THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9503020154
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
SPENCER MAYFIELD makes sure his Nansemond River basketball team runs like a unit.
``There are no stars here,'' Mayfield has said on more than one occasion.
But like it or not, sophomore guard Antoine Willie has become a standout.
Willie earned a spot on the All-Bay Rivers District first team as well as player of the year honors with a 28.2 points-per-game regular season average.
Willie was joined on the first team by teammate Montoria Valentine, Lakeland's Sebastian Yates, Franklin's Sidney Gainey and Southampton's Shawn Tann.
Warriors head coach Mayfield was named coach of the year.
Willie set a Suffolk city scoring record with 52 points in a game against Smithfield last month and twice he drained the game-winner with less than 10 seconds on the clock to lift the Warriors to wins in the district semifinal and final games.
Valentine, a 6-3 junior forward, was the Warriors other go-to man and finished the regular season with a 15.7 per game average.
Yates, a 6-2 senior forward, spent most of the season among the top three in the district in scoring and closed out the regular season with a 19.0 average. He totaled 18 points in the district tournament championship game. During the fourth period of that game, Yates scored seven points, including the game-tying layup with 1:33 left, and dished off four assists.
Gainey's 42-point performance, which included a school and tournament record nine 3-pointers last week against Nansemond River in the semifinals of the district tournament, left coach James Jones speechless.
``What can you say about him,'' Jones said. ``He does everything you ask and more. He does whatever it takes to win.''
The Broncos lost the game 64-62, but earned a spot in the Region I tournament by defeating Southampton the next night.
Tann put in a 17-point performance for the Indians in that game and averaged 15.5 points per game during the regular season to earn the final spot on the all-district first team.
Taking a young team of newcomers and putting it on top of the Bay Rivers District as well as putting it atop the state Group AA poll was reason enough for Mayfield to earn coach of the year honors.
``I forget that I've got 12 new young kids on this team,'' Mayfield said. ``In my mind, they are veterans.''
The way the Warriors had played all season, it was easy to mistake them for a more experienced team, but they reminded Mayfield of their youth during the district tournament last week, prompting Mayfield to call them his ``cardiac kids''.
``They wait until the end to do what I know they can do,'' Mayfield said. ``I don't know why they like to make this hard.''
But given a choice, Mayfield much prefers heading into the Region I tournament having been pushed to the limit, rather than going in with the huge wins the Warriors racked up late in the regular season. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Antoine Willie
Nansemond River
Montoria Valentine
Nansemond River
Sebastian Yates
Lakeland
Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Sidney Gainey of Franklin High School
Shawn Tann of Southampton High School
by CNB