Europe Athletes of the Week: Feb. 2, 2012
Calvin Hickman
Vilseck basketball
Last week - Hickman, a 6-foot-3 senior center, scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Saturday to lead his Falcons to a 55-46 home victory over previously unbeaten Patch.
According to his coach, John Sabala, Hickman - who has played at Vilseck for four years - also blocked four Patch shots, handed out two assists and played his usual leadership role for the 6-2 Falcons.
“He plays with tremendous energy,” Sabala wrote in a Tuesday email, “that the rest of the players feed from during the game.”
Coming as it did after Patch’s 58-41 victory on Friday, the victory was crucial to keeping Vilseck in the hunt for the Region III crown. Heidelberg leads the race at 6-0 and Patch is next at 7-1.
Hickman, who is averaging 19 points and seven rebounds per game and carries a 3.5 GPA in the classroom, “is one of several seniors who have taken on a leadership role for the team,” Sabala concluded. “Through his hard work and effort, Calvin puts himself in the right spot at key moments in games and is a player who wants to take shots when they matter most.”
Ceara Lafferty
AOSR basketball
Last week - Lafferty, a 6-foot-1 junior center who is averaging 16 points and 16 rebounds per game in 2012, burned Marymount International School of Rome for 22 points and 22 rebounds playing part-time Friday night in a 64-29 road romp. She also blocked four shots in a game which saw her convert six-of-eight free throws.
“Marymount is a young team that plays very hard, but is a bit undersized,” e-mailed American Overseas School of Rome coach John Lafferty on Tuesday. “Ceara had 15 points and 15 rebounds by halftime and played only in spots in the second half.”
His daughter has always been a solid rebounder and defender, Coach Lafferty wrote, but with the departure of scoring leader Martina Mannozzi, Lafferty and her teammates have taken up the scoring load, too, this season.
Coach Lafferty pointed out that his center didn’t merely exploit her size in amassing Friday’s totals. Playing at Aviano the previous Saturday against the Lady Saints’ 6-1 Katlyn Atchley, the younger Lafferty posted 20 points and 15 rebounds as AOSR emerged with a 53-43 victory.
