All Eyes On Hills West's Tavon Sledge

After losing the State Class AA boys basketball championship to Glens Falls, as well as star senior brothers, (Tennessee) and (St. Benedict's Prep), all eyes at Hills West High School turn to Tavon Sledge for the 2010-11 season.

“Tavon, I don’t think he’s from this planet, to be honest,” said teammate Anthony Rollino.

After averaging 17.8 points per game and 10.4 assists and 3.1 steals last year, Sledge, who has committed to Iowa State for the fall, has led his team to a 6-3 start (5-1 League IV) while averaging over 24 PPG. It’s an impressive record for most, but not for the defending Long Island champions.

Sledge, who has run the point for most of his basketball career, recently switched to shooting guard while teammate Rollino took over the point after a two-game losing streak. Since the switch, Hills West is 3-0 in league play with one loss to Lincoln High, one of the best teams in the state. Sledge scored 35 points in his first game as a two-guard against Bellport.

“I’ve never lost three games in a year in my life before and I doubt a couple players on this team have either. This year we don’t have Tobias or Tyler, so we have to do extra stuff and put in a lot more hard work,” Sledge said. “[The switch] gives me an opportunity to shoot a little more and help the team out in other ways as far as rebounding and defensively.”

 The Cyclone

While Sledge’s focus is on his final season at Hills West, he is excited about his prospects becoming an Iowa State Cyclone where he will play under Fred Hoiberg.

“Iowa State was [different] from all the other schools I visited,” Sledge said. “I’m all about starting new things and showing I can actually go to a Big 12 school like Iowa and do good things. It gives me a chance to play against different high level players from all around the nation.”

Everyone knows about Sledge’s scoring ability, speed and quickness, but there are some concerns about his abilities to run the point (where he will play at Iowa State), as well as his size.

“I’ve been doing push ups every night,” Sledge said. “I can’t really lift weights in season but I’ve been trying to eat right, trying to gain a couple more pounds because I know next year in college everyone’s going to be just as fast as me and bigger and stronger than me so I know I have to improve my game.”

Coach Mitaritonna, who is coaching Sledge for the second season after his transfer from St. Benedict’s Prep last season, has noticed improvements in his game from last year but also knows that he still has a ways to go in order to compete at a high level in college.

“His improvement has been his jump shot,” he said. “He’s more of a set shooter now. He’s starting to understand the half court game more because he’s always been an up and down player. He can set up a play and set up his man. His defense still needs improvement though. He needs to learn how to control his body. He has such athletic ability…but he has to learn when to slow himself down and not get charges on him.”

Chef Sledge?

Second to Sledge’s love of basketball is his love for the culinary arts, which actually played a major role in his choosing of Iowa State.

“I’ve always loved watching cooking shows and just always wanted to be a cook,” Sledge said. “I don’t have any specialties yet but next year I’ll be able to get into it more when I actually start to cook. Not that many schools have the Culinary Arts major so that had a big impact on my decision.”

The Near Future

As a high school senior, it’s hard not to get ahead of yourself and anticipate your future at college and beyond. Sledge has made sure to make the 2010-11 season for Hills West his main priority. They are now 3-1 in their last four games and have their sights set on not only another Long Island championship, but a state championship as well.

“For the team I think we just have to get into the habit of playing consistently and doing everything that coach preaches to us in practice,” Sledge said. “I feel like once we get more consistent on defense I feel like there’s no team in New York or in America that can beat us. We’re all one, we play together.”