The Apprentice School basketball teams held their post-season awards banquet on Tuesday night at the Point Plaza hotel where all of their post-season awards were handed out.
Five men's basketball players and six women's basketball players were recognized for their outstanding efforts during the 2010-11 season. The men's team finished 12-13, while the women's team went 18-9 and finished seventh at the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association nationals in Uniontown, Pa.
Freshman George Shelton was the recipient of the Determination Award. The newcomer from Moore, S.C. played in 16 games this year and started one. He scored a season high seven points and dished out a season best four assists in a home win over Barber-Scotia College in the Martin Luther King Classic in January. Shelton, a rigger apprentice, also hauled in a season best three rebounds at Penn State York.
The Most Improved Newcomer award went to freshman Darrell Fenton. The New Kent, VA. native averaged nearly six points per game and topped the team in blocked shots with 26. He was second on the team in field goal percentage hitting right at 50% from the field. Fenton scored in double figures five times with a high of 13 points at NCAA Division II Virginia State. He blocked a season best six shots in a home win over Williamson Trade. Fenton is a coating specialist apprentice.
Freshman Latrone Demiel earned the Rookie of the Year honors for the men. Demiel, a native of Suffolk, VA., averaged 6.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while leading the team in 3-pointers made with 34. He scored in double figures seven times with a high of 13 points at NCAA Division II Washington Adventist University. Demiel had season highs in rebounds (6) and steals (4) at Va. Wesleyan while matching the steal total against Rhema Bible. He is a coating specialist apprentice.
Sophomore Tevin Andrews was named the recipient of the Coaches Award. Andrews, a native of Brundidge, AL., was a first team USCAA All-American after averaging 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and nearly three assists per game. He hit a team-best 52.5% from the field and scored in double figures in 24 of 25 games with nine double-doubles. Andrews scored a career best 31 points in a home loss to NCAA Division II University of District of Columbia and had a career best 15 rebounds against eventual USCAA National Champion Southern Virginia. He is a rigger apprentice.
Earning Men's Basketball Most Valuable Player honors was junior Isaih Harrison. The Abbeville, LA. native was named to the USCAA All-American team for the second straight year after averaging 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds with 18 double-doubles. Harrison scored over 25 points in 11 games while pouring in a season-best 30 points against UDC. His rebounding average topped the USCAA while he was second in scoring. Harrison hauled in a career-best 19 rebounds in a road win at NCAA Division II St. Andrews Presbyterian College. He is a sheet metal apprentice. Harrison set or tied six school records including points scored (553), scoring average (22.1), free throws made and attempted (150-of-202) and rebounds (293). He is a sheet metal apprentice.
For the women's team Tyisha Battle won the Best Defensive Player award. The senior from Danville, VA., scored a season-high 21 points in her final collegiate game in the USCAA Nationals against Penn State Brandywine and hauled in a season-best 12 rebounds against Southern Virginia. She scored in double figures in seven games, while hauling in double figures in rebounds in three with a pair of double-doubles. She ended the year averaging 7.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, with 14 blocks and 24 steals. She is an outside machinist apprentice.
Freshman Danita Whitaker earned the Most Improved Player award following a rookie season that saw her start her career with six of her first seven games scoring in double figures. She opened with a 21-point, 12 rebound outing at Southern Maine CC and had eight games of at least 11 rebounds to go along with 12 games in double figures scoring. Whitaker hauled in a season best 16 rebounds in her hometown of Rocky Mount, N.C. against N.C. Wesleyan while matching the 21 points for a season best against Washington Adventist. A rigger apprentice, Whitaker averaged 10 points, 8.4 rebounds and shot a team high 52.2% from the field.
Freshman Courtney Collins was named the team's Best Offensive Player following her first season where she topped the team in scoring average (10.8) and was among the leaders in rebounds (6.5), blocked shots (14) and steals (36). She was an honorable mention USCAA All-American as she had 10 games scoring in double figures, including the first six games of her career, topped by a 22-point outing at Goucher. Collins hauled in a season-best 11 rebounds against Penn State Fayette at the USCAA Nationals and dished out five assists in three games. She is an electrician apprentice.
Winning the Leadership Award was freshman Christina Licano. A native of Las Cruces, N.M., Licano joined the starting lineup in January and the team went 10-1 in her starts. Licano proved to be a constant team player and dished out 57 assists in 22 games at the point guard. Shot a team best 85% from the foul line which is the second highest single season total in school history. She dished out a season high nine assists against Berkeley College and scored 11 points against N.C. Wesleyan. She is a welder apprentice.
Junior Ashley Johnson earned the Best All-Around Award for the women's team. A native of Alamogordo, N.M., she averaged seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals per game while hitting 17 3-pointers on the season. She scored a season-high 16 points, hitting a season best four 3-pointers in the opening game of the USCAA Nationals against Penn State Beaver. Johnson had five games in double figures scoring and another five in a row with nine points. She hauled in a season high eight rebounds at Briarcliffe and dished out five assists at Bennett College. Johnson is an outside machinist apprentice.
Freshman Brittanie Herriott received the Coaches Award. A native of Virginia Beach, VA., she was a bundle of energy on the court in her first season always hustling. She scored a season high seven points in the final game of the USCAA Nationals against Penn State Brandywine. In a home win against Penn State Fayette in November she hauled in a season best four rebounds, four assists and had six steals. She is a maintenance electrician apprentice.