THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504090167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Antoine Willie, Nansemond River's sensational sophomore, was named Associated Press state Group AA player of the year Saturday and was joined on the Group AA all-state first team by Warriors teammate Montoria Valentine.
Willie and Valentine were joined on the AP's first team by Shannon Carter of Gate City, Martinsville's Mike Martin and Robbi Moose of Warren County.
Willie, a 6-foot shooting guard, averaged 28 points, five rebounds and 2.7 assists in leading the Warriors to the state Group AA title. In the state tournament, Willie scored a record 91 points in three games.
Willie scored 30 points in Nansemond River's 84-57 victory over Northside in the state championship game as the Warriors finished the season 26-2.
Willie also had a 52-point regular-season game, was named Region I player of the year and was selected to The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star All-Tidewater team, the first Group AA player to make that team in 20 years.
The question now: What can Willie do for an encore?
``I'll just continue to do the same things and play the same way,'' said Willie, 17. ``Our goal next year will be to win the state title again.''
While Willie was the offensive catalyst - ``Coach (Spencer) Mayfield is always telling me shooters got to keep shooting'' - Valentine was the defensive heart of the Warriors. The 6-3 junior guard/forward averaged 18.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Carter, a 6-1 senior, led the Region IV champions to a 21-3 mark with averages of 25 points and nine rebounds.
Martin, a 6-foot senior who moves up from the AP's second team last year, averaged 22.1 points in leading Martinsville to the Piedmont District regular-season title and an 18-6 record.
Moose, a 6-4 senior, averaged 30.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.5 steals for the Group AA quarterfinalists.
The coach of the year is Liberty's Mark Hanks. The AP's second-team selections are Willie Lam of Spotswood, Northside's Justin Porterfield, Andre Quarles of Louisa County, Liberty's Stephen Shrader and Damian Woolfolk of Caroline. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to theis report.
by CNB