Parrish Stevons, a senior and basketball player at Anson High School, signed with Sandhills Community College on Wednesday.
Stevons was surrounded by family, friends and his teammates at Anson High School, as well as his coaches. Both Anson coach Brandon Rains and Sandhills basketball head coach Mike Apple were present to support Stevons.
Rains praised Stevons’ character both on and off the court. “He was one of the most unselfish basketball players I’ve ever coached,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if he scored two points or 38— I think he had 38 against Sun Valley— he was pleased when the team won. He’s not only a pretty good basketball player, he’s a really good person, and I’m proud of him.”
Stevons is one of the first of Rains’ students to graduate since the coach has been at Anson High School. “He is my first player that, when I came here, I started with and finished with,” Rains said. “I came in here when he was a sophomore; he played with me his sophomore year, his junior year, and senior year, so this is my first graduating class, per se. I’m really proud of Parrish, he got us some assists this year, and like I said, he had a couple of really good games for us.”
Apple said the team is always looking for “good young men” and “good basketball players” to continue the team’s success. “We had a young team last year, and we’re going to have a little more of a veteran team this coming year, and we’re excited about it,” he said. “I think Parrish is going to be a great addition to us, and I just absolutely love what Coach Rains had to say about him, because you want to have good basketball players, certainly, but I think the more important part of all that is having good people with good character because that means a lot, and that really makes your program a top-notch program. Parrish, we’re really happy to have you and looking forward to you.”
Sandhills, located in Pinehurst, has done well in recent years. During Apple’s first year coaching in 2011-2012, the team won the national championship, and the team has averaged 25 wins per season since he started here, he said. The team has also played in the national tournament twice in the four years Apple has coached.
Stevons is happy for the opportunity to play for the school. “I think it’s going to be a great experience, because it’s moving up a higher level from high school basketball to college basketball,” he said. “I think I can really show my true talent a
He visited the school before deciding to get a feel for the program. “I visited the games, I met Coach Apple, and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is the right place for me,’” he said. “I just love the system. I watched the practice, and I loved the practice. It just seemed like it was a perfect fit.”
He plans to major in physical education and return to Anson County after graduating. “I want to use [my degree] to try to get kids to be inspired to want to go to college, to go that extra level of school, and show them that success is part of life,” he said.
Stevons said there were many factors that made his time at Anson special. “The team that I play with, the team and the coaches, and having teachers that love supporting me,” he said. He said that those at the school and his family were all supportive of his decision, and thanked his mother, aunt, Ms. Pratt and all of his friends for their support. “They pushed me to go hard and better myself, on the classroom, on the court, or outside the school,” he said.