Fredrick, Gerald win boys basketaball awards

By: By Justin Driggers Morning News jdriggers@florencenews.com | SCNow
Published: March 22, 2009

There was a time when Tashan Fredrick didn’t know if he’d be back on the court for Hemingway this season.
There was also a time when Mullins coach Mark Gerald wasn’t sure he’d be back on the court at all.
Despite a shoulder injury suffered during football season, Fredrick came back to score nearly 25 points a game and lead the Tigers to the Class A lower state championship game.
Gerald, diagnosed with colon cancer, spent much of the offseason fighting to get back on the bench. He did and helped the Auctioneers erase last year’s bitter lower state championship loss by guiding them to their first state title game appearance in more than a decade.
For those efforts, Fredrick has been named the Morning News Player of the Year and Gerald has been named Morning News Coach of the Year.
“It was tough at first,” Fredrick said of his injury. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to do the things I normally do. But through hard work and rehab, I was able to play most of the year.”
Fredrick’s scoring average was down slightly from his junior year, but the Tennessee State commitment made up for it with a more balanced game. Fredrick was one of the top players on the team when it came to rebounds (10.1), steals (5.2) and assists (4.0).
“I wasn’t quite able to drive to the basket or shoot like I wanted to at first,” Fredrick said. “I had a young team around me and relied on them and they stepped up and made a lot of plays for us down the stretch.”
“I think this year, he allowed the game to come to him more,” Hemingway coach Barry McFadden said. “He didn’t have to do everything himself and was able to be a little more selective in what shots he took and when he needed to drive to the basket and make a play.”
For Gerald, this marks the second straight year the Aucs’ coach has won the award.
“It’s a tremendous honor; I know winning it two straight years is a rare thing,” Gerald said.
Knowing this season would only be successful if the Aucs made it to Columbia, Gerald put together a much tougher schedule that included games against Wilson and at the Beach Ball Classic.
“I knew we needed to play against some great competition if we wanted to make it back to the lower state championship,” Gerald said. “The kids responded really well and did everything I asked them to do. They put in the work to make it back.”
Winning lower state was cathartic for his players, and the season as a whole was therapeutic for him, Gerald said.
“The only time I don’t think I felt any pain was when I was at practice or during a game,” he said. “Coaching’s something I’ve always enjoyed and I enjoyed it even more this season.
“One of the things I told the kids was to come to every practice and every game like it was going to be the last time you ever played basketball. Because you never know.”

Fredrick, Gerald win boys basketaball awards

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