The 2019 All-Crossroads basketball team is heavy on underclassmen, featuring eight juniors, a sophomore and an eighth-grader on the 14-player team.
Seven boys and seven girls were chosen from nominations made by the various head coaches by Austin Bishop, sports editor of The Winona Times and The Conservative.
Carroll Academy led the way with three girls and two boys on the team, while Winona Christian School had two girls and two boys, Winona High School and two boys and a girl and J.Z. George had one boy and one girl each.
Making the Boys team were Reed Fulton and Logan Taylor of Carroll Academy, Reed Roberts and Latham Hill of Winona Christian School, Sean Merritt and Dre Bays of Winona, and Malik Branch of J.Z. George.
On the Girls team are Sandy Rhea Tackett, Belle Sanders and Gracie Turner of Carroll Academy; Sara Burden White and Bella Roberts of Winona Christian School, Tommesha Brown of Winona and Tashanda Fleming of J.Z. George.
Here is a player-by-player breakdown of the team in alphabetical order:
• DRE BAYS, Sr., Winona; The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. Winona coach Presley Coleman called him a "high-energy player who gave us all he had."
• MALIK BRANCH, Jr., J.Z. George: Branch, a 5-foot-9 guard, averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.4 assists for the Jaguars.
• TOMMESHA BROWN, Sr., Winona: The 5-foot point guard averaged 14.7 points per game for the Lady Tigers, including a 34-point outing against Ethel.
• TASHANDA FLEMING, Jr. J.Z. George: The 5-foot-10 guard scored 13 points per game while claiming five rebounds an outing.
• REED FULTON, Jr. Carroll Academy: The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 18.3 points, 14.1 points and 5.1 blocks per game. He was named MVP of MAIS 1-AA and a two time member of the All-District team.
• LATHAM HILL, Jr., Winona Christian School: The 6-foot-3 wall forward was an all-district selection who scored 12 points per game. "He's a great kid with a great attitude and a love for the game," said WCS coach Keith Ware.
• SEAN MERRITT, So., Winona: The 6-foot-6 center shot 65 percent from the field while averaging 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds a contest. "He gave us a low-post scoring presence and was aggressive on rebounding the basketball," said Winona coach Presley Coleman.
• BELLA ROBERTS, 8th Grade, Winona Christian School: The 5-foot-9 guard/forward averaged 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals a game and was named to the North AA All-Tournament team. "She had a great year," said WCS coach Lee Hazlewood. "She's going to be a good one."
• REED ROBERTS, Jr., Winona Christian School: The 6-foot-1 guard is an all-district selection who scored 11.58 points a game. "He's the type of player that opponents had to account for due to his potential to score a lot," said WCS coach Keith Ware.
• BELLE SANDERS, Sr., Carroll Academy: The 5-foot-5 guard averaged 8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 steals per game and was named to an all-district and all-tournament team. "She gives 100 percent all the time," said CA coach Sherry Fulton. "She hustles on both ends of the floor and is always encouraging her teammates."
• SANDY RHEA TACKETT, Sr. Carroll Academy: The 5-foot-8 shooting guard averages 11.2 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per contest and 2.9 steals an outing. She played in the All-Star game and made the all-district and all-tournament team. "She is an all-around good player that the team looked to for leadership," Coach Fulton said.
• LOGAN TAYLOR, Jr., Carroll Academy: The 5-foot-10 point guard dished out 8.2 assists per game while scoring 10.3 points and recording 4.7 steals an outing. He made the all-district team for the second straight year.
• GRACIE TURNER, Jr. Carroll Academy: The 5-foot-9 junior forward/post averaged 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 steals a contest. She was named all-district and all-tournament. "She is a key defensive player who gives you all she has," Coach Fulton said.
• SARAH BURDEN WHITE, Jr. Winona Christian School: The 5-foot-9 forward averaged 12 points and four rebounds a contest. "She was the consummate team player," coach Hazlewood said. "When we needed a basket, she was the one who could go get it."
• HONORABLE MENTIONS: Girls are Jada Mims, Winona Christian; Natayah Basin, J.Z. George; Tyeshia Grant, J.Z. George; Mycala Brown, Winona; Tatyana Womack, Winona. Boys are Austin Smith, Carroll Academy; James Shelton, Winona; Ceasa Glenn, J.Z. George; Devantae Smith, J.Z. George.
