Allmon, Hollifield honored

Published 12:00 am Friday, March 27, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ó Aubrey Hollifield finally gave championship-starved Shelby something to celebrate on the basketball court.
Now comes another honor for the coach: After leading the Golden Lions to their first state title in hoops, he has been named Associated Press boys prep basketball coach of the year for North Carolina.
“It’s been a special, magical trip,” said Hollifield, who was a basketball and football coach at A.L. Brown before heading to Shelby. The former Wake Forest football player came to Kannapolis, along with Ron Massey, from Kings Mountain.
Hollifield received six of a possible 16 votes cast by sports writers across the state in results released Thursday.
Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor’s Andy Muse finished second with four votes after leading his team to a 31-1 record and its first 4A championship.
The award went to Hollifield after he helped put Shelby over the hump.
The Golden Lions reached the title game in 2006 only to lose by three points to Burlington Cummings. They had lost in the regional playoffs in each of the past two years and had never won a state championship in men’s basketball.
That changed this year. Behind Eric Mayo, Shelby (29-2)won 13 straight games to end the season and beat Northwood for the 2A title.
The championship was a result of Shelby’s focused offseason routine in which the players played roughly 30 summer games, and the community staged “Midnight Basketball” on Friday nights.
“These kids dedicated the whole month of June to basketball,” Hollifield said. “Some weekends they could barely walk.”
Girls Coach of the Year
Nothing was going to keep Terry Allmon from leading the East Davidson girls basketball team. Not even cancer.
The coach who fought through a diagnosis of prostate cancer to guide the Eagles to a 37-game winning streak has been named Associated Press girls prep basketball coach of the year for North Carolina.
Allmon received eight of a possible 16 votes cast by sports writers from across the state.
Allmon led East Davidson (31-1) to the regional final, where his team lost to Salisbury after winning the first three meetings. His team, perhaps inspired by its determined coach, won its first 31 games, and his senior class claimed its 105th victory before losing to the Hornets.
Allmon underwent surgery Wednesday.
Local nominees
The AP All-State team was released Wednesday and was in Thursday’s Post. Salisbury’s Shi-Heria Shipp was on the ballot for the girls team, while West Rowan’s K.J. Sherrill and South Rowan’s Hunter Morrison were on the boys ballot.Salisbury’s Jason Causby and Andrew Mitchell were among those considered for coach of the year honors.