It has been an eventful off-season for Picayune’s Chris Dees.

The talented senior was picked to play in the state all-star game over the summer, after helping guide the Maroon Tide to yet another south state championship last season.

Then, just recently, he was selected as one of the 12 best players in the state when he was named to the prestigious Dandy Dozen squad as selected annually by The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson.

“it’s a great honor for me, and it has always been a goal of mine since I was little and I started playing basketball,” Dees said. “I’m very honored, and I think it also means a lot to the team because it’s not just about me but it brings recognition to Picayune also.”

The 6-foot-5 Dees averaged 15 points and eight rebounds last season as a junior, in guiding the Maroon Tide to a 30 win season. The post player was described by the Jackson publication as an “athletic and versatile performer who can score in a variety of ways”.

Dees helped lead the Maroon Tide of first year head coach Daniel Kennedy to the overall Class 4A state tournament in the Mississippi Coliseum last season before the Maroon Tide fell to eventual state champion Jackson Lanier in the state semifinals.

“I think it speaks a lot for the team, because if we hadn’t won all the games we did Chris might not have gotten all of this recognition,” Kennedy, who enters his second season at the helm of the Maroon Tide after serving as an assistant to longtime head coach Dean Shaw, said. “He plays hard and he’s very aggressive. He can do a little bit of all of it on both sides of the ball. We’ve had talks with him about becoming more of a vocal leader for us and being more intense in practice. Hopefullly something like this will help him do that and realize that a lot of people will be gunning for us.”

• Picayune’s Brandon Fortenberry, also a senior, was selected as one of the top 40 seniors to watch by the same publication.

“They are a good one-two punch, and I think anyone that played us last year already knows that,” Kenneddy added.