POLL: Sarasota Christian's Weaver collects most votes for Player of the Year
Wed. February 08, 2012 at 4:28 p.m. | By Jim Brockman, Htpreps.com Sportswriter
SARASOTA
Make yourself indispensible. Good advice for anyone in the workplace. It works with basketball teams, too.
Janie Weaver has proven the point all season long as a key component of the Sarasota Christian Lady Blazers.
Readers of HTPreps.com have noticed, too.
Weaver won our recent poll inviting fans to vote for the Girls Basketball Player of the Year with a whopping 33,660 votes, among more than 55,000 cast.
Sarasota senior Julianna Cavallaro, who transferred from Venice, finished second with 15,863 votes, ahead of senior Gabriella Diaz-Granados of Lakewood Ranch with 1,816 and Port Charlotte's Caitlyn Lindsey (1,427).
"I know I had a lot of friends that voted for me – more than once," Weaver said before a team practice.The 5-foot-5 junior leads the team in scoring, averaging 16 points per game. The versatile Weaver is also averaging six steals, five assists and four rebounds per game.
"I can put her on the point," said Alan Hamm, in his second season at the helm of the Lady Blazers. "I can put her on the wing. She does everything.
"She's also that quiet leader. She just shows up and works. She doesn't need to yell or say much. But when she needs to she does."
Weaver is one of the main reasons that the Blazers have improved to 19-6 this season after a sub-.500 campaign last year.
After claiming the Class 2A-District 9 championship with a 61-38 victory over St. Petersburg Canterbury last week, the Blazers are scheduled to host Southwest Florida Christian of Fort Myers in a region quarterfinal game Thursday at 7 p.m.
Weaver's style of plays fits well with Hamm's coaching philosophy.
"We play a fast-paced game," Hamm said. "We get out and run and get after people. We try to score in transition as much as possible.
"Janie is one of those catalysts who try to do that. You want the ball in her hands at the end of a game."
Weaver's versatility runs well beyond basketball. She owns a 3.5 grade point average and also plays volleyball and softball for the Blazers.
But basketball ranks above the rest. "It's more intense," Weaver said. "It happens at a faster pace. I like it better than any other sport."
Her focus now is on Sarasota Christian's playoff run."It's a joy having her on the team," Hamm said. "All the girls love her. She makes everybody better."