Senior guards Tajmin Holt (Early College) and Zion Morrison (East High) were named Rochester City Athletic Conference (RCAC) players of the Year as announced by the league on Tuesday. Both 1,000-point career scorers, Holt (15 ppg, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists) led the Cobras to a 13-7 regular season record and a spot in Wednesday’s Class B semi-finals where they will face top-seeded Mynderse. After winning the past two C1 titles, Early College is looking for its third championship in a row.
Morrison (24.8 ppg, 5 assists and 3 steals) led East High to a 14-6 regular season mark. The Eagles will face No.2-seed Greece Athena in the Class A1 semi-finals. East took the 2014 A1 title along with the 2010 and 2012 AA2 crowns. The Eagles hold the all-time record with 24 Section Five titles.
McQuaid’s Jack Leasure and Leadership Academy’s Reggie Simmons garnered RCAC Coach of the Year honors. Leasure and the Jesuit Knights overcame injuries to starters Thomas Jones and Isaiah Stewart to finish 14-6. McQuaid has advanced to the AA semis-finals where they face UPrep Wednesday night at the Blue Cross Arena.
Simmons and Leadership made the jump from Class B to finish with a 16-4 mark and top seed in A2. After opening the season with three losses in their first four games, the Lions won their last seven regular season games and 15 of 16.
Morrison is a prototypical East High guard, who is active and aggressive on defense and makes seamless a transition from defense to offense. With quick, lateral movements the 6-foot-3 guard cut down passing lanes and disrupted opposing offenses. He is at his best going off the dribble and finishing at the rim with either hand. Morrison is a fierce rebounder who is strong enough to corral caroms in traffic and make outlet passes to teammates, yet has a sixth sense knowing when to leak out in transition.
Morrison’s teammate, Windell Lucas, joined him on the first team. Lucas, a 1,000-point scorer as well, averaged 20.3 points, eight rebounds and four steals per game. Monroe’s Rayshawn Boswell (21 ppg) and Chris Gibson (13 ppg and 14 rpg) garnered first-team honors. McQuaid’s Anthony Iglesia (13.6 ppg, 5.5 assists) and Edison Tech’s Marique Simkin (23.4 points, 4.7 assists and three steals) rounded out the first team.
Edison’s Amari Holland (15 ppg), Jahrel Holt and Chaz McKinney (10 ppg, 8.0 rebounds) earned second-team Upper Division honors. Monroe’s Jonathan Jones (11 ppg) along with McQuaid’s Divine Williams (10.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 2.5 assists) and Cam Wilson (7.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 5.7 blocks) completed the second team.
Holt missed the early part of the season after having surgery in September to repair a broken foot suffered during summer league play. A daring shooter with range out to 25 feet, he can put the ball to floor where he uses his 185-pound frame to bounce off would-be defenders. A talented distributor in transition, Holt understands when to give up ball on the break and when to finish. He is an intelligent defender who reads angles well and cuts off opponents looking to drive to basket.
Fellow Early College Cobra Bryan Harrell (19.4 ppg, 10.8 rebounds) joined Holt on the Lower Division First Team. Wilson’s Robert Davis (16.6 ppg), Leadership’s Dezmere Ellis (17 ppg, 6.0 assists), NE Douglass’s Jiahmere Mitchell (18.6 ppg) and World of Inquiry’s CeyQuan Salmon (1,000-point career scorer as a junior, 22 ppg) also earned first-team honors.
Early College’s Jagdeep Drumgoole (9.6 ppg, 4.3 rebounds) and Shandare Figgins (11.9 ppg, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists) nabbed second-team honors with Leadership’s Ty-Meek Mackie (13 ppg, 6.0 rebounds) and Rondell Watson (14 ppg, 3.0 steals). Torrence Phillips (14.6 ppg, 3.8 rebounds) and Daiquon Turner (15.4 ppg, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 4.4 assists) of NE Douglass rounded out the second team.
UPPER DIVISION Player of the Year: Zion Morrison (East)
UPPER DIVISION First Team All-Stars:
Rayshawn Boswell – Jr, G, Monroe
Chris Gibson – Jr, F, Monroe
Anthony Iglesia – Jr, G, McQuaid
Windell Lucas – Sr, G, East
Zion Morrison – Sr, G, East
Marique Simkin – Sr, G, Edison
UPPER DIVISION Second Team All-Stars:
Amari Holland – Sr, G, Edison
Jahrel Holt – Sr, F, Edison
Jonathan Jones – Jr, G, Monroe
Chaz McKinney – Sr, G, Edison
Divine Williams – Jr, G, McQuaid
Cam Wilson – Sr, C, McQuaid
UPPER DIVISION Coach of the Year: Jack Leasure (McQuaid)
LOWER DIVISION Player of the Year: Tajmin Holt (Early College)
LOWER DIVISION First Team All-Stars:
Robert Davis – Soph, G, Wilson
Desmere Ellis – Jr, G, Leadership
Bryan Harrell – Sr, F, Early College
Tajmin Holt – Sr, G, Early College
Jiahmere Mitchell – Soph, G, NE Douglass
CeyQuan Salmon – Jr, G/F, WOI
LOWER DIVISION Second Team All-Stars:
Jagdeep Drumgoole – Sr, G, Early College
Shandare Figgins – Sr, G, Early College
Tymeek Mackie – Sr, G, Leadership
Torrence Phillips – Sr, G, NE Douglass
Daiquon Turner – Sr, G, NE College Prep
Rondell Watson – Soph, G, Leadership
RCAC Honorable Mention: Mecca Anderson (SOTA), Justin Brumfield (SOTA), Desi Floyd (Wilson), Dylan Foster (Edison), Terrell June (WOI), Patrick Phillips (Wilson), Jaquane Reed (Leadership), Milton Simmons (Leadership).
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