Moir notebook: Minter, Rich lead all-tournament teams
Shot-blocking, sharpshooting West Rowan big man Donte Minter, who had back-to-back 21-point games was an obvious choice for tourney MVP. He stood out like an Eskimo in Hawaii.
Davie guard Sean Stevens, who poured in 60 points in two games, was another no-brainer.
But the rest of the squad wasn’t cut and dried. Not when some teams play two games and some three. And not when some games are lopsided, meaning limited playing time for starters.
The Falcons, who hardly broke a sweat in either of their games, obviously needed one or two more reps on the team, but whom should they be.
A genuinely surprised Phillip Williams (21 points in two games) got one nod for his consistency, while another went to guard Horatio Everhart, who scored zero points in the semifinals, but stepped up for 17 on title night.
“I’m glad the voters were smart enough to put Horatio on there,” said West coach Mike Gurley. “He’s the role model for our defense.”
East’s Matt Belk scored 49 points in two games and would likely have made the squad had Davie’s Nemanja Kreckovic not gone crazy for 32 points against North.
But Kreckovic’s two-night total of 49 matched Belk’s and the War Eagle wonder played on a team that split two games, while Belk’s team — through no fault of his own — went 0-2.
South’s rep was really tough. A reasonable case could have been made for Graham Corriher, David Lane or Tre Hornbeak, but the berth went to guard Andrew Morgan, who had a good opening game and made so many huge plays in South’s game-of-the-century win over Davie.
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ALL-TOURNEYGIRLS:East Rowan’s Maggie Rich headlined for the girls, earning MVP honors after scoring 47 points in two games for the title-winning Mustangs.
Christal MacLamroc, who had 20 points in two games, also made the team. South Rowan also had two players — Paris Rucker and Sade Jordan —selected.
“For them to make this particular team, I hope they can go home and think about it and come back to practice next week,” South coach James Greene said.“They did a great job of handling and controlling the team in the locker room.”
Davie County’s Dawn Singleton (35 points in three games) and West’s Hillary Hampton (44 points in two games) also made the squad.
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GOOD TOURNEY:Despite the finals disaster, South coach John Davis saw his Raiders’ 2-1 effort in the Moir as a positive.
“We played a good game against Salisbury and a great game against Davie,” said Davis. “That’s preparation for our conference. The CPC gets three playoff berths and that’s our focus right now — to get one of them.”
West coach Mike Gurley complimented the Raiders on their tourney showing.
“I know John’s proud of his kids,” he said. “That Davie-South game was as good as I’ve seen. I hope I’ve got a free Friday night the next time they play. If I do, I’ll be there.”
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GUARD PLAY:West’s backcourt isn’t as good as its awesome frontcourt, but the gap is narrowing.
“Those guards — Brian Avery. T.J. Gaither, Horatio Everhart and Darren Ramsey — are setting the tone on defense,” said Gurley. “No disrespect for the West Falcons or anyone else who made the all-tournament team, but Gaither and Avery and Ramsey could have been on there, too. I wish there were a couple more spots.”
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VETERANS: The Falcons have taken some tough losses in a state final, a regional final and a sectional final the past three seasons, but this year the tears after their final game could be droplets of joy.
“We’ve been down the river a few times with these guys and we’ve had some tough losses,” said Gurley. “But we’ve learned some lessons. I think now we understand what it takes in terms of intensity and defensive effort.”
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LOOKINGAHEAD:Gurley likes the way this season’s schedule falls in his new seven-team league, as opposed to the old nine-team loop.
West used to play some conference games before the Christmas tourney, but not this time.
“Our schedule is clearly divided into three parts now,” he said. “The first part’s over. Now we can focus on conference play against good teams like A.L. Brown and Mooresville.”
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M.I.A:North big man Junior Farmer didn’t show for the Cavaliers third-place game against Davie County.
Cavalier coach Kelly Everhart said two players tried to pick Farmer up before the game.
“I don’t know where he is, I don’t know why he didn’t show up,”Everhart said.“Two players said they went by to get him and talked to family members, but they didn’t talk to him, so I don’t want to speculate what’s going on there.
“I don’t know if he’ll be back.”
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MORE ISSUES: North took the court for warmups with only eight players.
Two showed up about four minutes before tip-off, and the team seemed on-edge after the loss.
“It’s frustrating; it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced,”Everhart said. “Right now, some of our players are going to have to decide if they want to be basketball players or not. If they’re going to be basketball players at North Rowan, they’re going to have to be on time and come ready to work.”
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DEE-FENSE: Davie came out determined to play better defense against North than it had against South in a 93-92 loss in double overtime.
The War Eagles limited North to 21-for-70 shooting from the field and forced 14 turnovers.
“We were intense today, and that was the difference,” Davie’s Dan Sullivan said.“Yesterday we came out and just went up and down the floor. We came out and played real tough tonight.”
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BIRTHDAY BOY:Sullivan, like South’s Katie Willett two days before, celebrated a birthday on Saturday.
Davie fans sang for Sullivan, who turned 18, five minutes before tip-off.
Sullivan received a birthday cake from Coach Jim Young’s daughter, Brittini, after the game.
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WHAT’S WRONG? Many fans were asking, “What’s wrong with Davie County’s Brittany Walker?”
Those fans remembered Walker as the flashy sophomore who won the Most Valuable Player of the Moir Classic last year. This year, she seemed slowed down by injuries. The War Eagle point guard had only one double-figure game in three outings and managed just 18 points.
Upon seeing her wearing a brace, most assumed the problem had to do with a bum knee. Coach Carol Cozart said that was the wrong assumption.
“She’s got shin splints,” Cozart said, “and we’ve been dealing with it since the start of school. We can’t figure out why they came. She doesn’t have a fall sport ... well, she plays golf but that usually doesn’t give you shin splints.”
Walker was seen bending over in pain several times during the team’s third-place game against West Rowan Saturday.
“It’s a nagging thing,” said Cozart. “Doctors say it might be tendinitis. Playing three days back-to-back hurt her.”
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I REMEMBER: Last season, Cozart’s team was the darling of the tournament, winning the Moir Classic. The War Eagles then promptly lost to Salisbury and a 1-15 West Forsyth club.
This year, Davie’s 1-2 record in the Moir might be a curious blessing in disguise.
“That was my speech in the locker room,” Cozart grinned.
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COULD’VE MADE ALL-MOIR: Players left off the all-tournament team that could’ve made it were:
- Salisbury’s Jamie Seay and Shayla Fields, each of whom scored 33 points in two games.
- Davie’s Sarah Williams, who scored 27 in one game and averaged 16 in three.
- East’s Belk scored 49 in two games, including a 31-point effort.
- Salisbury’s Sharmari Spears, who scored 36 points in two games, including a 22-point performance.
- South’s Corriher, who scored 12, 10 and 8 points.
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ALL-NAME TEAM: North’s Patience (Cuthbertson) and Marquita (Lipscomb), South’s Keosha (Mack), Davie’s Nemanja (Kreckovic)and Vuk Guberinic, Salisbury’s Sharmari (Spears) and North’s Dominique (Bates).
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GO FIGURE: Tournament director Dennis Davidson did some recent digging and discovered that the most lucrative tournaments have come on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, instead of playing the games on weekends.
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COMING OUT PARTIES: Players who opened some eyes in the tournament: Salisbury’s Seay, West’s Darren Ramsey, East’s Belk and North’s Marcus Mitchell.
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Ronnie Gallagher and Bret Strelow contributed to the notebook.
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