When the men’s basketball team tips off its season tomorrow night, the Hoos will be extremely thin at the forward position. On Saturday, Assane Sene was suspended by coach Tony Bennett for the first three games for conduct detrimental to the team. Then yesterday, Jamil Tucker announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. The situation is further hampered by a foot injury to Mike Scott, though Bennett said Scott could be cleared to play against Longwood tomorrow night.

AAA soccer The Mills Godwin boys and girls soccer teams finished as state runners-up in the Group AAA playoffs in early June. Senior midfielder Anne Lumpkin, the Central Region girls player of the year, is the state player of the year. She is the first state POY from the Central Region since A.B. Robbins of Mills Godwin earned the honor as a junior in 1999.

Will Bates’ list of honors includes Central Region and Gatorade state player of the year. The forward is a member of the USA junior national team and has an eye on the 2012 Olympics.

Year: Senior
  Position: Center back
  The skinny: Moves up from All-Metro second team as a junior. He scored four goals and had seven assists even though he was primarily a defensive player. Was all-district and all-region first team and will attend Radford. The Raiders eliminated undefeated Thomas Dale in the region quarterfinals.

Baseball coach Grant Odell is stepping down after starting the program at Deep Run High in 2003. “I’ve decided it’s time to spend time with my family,“ Odell, 52, said. Odell has a daughter who plays basketball and softball about to enter Deep Run and another daughter not far behind. “I want to focus my time and energy in the direction that puts my wife and family first,“ he said.

Quarterfinals: Top bracket, Midlothian (12-5-1) at Mills Godwin (14-1-2), 7 p.m.; Matoaca (13-3-1) at Lee-Davis (12-4-1), 7; Lower bracket, Deep Run (12-3) at Cosby (14-1-1), 7:30; Atlee (10-4-1) at Thomas Dale (16-0), 7
  Semifinals: Thursday at Cosby High, 5 and 7:30 p.m.
  Final: Friday at Cosby High, 7:30 p.m.

Scholar-athlete award finalists (in alphabetical order) BOYS
Matthew Armentrout, Deep Run Nick Austin, James River Will Bates, Thomas Dale Ben DeJarnette, Atlee Stuart Ferguson, Collegiate Jackson Freeman, St. Christopher’s Michael Green, Thomas Dale Chris Smith, Clover Hill Alec Ward, Douglas Freeman Christopher Wheeler, Highland Springs GIRLS
Kristin Carpenter, Hanover Emma DeJarnette, Atlee Michelle Foley, Mills Godwin Paige Johnston, Midlothian Jenna Moye, Cosby Madison Parrish, Thomas Dale Susannah Piersol, Maggie Walker GS Julie Robertson, Thomas Dale Carter Stephens, Collegiate Jenna Taylor, James River

Choosing the 10 girls and 10 boys finalists for The Richmond Times-Dispatch /Sports Backers Scholar-Athlete of the Year award taxes the selection committee every year. This year was even more difficult considering the number of students who ranked No. 1 or No. 2 or in the top 10 in their class and the number of athletes sporting national and state caliber credentials.

Thomas Dale midfielder/forward Will Bates has missed a couple of high school games this season while playing for the U.S. U-18 National team that won a gold medal at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in January. Still, he has scored 19 goals and delivered 13 assists for the top-ranked Knights entering this week’s district tournament.

Ayear after claiming the Group AAA boys soccer title and narrowly missing the Central Region title on the way, Deep Run is starting from scratch. The Wildcats went 22-2-1 last spring then lost the Colonial District coach and player of the year. Martin Brooks steps in for former coach Steve Chapman. In his two years as the Wildcats junior varsity coach, Brooks’ teams dropped just two matches.