How / why the winners were selected:
Telisha “TT” Turner is our choice for High School Player of the Year. We know there are other names out there, but we put up TT’s numbers with anyone’s:
· 401 points in 16 games
· 25.06 points per game
· Glasgow 10 – 6 with TT, 0 – 4 without her
She broke the 1,000 point barrier in her junior year, finishing that season with "around 1,200 points", according to TT herself last summer. Her numbers this year would place her right around 1,600 career points. That would slot her solidly in the top 15 scorers, all-time, in Delaware high school girls hoops. Turner suffered by not playing, for most of her career, on a team that was able to go deep into the tournament, much less even qualify. For better or worse, the big “name” players get all the media attention in the post-season, or during the season, if they play on a contender. In recent years, Brandywine’s Michelle Baker, the State’s 4th all-time leading scorer, went through a similar experience as TT. Well, Glasgow’s inability to get into the tournament clearly isn’t TT’s fault. And she is a superb player and prolific scorer. She has put up incredible numbers all the while being double and triple teamed most of her career. If she’s not Player of the Year, then we don’t know what one looks like.
Last year, I informally chatted with several CYM head coaches to get their read on their organization’s Player of the Year. From their responses, Jenna Wolff was chosen. This year, the process was refined nearly to perfection. All C Division teams were contacted. Each team got two votes. One for the head coach and one for the primary assistant. The coaches were allowed to vote for players on their own teams. A team could pool their two votes for the same player, or “split the ticket” and vote for different girls. Of the teams contacted, one team decided not to participate. There were 4 players who received more than one vote. Sabrina Hackendorn received the most votes, showing a remarkable popularity from opponent coaches. The other players receiving votes would have ALL made fine winners for this title, but we believe that the coaches got it right with their ultimate selection of Hackendorn.
If the High School ranks came anywhere close to having a “Cinderella Story” this year, it had to be the Cape Henlopen Vikings. Our criteria for the Coach of the Year Award at the high school level is fairly simple. Who wasn’t expected to do very much in November, but who finished up in March strong? When we ask that question, the answer is Cape’s Lamont Hazzard. At the start of the year, Cape wasn’t on anyone’s radar screen. They were not shown as a pre-season pick here or in the News Journal. Little attention was paid to them until the last month of the season when it was clear that they were newsworthy. In the tournament, out of the 9th seed position, the Vikings blew out defending champs, Delcastle, 62 – 25 in the first round. In Round Two, they dispatched Sussex Central (the #8 seed), 43 – 36. In their crowning achievement, they defeated the tourney’s #1 seed, the undefeated St. Mark’s, 43 – 41, to earn their way into the Final Four. Smyrna finally found a formula that would end the Vikings’ season by waging a war of attrition and simply grinding Cape down. Cape’s dreams of winning a State Championship stopped one game short of the goal, with a 59 – 55 loss. So, while Cape Henlopen did not cut down the nets at The Bob, they were nevertheless the “feel good” story of 2010. As such, Lamont Hazzard is most deserving of DGB.com’s Coach of the Year.
At the CYM level, it is very hard to win a title two years in a row. There’s just too much roster turnover. In fact, numerically speaking, it is truly twice as hard to repeat as champs in CYM than in high school ball. Mark Tobin at Holy Angels gets our nod as Coach of the Year for something on the order of 54 or 55 consecutive wins over two years and for winning back-to-back titles. No other current CYM team is anywhere near the winning numbers and percents that Holy Angels has going. Part of this is also a reflection on Coach Tobin’s ability to attract top caliber talent to the Holy Angels program. (Players do not have to attend Holy Angels School in order to be on the team. This is a CYM-wide condition. Many CYM teams utilize “outside” players.)
Appoquinimink High School
Appoquinimink wins our Best Fans Award. They have a great facility, which is well-staffed with ushers (how many other schools’ gyms have even one usher?). But beyond the trappings of the venue itself, we found the fans polite, respectful of their opponents, and most sportsmanlike.
