Woodlands Imani Tilford Georgia Tech Bound

With 1:51 left in the Woodlands High School versus Ardsley High School game, a guard standing five feet and seven inches tall made a stutter-step driving jump shot and scored for Woodlands. Then she ran back on defense and blocked Ardsley center Nicolina Chenard’s lay-up, before wrestling the ball away to gain possession for Woodlands.

The name of that dynamic guard for the Woodlands Girl’s Basketball Team is senior Imani Tilford and you will be hearing a lot about her in the coming years.

Tilford has earned a full four-year athletic scholarship to Georgia Tech University. According to Woodlands Head Basketball Coach Ty Postell, Tilford will be the starting point guard for Georgia Tech Head Coach Joseph MaChelle and the Yellow Jackets next season.

“I often speak with Coach Joe, Assistant Coach Mike Wholey and the coaching staff at Georgia Tech. They are bringing Imani there to hand her the ball. The plan is for her to come in and start as their point guard,” stated Postell. “They are bringing her there to play along with Kaela Davis, who was last year’s number one high school player in the country,” emphasized Postell.

Davis is a freshman at Georgia Tech this year and has already garnished two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week honors. Davis, who is the daughter of Indiana Pacers legend Antonio Davis, is averaging 19 points per game.

Tilford was one of the most highly recruited high school girl’s basketball players in the country this year with over 30 Division 1 colleges competing for her talents. She is ranked by ESPN, as the number 17 best Girls High School Basketball guard in America.

“It is not just her offensive prowess. The big thing with her is that she has an endless motor, she is like a tiger,” commented Postell. “She will shoot the ball from the three-point line, try and get her own rebound and she will be the first person back on defense to take a charge,” depicted Postell.

Tilford is 17 years old and a native of Greenburgh. She comes from a lineage of great basketball stars that played for Woodlands High School. Her uncle, Robert (Tilly) Tilford played on the heralded mid 1960’s Woodlands teams. Also her cousin D’Andre Tilford is now playing for Westchester Community College, after having a stellar high school career at Woodlands. Furthermore, her mother Jackie Tilford was also a great basketball player.

Imani honed her basketball talents playing against boys at the renowned Greenburgh Community Center, on Manhattan Avenue, in Greenburgh. She competed against fierce competitors like her cousin D’Andre and former Stepinac High School great Josh James.

“Playing with boys is a lot harder than playing with girls, if I can get past a boy than I can get past a girl,” stated the Woodlands senior. Imani has played varsity basketball at Woodlands since eighth grade. “When I first started, I was in the gym at 6:00 in the morning before school and worked out after school as well,” she stated.

Imani’s mother Jackie was her first coach and she was quite noticeable screaming support for her daughter as Ardsley edged Woodlands 55-53, on Thursday, Jan. 16. “I am glad that Imani actually reached this milestone in her life just to let her know that all the hard work that she put in has paid off,” proudly stated Imani’s mother Jackie.

Postell, who took over the ranks as Head Coach of the Falcons during the 2011-12 season is also Tilford’s uncle. “Imani and I have been traveling all over the country, playing the top players in the country since she was 13 years old. I am very proud of her accomplishments,” declared Postell.

Matthew Smith has been the Athletic Director at Woodlands High School for six years and admires the work ethic and accomplishments of Tilford. “We are very proud of Imani. She has worked hard academically as well as athletically. She has a B plus average and that is why she was able to get into Georgia Tech,” stated Smith.

“It is really exciting. I really look forward to going to Georgia Tech,” commented Tilford. “I am really am not worried at all. I am scared because it is a bigger level but I know that I will do what I have to do,” stated Tilford.

On January 8, it was announced that Tilford was nominated to be a member of the 2014 McDonald’s All American Team. The 24-girl roster will be announced on ESPNU on January 29.                       

Neither the Flu Nor the Falcons Stop Tigers Winning Ways

Even the Flu has not stopped the White Plains Boy’s Basketball Team (10-1) from winning games. Flu-like symptoms afflicted the Tigers team last week. Tigers forward Kevin Trapp was ill and did not travel with the team to Woodlands High School, on Saturday.

Also, Tigers forward Cameron Crabbe did not play against Scarsdale, on Thursday, Jan. 16, while star guard Mike DeMello missed two games, including the Scarsdale game and the previous game against New Rochelle, on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Regardless, the Tigers routed New Rochelle 62-43, with four players scoring in double digits. Guard Chris Jordan had 10 points, Marshon Morris, 12 points, Jordan Tucker, 14 points and Justin Tapper had a game-high 18 points.

Then the ailing Tigers beat the Scarsdale High School, 47-36, without DeMello in the line-up. DeMello was still recovering from flu symptoms when the Tigers traveled to Woodlands. Nevertheless, he gathered himself to score the last six points of the game, as the Tigers stunned Woodlands, 50-49, for their 10th win of the season.

DeMello and Morris gave Woodlands a one-two punch in the final three minutes of the game that gave the Tigers the win, after they were losing by 10 points at halftime.

After DeMello hit two free throws to cut the Falcons lead to 46-42. Morris stunned the packed house at Woodlands by blocking the shot of Falcons’ guard Brandon Johnson, stealing the ball, and scoring to close the gap to, 46-44.  “Marshon has been stepping up for us all year long. I told the players in the locker room, I love you guys but I want to marry Marshon,” jested Tigers Head Coach Spencer Mayfield.

DeMello, despite coughing on the bench during time outs made a huge three-point shot at 1:45 to tie the game and three out of four free throws to win. “Mike is a big time player, that was like (Michael) Jordan stuff coming off the flu, hitting big shots, he did what we needed to get the victory,” said Mayfield.

DeMello finished with 17 points and Morris 16 points. Falcons forward Jamil Gambari was tied with DeMello for game-high with 17 points. Gambari also had 19 rebounds, while Johnson scored 15 points for the Falcons.