Brown honored in region, state

Galax boys’ basketball coach Verl Brown has been named the coach of the year in both the region and the state after leading the Maroon Tide to the first state championship in program history.

Craig Worrell

Verl Brown, shown accepting the Group A Division 1 state championship trophy from Galax principal Bill Sutherland, was named the state and region coach of the year.

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Brown, in his 14th season as the Tide head coach, guided Galax to a 26-2 record in 2010-11, winning the Mountain Empire, Region C Division 1 and Group A Division 1 championships.

Brown, who has been coaching at Galax for 32 years, has seen his teams advance to the Group A Division 1 state tournament each of the past four years. After reaching the state semifinals in 2008, the Maroon Tide was eliminated in the quarterfinal round the next two years before making it all the way this month. Galax squeaked past Luray 52-51 in overtime in the state semifinals and brought home the state title with a 49-47 win over Page County on March 11.

Rick Cormany of state champion Radford was voted the coach of the year in Group A Division 2.

Grayson County’s Eric Harvey was named to the all-Region C first team, joining Brad Wooten (Eastern Montgomery), Dontae Carter (Radford), Zach Stinnett (Parry McCluer) and Chris Ware (James River).

A 6-foot-3 senior, Harvey averaged 23.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as the Blue Devils finished with an 18-7 record. Harvey ended his career with 1,596 points. He was also an honorable mention all-Group A pick.

Galax point guard Justin Hash was voted second-team all-Region C after averaging about 14 point and five assists per game. He will long be remembered for his game-tying 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left in regulation that sent Galax into overtime in the state semifinals against Luray.

Tyler Rutherford, who averaged 13 points and 8.8 rebounds and who topped 1,000 career points this season, was an honorable mention all-region choice.

Allison White, who helped lead Galax to the Group A Division 1 state tournament, was named to the honorable mention girls’ list in Region C after averaging 9.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

2010-11 all-Region C boys’ basketball team

First team

Brad Wooten, sr., Eastern Montgomery; Dontae Carter, sr., Radford; Eric Harvey, sr., Grayson County; Zach Stinnett, jr., Parry McCluer; Chris Ware, sr., James River.

Player of the year

Brad Wooten, EastMont

Div. 1 coach of the year

Verl Brown, Galax

Div. 2 coach of the year

Mike Goad, James River

Second team

Rhett Sturgill, sr., Chilhowie; Justin Hash, sr., Galax; Julian Stewart, sr., Eastern Montgomery; Jerome Alexander, sr., Radford; Shawn Christian, sr., Eastern Montgomery.

Honorable mention

Jared Smith, sr., Fort Chiswell; Tyler Rutherford, sr., Grayson County; Brock Lusk, sr., Narrows; Colby Bosserman, sr., Bath County; Tyler Kerr, sr., Parry McCluer; Michael Watts, sr., Parry McCluer; Aaron Spradlin, sr., Rural Retreat; Hardy Lester, soph., George Wythe; Matthew Thompson, sr., Rural Retreat; Cody Hawkins, sr., Holston.

2010-11 all-Region C girls’ basketball team

First team

Maryah Sydnor, sr., Radford; Cadence Wilmoth, jr., Patrick Henry; Nancy Thacker, sr., Fort Chiswell; Sa’Mone Moore, fr., Covington; Danielle Catron, fr., Chilhowie.

Player of the year

Maryah Sydnor, Radford

Div. 1 coach of the year

Keith Lindsay, Bath County

Div. 2 coach of the year

Kevin Conner, Radford

Second team

Kelsey Weddle, sr., Patrick Henry; Jessie Strom, jr., Glenvar; Angela Herscher, sr., Bath County; Cameron Snidow, sr., Narrows; Carlytta Hamm, sr., Fort Chiswell.

Honorable mention

Lyndsay Jackson, jr., Giles; Krista Cox, jr., Floyd County; Elizabeth Carter, sr., Radford; Allison White, jr., Galax; Savanna Burton, jr., Narrows; Ashley King, soph., James River; Jailyn Ford, jr., Bath County; Shanice Law, sr., Covington; Kristen Atwell, soph., George Wythe; Tori Blevins, jr., Northwood.