Photo courtesy of Websites4sports and Coach Amie King.
You know what? I don’t know if Cape Henlopen truly has the best cheerleading team in the state. I haven’t seen them all. But then again, I haven’t seen all 50 some odd basketball teams in the state, either, this year. And I doubt any of the “real” reporters have either. It’s nearly impossible. But back to Cape. Usually, I don’t notice cheerleaders. That’s not a knock against cheerleaders! It’s just that when I go to games, I’m not there to see the cheerleaders. So, I usually don’t pay much attention to them, nor to school dance teams. But, at The Bob, I saw the Cape Henlopen Cheerleaders do a routine at halftime that was in every sense of the words original, fun, cool, and – separating themselves from some other scholastic dance teams and cheer teams – clean and dignified. I thought so much of the performance that I talked to the coach of the squad afterward to give her my compliments only to learn that two of the team members actually put that routine together, from start to finish. The coach’s involvement – at least in that routine – was minimal. So, that only made me think even more of what I had seen. It was like a rock band that writes its own songs! So, when putting together the year-end awards, I decided to give these innovative, hard-working kids at Cape a nod and a sincere, “Good Goin’!” We haven’t had a cheerleading award before, and quite likely, we never will again. But these kids were great. If you were there at The Bob and saw the routine, you’ll already know where I’m coming from. If you weren’t there or didn’t see it and think this particular award is stupid, then my only advice to you is try to see them next year and then get back to me. ‘Nuff said on this topic! Back to basketball….
Ursuline will continue to have the best Senior Night ad infinitum until some other school decides to put as much effort into their own ceremony.
St. E’s Center remains the best place to see a game, though we wish the concession stand would get a little more adventurous in the menu selections. Still, a great building, good lighting, great sight lines. Not a bad seat in the house.
St. Mark’s wins best game program once again, and pretty much by default this year. No one else in New Castle County even puts out programs anymore on a regular basis except St. Mark’s.
We have discontinued the Best Dressed Coach Award as Jeff Flanders (Tower Hill) announced his retirement from coaching mid season. With Jeff out of the picture, we have lost our motivation to keep this award going.
On a more serious note, we have also discontinued, for now at least, the JV Player of the Year and JV Coach of the Year. Fact is, we just don’t see that many JV teams in order to make the awards fair. And so, we felt it best to put both honors on the shelf for the time being. If we ever get more help with game coverage & reporting on this website, and if this brings us in contact with a wider array of JV teams and players, then we will happily consider reviving the award.
And that’s pretty much it!
It was a good season. And since the whole Khadijah/Elena show cleared out of the high school ranks, we have now had two years in a row with different teams in the State Final. Two years in a row with no Catholic Conference team in the Final. And while many that visit the site think Tom and I are too biased in favor of the Catholic Conference, an accusation that may not be totally without merit, it is GOOD that we are seeing the turnover that we are. GOOD that downstate teams are making it deep into the tournament, and GOOD that the success of these Kent & Sussex teams in the tournament are allowing their standout players to be – rightly & very deservedly – showcased for all of us to get to know and to give fair consideration to.
We went through a season that, going in, had been shortened by 2 games due to DIAA. Then shortened still further by historic amounts of snow. But, we all got through it. And the playoffs were great! I hope next year is as fun, and with all due respect to Sanford, who are as fine a championship team as this state has ever produced, wouldn’t it be awesome if next year, we get yet another different pairing in the Final?
A big thank you to everyone who said “good job with the website” to us this year, or who shook our hands, or gave us a wave and a friendly smile. It really helps to keep us doing this. With that said, I DO wish there were more of us for you guys to thank! Hint! Hint!
DGB.com is a year ‘round site. Stay with us this spring as we bring you AAU updates. In June, we start camping out at the high school summer league. Then look for more Great Players of the Past inductees, and then it’ll be November before you know it!
Photo courtesy of Websites4sports.
A still image of the fantastic routine performed at The Bob by the Cape Henlopen Cheerleaders.
