and my teammates wanted me to get that record. I almost got it done – we thought – but those nights I couldn’t have done it without my teammates feeding me and trusting me,” Cramer said.
Cramer finished his senior season averaging 20 points per game, five rebounds and three assists. He finished his career with 1,284 points.
“It’s been a special career. He’s kind of the foundation of what we are trying to build here at Circleville. And I don’t mean that because of his individual accolades, I mean how he got to those,” Carpenter said. “He was one of our more committed and dedicated individuals in the five years that I’ve been here. He never missed a practice, never missed a game, didn’t miss workouts – even if he couldn’t actually participate in the workout, he was still here.
“That speaks volumes to his character and his dedication to what he was trying to achieve.”
Cramer earned First Team All-Mid-State League, First Team All-Southeast District, First Team District 14 and First Team All-Pickaway County honors this season, along with being named Special Mention All-Ohio.
As a junior, he earned first team designation in the league, District 14 and all-county while being named second team in the Southeast District and Honorable Mention All-Ohio.
Cramer is the first Tiger to win the Bowsher Award since Micheal Camp in 2016 and 11th overall winner from Circleville.
“It means everything. It hasn’t been done in seven or eight years. I love Circleville and I’m glad I can bring it back to the trophy case,” Cramer said. And Cramer hopes that he and his teammates have inspired the next group of Tigers to put the work in to find their own success.
“My whole family – everybody tells me that younger guys look up to the high school kids, so I try to involve myself with them a lot,” he said. “I think they really look up to me and the varsity team and I think our progress will help them build the program up to what it should be.”
“It’s a coach’s dream when you have kids who are wanting to get in the gym. There are a lot of young kids who are around him and we have a saying that just showing up is not enough, it’s what are you doing when you’re here,” Carpenter said. “As he matured, that work ethic continued to progress and it makes coaching a lot easier when you have kids like him. Not just because of his individual talent, but how he got to it.”
As his senior school year winds down, Cramer is still weighing his options. He may look to continue his playing career at the next level or enter the workforce to pursue a career as an electrician.
Bob Bowsher Memorial Trophy winners
1948 — James Picklesimer, Williamsport
1949 — Robert Pontius, Walnut
1950 — William Rowley, Darby
1951 — Lester Sanders, Monroe
1952 — Harley Evans, Atlanta
1953 — William Evans, Pickaway
1954 — Kenneth Kirk, New Holland
1955 — Harold Gerhardt, Atlanta
1956 — Gene Stonerock, Williamsport
1957 — Dave Smith, Pickaway
1958 — Richard Hoover, Ashville
1959 — Gary Valentine, Saltcreek
1960 — Robert Hoover, Ashville
1961 — Robert Eitel, Jackson
1962 — Thomas Rathburn, Ashville
1963 — Rick Pond, Williamsport
1964 — Tom Seeley, Monroe
1965 — Bill Fortner, Teays Valley
1966 — Neil Coleman, Westfall
1967 — Russ Merrin, Logan Elm
1968 — Charles Palmer, Westfall
1969 — Tom Lightle, Westfall
1970 — Dale Lambert, Teays Valley
1971 — Mark Knece, Logan Elm
1972 — Terry Morrison, Circleville
1973 — Tom Sykes, Logan Elm
1974 — Craig Pontius, Teays Valley
1975 — Perry Hoskins, Circleville
1976 — Biff Bumgarner, Circleville
1977 — Chuck Cave, Logan Elm
1978 — Toren Bensonhaver, Circleville
1979 — Terry Wright, Logan Elm
1980 — John Sanders, Teays Valley
1981 — Jerry Mowery, Westfall
1982 — Brad Rivers, Westfall
1983 — Doug Hoover, Teays Valley
1984 — Luke McConnell, Circleville
1985 — Marc Gothard, Teays Valley
1986 — Kyle Wolfe, Westfall
1987 — Trond Smith, Logan Elm
1988 — Shane Roese, Teays Valley
1989 — Mike Miller, Teays Valley
1990 — Donn Rathburn, Teays Valley
1991 — Chris Strawser, Circleville
1992 — Ashley Hoskins, Circleville
1993 — Brian Dollison, Westfall
1994 — Brandon Lambert, Teays Valley
1995 — Tony Picklesimer, Westfall
1996 — Trevor Younkin, Teays Valley
1997 — Thom Patete, Westfall
1998 — Lee Gunn, Logan Elm
1999 — Brad Brooks, Logan Elm
2000 — Tyler Schleich, Westfall
2001 — Adam Stewart, Teays Valley
2002 — Matt Fosnaugh, Teays Valley
2003 — Craig Stewart, Circleville
2004 — Drew Shaw, Westfall
2005 — Tyler Evans, Logan Elm
2006 — Evan Blake, Logan Elm
2007 — Cory Cooper, Circleville
2008 — Steve Largent, Logan Elm
2009 — Tim Congrove, Logan Elm
2010 — Adam Blake, Logan Elm
2011 — Nate Anderson, Teays Valley
2012 — Nathan Moats, Circleville
2013 — Alek Stonerock, Westfall
2014 — Dillon Young, Logan Elm
2015 — Preston Gothard, Teays Valley
2016 — Michael Camp, Circleville
2017 — Ridge Young, Logan Elm
2018 — Isaac Roese, New Hope
2019 — Ryan Wolfe, Teays Valley
2020 — Jay Wyman, Westfall
2021 — Isaac Ward, Logan Elm
2022 — Cameron Dyas-Rogers, Teays Valley
2023 — Clayton Rhyne, New Hope
2024 — Briley Cramer, Circleville
— Bob Bowsher was an outstanding student-athlete who graduated from Circleville High School in 1940. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in November of 1942 and was serving in France where he was twice wounded in action — the second leading to his death on July 14, 1944. The award was created in 1948 and was initially presented to the most outstanding player in the county tournament.
