Boys hoops Player of Year: Tavon Sledge
Tavon Sledge averaged 25.8 points per game and 7 assists per game for Half Hollow Hills West. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
When he visited the Iowa State campus on his recruiting trip, Tavon Sledge didn't just check out the basketball facilities or sample the dorm food. No, the Half Hollow Hills West point guard, a huge fan of television cooking shows, had an appetite for something more.
"I went to the restaurant area and went behind the scenes into the kitchen to see a lot of the kinds of things I saw on TV, only in real life," said Sledge, who committed to Iowa State last fall. "I want to be a chef or possibly own my own restaurant someday. I'm definitely majoring in culinary arts. They have a great program. That was a big part of my decision, too."
Sledge, a 5-8 dynamo with explosive speed and athleticism who has been Long Island's most-electrifying player for two seasons, was the main ingredient for Hills West. His recipe featured bold leadership, a zesty spirit and a hunger for victory that permeated the Colts in 2010-11.
"Tavon is a winner. Losing is not an option for him," Hills West coach Bill Mitaritonna said. "Tavon made everyone around him better."
For his role in leading the school to its second straight Long Island championship and trip to the state tournament in Glens Falls, Sledge was named Newsday's boys basketball Player of the Year and the winner of the 2011 Sandler Award as Suffolk County Player of the Year.
He averaged 25.8 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals.
"He's a special individual who has incredible basketball talent," Mitaritonna said.
Those talents were served up in an especially tasty basketball feast March 13 in the Long Island championship game at Stony Brook University. Sledge used every utensil in his kitchen that day, scoring an LIC-record 46 points in a pulsating double-overtime victory over Elmont, including 13 points in the two overtimes.
"I wasn't taking losing in the Long Island championship easy. I felt like going back upstate was so important," Sledge said. "It was my goal to take a lot of players that weren't on the team last year and let them have an experience that they might not be a part of again. I told Coach I wasn't going to lose that game. And I did whatever I could to win."
Mitaritonna recalled sitting calmly on the bench during the second overtime, seemingly oblivious to tension that was thick enough to slice with a carving knife. "How can you be so relaxed?" a courtside observer asked Mitaritonna after a timeout.
The coach just pointed to the court, where Sledge was standing, and said, "I've got him."
For two years, Sledge was like comfort food for the Colts, delivering gourmet performances in the biggest games. At Glens Falls, he was matched against Jabarie Hinds of Mount Vernon, co-winner of the state's Mr. Basketball award. Sledge outscored Hinds, 18-10, with a lockdown defensive job that made a statement against an old AAU rival who is headed to West Virginia.
"I love those games. I knew who I was going up against. The whole week of practice, I got ready to live up to my matchup and guard their best player," Sledge said. "I felt like that game was go hard or go home. When you're upstate, you can't take a play off. If it involved me bringing it up and dribbling the whole game and guarding their best player the whole game, I was up for the task."
At college, where Sledge said he envisions taking the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament next year, his menu will include a dash of basketball and a dollop of cooking classes.
"I don't really cook much now, but I have friends who are actual chefs," said Sledge, whose favorite food is pasta. "Cooking could be like basketball for me -- something that relaxes me and takes my mind off certain things in life. I can see myself behind a stove someday."
On the court, or in the kitchen, Sledge adds spice.
