BY JACK BULLOCK
This season, much was expected from both Nick Brooks and Nick Hill. Their respected teams were expected to do very well.

Robinson was the preseason number one team in the state while DQ impressed this writer enough to tab the Indians as the top club in the Deep South back in November.

Both of these warriors carried their respective clubs this season.

Although neither DQ or Robinson reached their repective final goals, both are deserving of this honor.

Hill averaged 21 points during the regular season and seven rebounds per game.

He had 36 points against Nashville in the final home game of the season that produced the Indians first ever SIRR Mississippi Division title in boy's basketball.

His final game as an Indian produced 29 points and 11 rebounds against Cairo.

Hill was an amazing 88 percent shooter from the foul line.

Hill was the total team leader for the Indians, who reached the sectional final before losing to Cairo at the Massac County Sectional.

An All-State quarterback for DuQuoin this past season, the 6-4 Hill turned down many potential college football suitors to take his game to the hardwood of Western Kentucky.

"I guess his best attribute this season was that he made everyone around him better, and that is why we went as far as we did." explained DQ coach Wendell Wheeler just before the Massac sectional began.

"He was the team leader and everyone on the court liked him. This team got along better than any bunch I have had here and Nick held them together."

Brooks averaged exactly 24 points per game for the 24-4 Maroons.

He produced a season high 33 points during a regular season game against Lawrenceville.

He also was tough on the boards with 7.7 rebounds a night and posted a 78 percent average from the foul line.

The Maroons were back to back winners of the Charleston Holiday Tournament in the last two seasons, and Brooks was the MVP in both tourneys.

Brooks will take his game to Butler University in Indianapolis in the fall.

"We had a great four year run and Nick was a huge part of it," said Robinson coach Gus Gillespie.

"It was a great opportunity for me to coach a kid that good. Lots of coaches will spend their entire coaching career and never have a kid that special. Nick worked hard and got better each year. I expect that he will do well and get even better at Butler."

Editor's Note - Unlike many all-area or all-state teams, my picks are much more subjective. Meaning that my special mention is a bit more lengthy and lenient than those of other polls. Furthermore, it is my contention that there is little harm in putting someone on this list that might not be a great player but just an average player. This kid more than likely paid his dues and showed up everyday for practice just like the rest of the 'so-called' superstars. It would be a much bigger sin to leave a good one off of this list, which has been the case in many of the recent Associated Press All-State teams.