Shooting stars top 2004 "Baad Team"
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Seniors Terrence Woods of Florida A&M
and Mike Taylor of West Virginia State
were the most prolific three-point shooters in NCAA Div. I and
II basketball respectively this season. Incredibly, both
finished the season making 140 shots from behind the
arc and both led their teams into postseason play.
Woods led the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring at 20.3 points per game canning a nation's best 4.5 treys per contest. The 6-3 marksman from Memphis then sparked the Rattlers from a No. 5 seeding to take the MEAC tournament championship and earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Once there, he again put his long-distance prowess on display leading the Rattlers to a play-in victory over Lehigh and a first round dogfight with top-seed Kentucky.
The high-scoring Taylor averaged 24.4 points including 4.4 threes per game to grab the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year award. He led the Yellow Jackets to the WVIAC regular season title, the finals of the conference tournament and the semifinals of the Div. II East Regional. The 6-1 Detroit native finished his career with over 2,000 points and his 354 three-pointers are sixth best in Div. II history.
A trio of frontcourt players swept player of the year awards in their respective conferences and joins the hot-shooting backcourt stars on the first team.
Desmond Peoples averaged 20.4 points per game and topped the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association with 11 rebounds per game to lead St. Augustine's to the conference's West Division title. The 6-7 senior from Clinton, Md., was named a third team Div. II All-American.
Six-eight senior forward Attarius Norwood of Mississippi Valley State was the key man as the talented Delta Devils rolled to the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season championship by a whopping five games. Norwood, a Crystal Springs, Ms., native, garnered SWAC player of the year honors by virtue of his 14.3 points and five rebounds per game averages. Norwood was also among SWAC leaders in three pointers with 72.
Six-five South Carolina State junior Thurman Zimmerman is the only underclassman to make the first team. The burly and versatile forward from Columbia, S.C., took home the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference player of the year award after leading the Bulldogs to the regular season title with averages of 18.8 points and a league-best 8.4 rebounds per game.
Woods was picked for the second team a year ago while Zimmerman and Norwood were third team selections.
Mike Gillespie, who led FAMU from a dogfight in the MEAC to the epic battle with Kentucky at the NCAA tournament, is our 2003-04 coach of the year.
SECOND TEAM
Brion Rush, 6-2, So., G, Grambling State (19.3 ppg.);
Flem Tucker, Sr., G, Albany State (23.6 ppg); Anthony Frazier,
6-8, Sr., C, Cheyney (18.5 ppg., 8.1 rpg); Anthony
Greenup, 6-9, Sr., F, Shaw (20.9 ppg., 10.2 rpg.); Darius
Hargrove, So., F, Va. Union (17.7 ppg.)
THIRD TEAM
Obie Trotter, 6-1, So., G, Alabama A&M (18.2 ppg.);
Anton Jennifer, 5-9, Sr., G, Bowie State (21.7 ppg.);
Chakowby Hicks, 6-4, Jr., G/F, Norfolk State (15.9 ppg.); Paul
Haynes, 6-8, Sr., F, Grambling State (17.5 ppg., 8.7 rpg.); Lee
Cook, Jr., C, Bowie State (19.3 ppg., 10.7 rpg.)
HONORABLE MENTION
Devin Green, Jr., Hampton; Tee Trotter, Sr., UMES;
Solomon Forbes, Jr., Miss. Valley St.; Kenny Haywood, Sr.,
Fayetteville State; Ronald Thompson, Sr., Morehouse; Bruce Price,
Fr., Tenn. State
WOMEN
Alabama State junior forward Crystal
Kitt and Jackson State senior center
Amie Williams dominated stats and honors in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference and hold down two
frontcourt positions on the women's first team.
Kitt, a Mobile native, nosed out Williams
for SWAC player of the year honors just as she did
in several statistical categories.
Kitt, who stands 6-5, topped the league with averages of 20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and a 56.5% shooting percentage as the Lady Hornets beat out JSU for regular season honors.
The 6-7 Williams, the league's defensive player of the year, led the SWAC and was second in the nation in blocks at 2.3 per game while finishing behind Kitt with 17.8 points, 9.5 rebounds per game and a 48.7% shooting percentage. Williams is from Cleveland, Ms.
Hampton senior forward Nicole Brathwaite joins the SWAC titans in the frontcourt. Brathwaite, who stands 6-1 and hails from Houston, led the Lady Pirates to the MEAC tournament title and an NCAA tournament berth by tying for the league scoring title (15.6 ppg.) and pulling down 8.3 rebounds per contest.
In the backcourt is Mid Eastern Athletic Conference player of the year, Mandy Clark of Delaware State and Bowie State's Alisson Hardy, who could easily have won the award in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
The flashy Clark was tied with Brathwaite for the MEAC scoring title (15.6 ppg.) while leading the Lady Hornets to the regular season title and top seeding at the conference tournament. She was also among league leaders in steals (2.8 spg.) and assists (3.0).
Hardy was beaten out for CIAA player of the year by Shaw's Jessica Hawkins despite leading the conference in scoring at 22.5 points per game. Hardy also averaged 4.1 assists and 3.8 steals while shooting 77% from the line and 35% from three-point range. She had a 50-point game in the first round of the CIAA tournament.
Patricia Bibbs, who guided her Lady Pirates of Hampton to back-to-back MEAC titles, is the 2004 coach of the year.
SECOND TEAM
Jessica Hawkins, Sr., G, Shaw; Rolando Monroe, Jr.,
G, Southern; TIffany Winkfield, Sr., F, Md.-E. Shore;
Jennifer Stegall, Sr., C, Clark Atlanta; Danielle Hoggard, Sr., C,
Virginia Union
THIRD TEAM
Sherita Tarpkins, Sr., G, Fort Valley State; Kiarsha Curtis,
Jr., G, Shaw; Tionna Beatty, Sr., G, NC Central;
Scherwanda Boston, Sr., G, Grambling St.; Leisel Harry, Sr., C,
Coppin State;
HONORABLE MENTION
Yolanda Dixon, Sr., Florida A&M; Joi Surratt, Sr., JC
Smith; Rachill Robinson, Jr., Bowie State; Terrelle Waller, Sr.
Delaware State; LoShawann Smith, Jr. ,Alabama A&M;
Sharema Dean, Fr., G/F, Hampton; Pria Stellmacher, Sr., Va. Union
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.