Leading off today: Shenendehowa's
Ken Strube, Section 2's career leader in girls victories with 512, has been named the District Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Strube is one of nine district honorees from across the country and is eligible for National Coach of the Year, an honor that went to Andy Zihlman of Dallas Bishop Lynch a year ago. He will serve as an assistant coach in the WBCA High School All-American game at the University of South Florida on April 5.
Strube was nominated for the award by district chairman Bob Mackey, the coach at Christ The King.
Gatorade honors Commack star: Ohio State-bound Sammy Prahalis of Commack was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in New York girls basketball.
Prahalis averaged 30 points as a senior and finished her career as a six-year starter with 2,372 points.
The Bethlehem situation: Times Union columnist Mark McGuire chimed in this morning with a well-argued piece on the situation in Bethlehem, which I summarized yesterday. The short story is that athletes are being forced to choose between playing sports or taking part in a relief mission to help Hurricane Katrina victims.
McGuire made several valid observations in support of the student athletes, not the least of which is the fact that there is a community-service requirement for graduation at Bethlehem.