Mike Ridaught
Last week, The Rock boys basketball national team won its fifth Sunshine Independent Athletic Association (SIAA) state title in program history.
Austin Leslie was named MVP but, according to head coach Justin Harden, there was another player who stood out.
Junior Evan Sterck helped lead the Lions (25-8) to the championship by averaging 15.5 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game in wins against Victory Rock Prep (Sarasota) in the semifinals and DME Academy (Daytona Beach) in the championship game.
“I am happy for Austin to win MVP because he had a remarkable game making five big 3s on six shots and scoring 17 points,” Harden said. “But if you ask me who was most valuable for the tournament, I would say Evan because he also had 19 points in the semifinals against Victory Rock and another 12 against DME, all while dishing out 14 assists (seven in each game).”
Harden said his “defense was very solid in the fourth quarter.”
“He has been our MVP all season, especially when R.J. (Jones) was out, but he just makes us play better because he is such a good point guard, the best in the area by far,” Harden said.
Sterck has been the school’s starting point guard since he was a freshman because he possesses a high basketball IQ.
“Evan is a great player and winner,” Harden said. “He has a great skill set for handling the ball, passing, and this year he has become a more consistent scorer. He also competes on the defensive end which showed up in the championship game when he basically shut his man down while at the same time pushing us forward.”
This past season The Rock finished the regular season undefeated (10-0) in the SIAA for the first time in program history.
Sterck is the 27th athlete to be selected for the weekly award during the 2023-24 school year.
Last week’s winner was Ori Sela of the Gainesville High girls weightlifting team.
The junior finished as a state runner-up in two events at the FHSAA Girls Weightlifting State Championships at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. She helped lead the Lady Hurricanes to a 10th-place finish overall in the Traditional competition and a 9th-place finish in the Olympic competition.
Recent winners include Samantha Keith of the Countryside Christian girls’ basketball team and De’Mya Adams of the Hawthorne girls’ basketball team, which advanced to Friday’s Class 1A final four in Lakeland.
For a complete list of winners, click here.
Coaches can email their nominations each week, along with stats, no later than Sunday night to mike.ridaught@mainstreetdailynews.com.