Sunday, April 2, 2006

Boys' Player of the Year

F JOHN FLOWERS, ST. MARY'S RYKEN, JR.

After transferring from Thomas Stone, Flowers led the Knights to a dramatic turnaround, as they posted their first victories in three seasons in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference en route to a fifth-place finish in the 10-team league, the area's toughest. He averaged 17.5 points and 11 rebounds per game and was named first-team all-WCAC. He has received several scholarship offers, including from Maryland and West Virginia.

Boys' Coach of the Year

TONY MAST, LACKEY

In his first season as a varsity head coach, Mast took over a team with only one returning starter and no impact transfers and led the Chargers to a 25-2 mark, a perfect run through the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference and the Maryland 3A final -- only the second SMAC team to advance that far since 1990. The school's 3A South Region title was its first since 1978.

First Team

G PRESTON FAULK, McDONOUGH, SR.

Faulk became the focus of defenses facing McDonough this season and initially struggled. By February, though, he was a dynamic scorer, averaging more than 20 points over his final 10 games. A repeat All-Extra, Faulk became the first Ram in eight years to surpass 1,000 career points.

C TAYVON JACKSON, LACKEY, SR.

No SMAC player improved more dramatically over the past year than Jackson, who not only learned how to use his 6-foot-8 frame to dominate defensively, but also developed some nice low post offensive moves. He averaged 15.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.8 blocks, and has been invited to play in the preliminary game of the Capital Classic. He signed to play for Mount St. Mary's.

F JIMMY MOORE, GREAT MILLS, SR.

Moore led the Hornets with 12.2 points per game, but Great Mills didn't win 19 games and advance to the Maryland 3A South final by running up the score on opponents. Instead, with virtually the same core from last season's 9-15 team, Moore helped lead the Hornets to a vastly improved defensive effort, as they held their opponents to 14 fewer points per game than last season.

G DEMETRIUS WALLACE, LACKEY, SR.

Even with his unorthodox release, Wallace proved to be the SMAC's best jump shooter. He led the conference with 72 three-pointers and made over 81 percent of his free-throw attempts. His 17.5 points per game also paced the Chargers. He made at least three three-pointers in eight games.

G ERIC YOUNG, CALVERT, SR.

A repeat All-Extra, he was leading the SMAC in scoring for the second consecutive season before a freak knee injury in pregame warmups ended his season in early February. Young averaged 20.9 points per game, and he rebounded aggressively despite his 6-foot frame.

Honorable Mention

Julius Brown, St. Mary's Ryken, Soph.; Alex Halliday, Westlake, Sr.; Matt Leddy, Great Mills, Sr.; Chris Miller, Northern, Sr.; Jackie Pixley, Leonardtown, Sr.; Aubin Reeves, Thomas Stone, Jr.; Bryan Shearer, Huntingtown, Sr.; Mark Smith, Huntingtown, Jr.; Brandon Short, Chopticon, Sr.; A.J. Toye, La Plata, Sr.