Tyonne Malone and Callie Cavanaugh Earn Top Honors
SPRINGFIELD, MA – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the recipients of the sixth annual Western Massachusetts Player of the Year awards - Tyonne Malone of Putnam Vocational Technical Academy and Callie Cavanaugh of Holyoke High School. The awards are presented annually at the Western Massachusetts Senior High School All-Star Games held Friday, March 25th on the Jerry Colangelo Court of Dreams at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“Tyonne and Callie are great representatives of Western Massachusetts and the basketball talent that continues to emerge from our region,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “As outstanding student-athletes who have played in many Hoophall events along the way, we are pleased to recognize them for their accomplishments this season.”
The sixth annual boys’ basketball Player of the Year Award will be presented to Tyonne Malone, a senior from Putnam Vocational Technical Academy. As a captain of the 2015-2016 Putnam Beavers, Malone is averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game to date. Although he is having tremendous success on the court, his proudest achievement this season is his 3.0 grade point average. Malone’s coaches attribute his commitment to academics and his maturation as a leader to the overall success of the team this season. Malone is determined to continue his education and become a major contributor for a college basketball program next year.
The sixth annual girls’ basketball Player of the Year Award will be presented to Callie Cavanaugh, a junior from Holyoke High School. Cavanaugh is a three-year varsity player for the Knights. She was named to the All-League and All-Western Mass. Teams the past two seasons and the Super 7 Team her sophomore and junior year. This season, Cavanaugh surpassed the 1,000-point mark and has scored 1,315 points in her career to date. She is the leading scorer in the region averaging 26.3 points per game, along with 15 rebounds, six assists and four blocks for the Holyoke Knights.
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 games will be available at the Hall of Fame box office the night of the games, Friday, March 25th, 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 and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.
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