Apprentice School junior guard Terrence Palmer was named the Hampton Roads Sports Commission Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday night at its annual Celebration of College Athletics awards night held at the Newport News City Marriott.
The HRSC honors football, men's basketball and women's basketball players from all colleges in the Hampton Roads area – Apprentice School, Christopher Newport University, College of William & Mary, Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University and Virginia Wesleyan College. Last year's banquet just honored football and this year they added basketball awards.
Palmer saw action in various roles and guarded any leading scorer he was asked to. A Kecoughtan High graduate, he helped hold an eventual third-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection to a season low one point as the Builders defeated then 20th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan in early January. Ten days later he contained a 6-foot-7 forward from Barber-Scotia to 15 points, six rebounds and six turnovers as the Builders won the first game of the Martin Luther King Classic. That same forward averaged 24 points and 15 rebounds in their other two games.
Apprentice School Head Coach Franklin Chatman was very complimentary of Palmer and receiving this award. "Palmer epitomized our motto, ' Hard Work – No Excuses'. No matter if he started, came off the bench, guarded a center or point guard, he went to work. He got major minutes for us due to his consistent and strong defensive efforts throughout the year," Chatman said.
For the year, Palmer averaged 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as the Builders finished 17-10 on the season.
Other Award Winners from the Hampton Roads Sports Commission Celebration of College Athletics
Offense Men Bkb- Pendarvis Williams, Norfolk State
Defense Men Bkb- Terrence Palmer, Apprentice School
Offense Women's Bkb - Keiara Avant, Hampton Univ.
Defense Women's Bkb - Janine Aldridge, College of W&M
Offense Football - Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion Univ.
Defense Football - Evan Moog, Christopher Newport