Local sports: news for Anthony Johnson, Lauren Proctor, Ivory Latta, Brandon Plyler
Johnson named to award watch list
Anthony Johnson, the former South Pointe football standout, has been named to the Maxwell Award watch list this week. Johnson, an incredibly athletic 6-foot-2, 215-pound receiver, is pegged by many to have a huge senior season and be an early round NFL draft choice in 2019.
The Maxwell Award is given to the nation’s top college football player, and Johnson becomes just the second Buffalo player ever nominated for the prize. Johnson caught 76 passes for 1,356 yards and a school-record 14 touchdowns. He was named All-Mid-American Conference and had six games with 140 yards or more, best in the country.
Ivory Latta holding basketball camp at York
York basketball legend Ivory Latta is holding a basketball camp Aug. 11 at York Comprehensive High School. The camp is open to boys and girls, ages 7 to 17, and costs $65. The camp will run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Registration will be held before the camp, starting at 8:30 a.m.
READ: ‘We’re gonna have fun tonight’: behind Ivory Latta’s historic 70-point game
Winthrop’s Proctor having a big summer
Winthrop tennis standout Lauren Proctor was named the Big South’s female athlete of the year for the 2017-18 school year. Proctor became the third Winthrop female to win the league’s top athletic award in the last five years. Basketball star Dequesha McClanahan (2013-14) and hammer thrower Marthaline Cooper (2016-17) also won the award. Big South athletic directors, senior women administrators and sports information directors vote on the award.
Proctor had a huge season at Winthrop, winning the Big South championship and helping her team do the same. She then helped the Eagles upset Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and also reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles tournament, with her partner, Megan Kauffman.
Proctor also recently cracked the top-1,000 WTA world rankings.
Plyler recognized for community service
Former Fort Mill Yellow Jacket Brandon Plyler was nominated to the Allstate American Football Coaches’ Association (AFCA) Good Works Team Tuesday morning. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver at Concord (W.Va.) University was recognized for his community service work in West Virginia and South Carolina, including volunteer hours at the Upper Palmetto YMCA in Rock Hill. Plyler has been a consistent volunteer at Concord University’s Child Development Center, as well as the SPARKS Program in nearby Princeton, W.Va.
The Allstate American Football Coaches’ Association (AFCA) Good Works Team consists of 11 players from each level of NCAA football, and 11 more from NAIA. The final teams will be announced in September.
Plyler has started 22 straight games for the Mountain Lions. He caught a team-high 32 passes last season.
This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 9:06 AM.