Ty Nichols and Emily Rosse Earn Top Honors
SPRINGFIELD, MA – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the recipients of the fifth annual Western Massachusetts Player of the Year awards - Ty Nichols of Putnam Vocational Technical High School and Emily Rosse of Hoosac Valley High School. The awards are presented annually at the Western Massachusetts Senior High School All-Star Games held Friday, March 20th on the Jerry Colangelo Court of Dreams at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“We, at the Hall of Fame, take great pride in recognizing our local athletes. We’ve watched Ty and Emily evolve as players and people over the last few years, playing in many Hoophall events along the way,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We are pleased to recognize them for their accomplishments and wish them tremendous success in the future.”
The fifth annual boys’ basketball Player of the Year Award will be presented to Ty Nichols from Putnam Vocational Technical High School. Averaging 16.7 points per game, Nichols is the leading scorer of the defending State Champion Putnam Beavers. He was awarded All-League honors the past two seasons and is a vital part of his team as a leader and player. Off the court, Nichols is an honor roll student who has served as a Putnam High School organizer for Project Purple, an initiative of the Herren Project, which helps individuals and families dealing with substance abuse. Nichols is currently undecided on where he will attend college in the fall, but his top choices include Keene St. and Western Connecticut.
The fifth annual girls’ basketball Player of the Year Award will be presented to Emily Rosse from Hoosac Valley High School. Emily Rosse was named to the All-Berkshire Eagle First Team the past two seasons and the Division III First Team All-Western Massachusetts last year. She has been selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Division II and Division III Western Mass. Tournament the past two years. Also recognized for her character, Rosse received the Girls Sportsmanship award from the local Officials board. As a 4-year varsity player, she guided her team to three league titles, two Western Mass. titles and a Division III State Finals appearance, while scoring over 1,300 points in her career. Colleges Rosse is looking at for next year include Norwich, Colby-Sawyer, Anna Maria and Emmanuel.
The Player of the Year award winners were selected by a distinguished panel of local media members. Criteria for the awards include achievement on the court, sportsmanship and character off the court.
Tickets for the All-Star game will be available at the Hall of Fame box office the night of the games and will be good for all three games that evening. The first game tips-off at 5:30 p.m. featuring the Division II, III and IV boys, the second game at 7 p.m. showcases the top girls in Western Massachusetts and the final game of the evening will be the Division I boys at 8:30 p.m.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate, men and women.
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