By By Matthew Nascone
Andrew Lambeth and Frank Taylor were honored during the last week of March with one of the highest honors a high school senior basketball player can be honored with. They were each named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State Second Team.
Lambeth for his participation in AISA with the Escambia Academy Cougars and Taylor as an Escambia County Blue Devil in Class 4A of the AHSAA.
Taylor said it was an exciting feeling to be named to the squad.
"It feels great to have accomplished that," Taylor said. "I have never had anything like that happen to me."
Taylor has many colleges interested in signing him and he knows this could only be good for his chances of playing college ball.
"I hope making this team will get the attention of the scouts so I can have a better chance to go to college and be successful," Taylor said.
ECHS head coach Jerome Antone said he is proud of his player.
"First of all, this could not happen to a better person," Antone said. "Frank is such a hard worker and I told him all the hard work would pay off sometime and that time is now. I know he will be successful at the next level and I am glad he was named All-State."
Antone said it has been at least a decade since an athlete from ECHS was named to an ASWA All-State team.
Taylor compiled 696 total points last season, good for a 24.0 points per game average. He also averaged 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks per game. He posted six double-doubles on the season and was the Blue Devils emotional leader on and off the court, according to Antone.
Lambeth on the other hand averaged 21.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.3 steals per game in his senior season with the Cougars. If he was not popping a three-pointer, he was firing a laser pass inside to a teammate.
"I think he is very deserving of being a part of that team," EA head coach Kevin Woods said. "I would say Andrew is an extremely hard worker. And he did everything I asked him to do. He deserves all the awards he receives."
Lambeth was not available for comment as of press time.
Lambeth has also been shopping around the offers from colleges. He has had a couple schools looking at him all year and he caught the eye of other schools when he represented Alabama in a national AAU tournament last summer.
The Atmore area had these two representatives on their respective Second Team as well as an honorable mention for Escambia County's Jasmine Sanders.
Sanders averaged 13.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 3.8 assists and 3.2 steals per game in 2006-07. She also recorded 22 double-doubles and seven triple-doubles.