LouisvilleCatholicSports.com

Shamrock senior earns top honor in the state

Trinity senior Nathan Dieudonne has been named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball following an outstanding senior campaign that saw Dieudonne lead the Shamrocks to their first state title in program history. 

Previously, Dieudonne was named the Associated Press Player of the Year in the state of Kentucky and the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Kentucky. Dieudonne was also a first-team All-State selection by the Lexington Herald-Leader, Associated Press and Louisville Courier-Journal (leading vote getter). 

Dieudonne, a Boston University signee, led the Shamrocks in scoring at 13.9 points per game while shooting 60.9 percent from the field. Dieudonne was named the state tournament’s most valuable player after scoring a tournament-high 70 points. 

Trinity is one of just two schools to have a Mr. Basketball, Mr. Football, Mr. Soccer and Mr. Baseball award winner in the state of Kentucky, but the only school to have a winner in each of the four sports in the last 49 seasons. 

No. 1 Trinity (35-3) won the school’s first state basketball title with a victory over Scott County in the championship game of the 2012 PNC/KHSAA Sweet 16 ® at Rupp Arena on March 17. It marked the first time in state history that a school has won the state titles in football and basketball in the same season. Trinity finished the year 32-1 against teams from the state of Kentucky this season, the lone loss coming by just one point. 

The Shamrocks enjoyed their most successful season in program history in 2011-2012. In addition to their success at the state tournament, Trinity won a school record 35 games, including its final 18 of the season.

Trinity won the prestigious Republic Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic and the Coca-Cola/Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament. The Shamrocks also won the 7th Region Tournament by defeating Ballard in the semifinals after trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter and defeating rival St. Xavier in convincing fashion in the regional finals. 

The graduating senior class finished their careers as the winningest in program history, posting a 104-23 mark during their time wearing a Trinity uniform. The 2012 class included Nathan Dieudonne, Charles Foster, Troy Saxton, Hunter Hepler, Damon Thurman, Andrew Perito, Chad Hartlage (support staff) and Stephen Anderson (support staff).