NJCAA ALL-AMERICAN TAVON MEALY SIGNS WITH VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY
PETERSBURG, Va. – The journey from high school sports to college athletics is never easy, but basketball recruiting for an "undersized" post-player is a different animal altogether. Not only are JUCO players competing against each other for a few scholarships, they're also competing with high school players and transfers between four-year universities.
And that makes Richard Bland 6-foot-3 forward Tavon Mealy's story even more compelling. The two-time All-Region X First-Team, Region X Player of the Year and All-American signed with Virginia Union University this morning, an NCAA Division II program in Richmond, Va., and member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) just 10 miles away from his home.
The sophomore signed with the Panthers in favor of offers from other schools.
A product of Armstrong High School, Mealy was a two-time first-team all-district, most valuable player, all-metro second-team and most valuable player in the 804 All-Star game as a Wildcat.
As a Statesmen, he started 34-of-36 games this season, Mealy averaged 17.2 points, 8.3 rebounds to round out 64.4-percent shooting from the field. He scored in double-figures 35-of-36 games, including 12 double-doubles on the year.
Mealy scored his 1,000th career-point against rival Louisburg in the Region X Championship title game on March 7th after leading his team to its first conference title since 1990 and eventually contributing to the programs first ever National Championship where he was selected to the NJCAA All-Tournament Team.
The Richmond, Va., native finished his career at Richard Bland as the second-leading scorer of all-time in program history with 1,065 points and 504 rebounds, he holds a 59-8 overall record as a two-year Statesmen.
Mealy will play in the 2015 NJCAA All-Star Game on May 9th in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena.
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