Guilford Sends Four to Senior All-Star Basketball Games

 

Greensboro, N.C. (3/13/07) -- Three Guilford College students and one head coach will represent the Quakers in the second annual Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)-USA South Athletic Conference Senior All-Star basketball games Sunday, March 18 in Roanoke College's Bast Center in Salem, Va.

The annual all-star games feature 30 senior basketball students from across each conference. The league's respective Coach of the Year honorees direct the teams with other mentors from around the league assisting. Tickets cost $3, which includes admission to both contests, and can be purchased at the door. The ODAC all-stars won the inaugural games in 2006 at Averett University.

Guilford point guard Dionne Graham will suit up for the women's game at 1:00 p.m. The four-year letter winner and two-year starter averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 assists per game in her four Guilford seasons. She concluded her career last month after scoring 623 points in 101 career games. Graham's 269 career assists rank sixth in school history, as do her 171 career steals. She enjoyed her finest season as a sophomore when she averaged 9.5 points and just under four assists per game. The team captain averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 assists per game in 2006-07 for coach Stephanie Flamini's Quakers (10-16).

By virtue of his selection as the ODAC Coach of the Year, Guilford men's basketball mentor Tom Palombo will coach the ODAC's men's basketball all-stars. He has two familiar names on his roster as the Quakers' Thomas Burge and Jordan Snipes will participate in the 3:00 p.m. game. Both seniors played key roles in helping Guilford (24-5) reach the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals in its finest campaign in over 30 years.

Burge, a 6-1 guard, started in each of his three seasons at Guilford after transferring from UNC Greensboro in 2004. He averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds over 83 career contests. Burge tallied a career-high 8.4 points per game as a junior and enjoyed his finest college game with 24 points and seven rebounds in a win over Emory & Henry that year. His 75 career starts rank fourth in Guilford's Division III history.

A 6-4 guard, Snipes also came to Guilford in 2004 after beginning his career at Methodist. The 2007 First Team All-ODAC played in 82 games with 75 starts and averaged 13.3 points per game, the third-highest scoring average in the Quakers' Division III history. He reached the 1,000 career points plateau this year and finished his career with 1,149 points. His 1,093 points as a Quaker stand 23rd in the school's 93-year history. Snipes represented Guilford on the NCAA Division III All-Sectional Tournament team after averaging 19.5 points and eight rebounds in the Quakers' two games.