THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603140142
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jeff Zeigler
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
There's been plenty of great high school basketball action over the last several weeks.
There have been upsets and awesome comebacks, Cinderellas and could-have-beens.
And as usual, certain teams, players and coaches stood out.
Early last week, two teams from northeastern North Carolina were still alive in the playoffs: the Perquimans County girls and the Gates County boys.
But with the long season just about over (I never thought it would end), it is time to award my picks for the area's biggest basketball achievers.
The Manteo boys team earned four of the seven honors; the girls' awards saw a good mixture of talent from across the region.
These are the standouts in boys basketball:
Best Team I've Seen: Southeast Halifax. The Trojans had more weapons on offense than the Pentagon.
Best Team in Coast Area: Manteo. Despite falling early in the playoffs, the Redskins had the best all-around team from top to bottom. They hustled, played defense and were disciplined.
Most Improved Team: Currituck County. The Knights went from winning three games in 1994-95 to a 12-9 record this year.
All-Hustle Award: Jason Summerton, Manteo. Summerton was involved in almost every play for the Redskins on both offense and defense. He was also a rebounding machine. A highlight for the season was a spectacular slam dunk on an alley-oop against Edenton in the Northeastern Conference Tournament.
Best Pure Shooter: Ronzee Hinton, Northeastern. When Hinton was on, there was no stopping him.
All-Around Player of the Year: Chris Sillis, Manteo. Sillis came into his own this year and still has one more year to go. He could be the dominant player in the Northeastern Conference next season.
Coach of the Year: Bud Hendrix, Manteo. Hendrix had plenty of talent to work with this year, and he used it wisely. He got the most out of his team and was not afraid to discipline them if needed. A good coach is one that doesn't need to win at any cost.
And for the girls:
Best Team I've Seen: Williamston. The Lady Tigers' whipping of Camden County at midseason was most impressive.
Best Team in Coast Area: Manteo. Despite losing to Edenton-Holmes in the Northeastern Conference Tournament championship game, the Lady Redskins dominated the rest of the season.
Most Improved Team: Edenton. Edenton shocked everyone by winning the Northeastern Conference Tournament and going two rounds into the state playoffs.
All-Hustle Award: Kristie Roberson, Perquimans County. Roberson played hard all season and was the Lady Pirates' most consistent player, particularly in the fourth quarter.
All-Around Player of the Year: Tie between Heather Daniels, Manteo, and Holly Meads, Camden County. Both meant so much to their respective teams and will be hard to replace next season.
Coach of the Year: Tanya Turner, Perquimans County. The Lady Pirates had plenty of talent but stumbled at midseason. It took a good coaching job to get them back on track and four rounds into the playoffs as of this past week. Fred White of Edenton was a close second. MEMO: Jeff Zeigler covers sports for The Carolina Coast. Send comments and
questions to him at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959. by CNB