Hoop referees honor athletes, coaches for sportsmanship

DANVERS – Marblehead basketball player Damola Abu, St. John’s Prep coach Dan Letarte, and Lynn official Paul Halloran were among the honorees Tuesday night at the annual IAABO Board 130 basketball officials awards dinner at the Danversport Yacht Club.Abu, who helped lead the Magicians to the top seed in Division 2 North this winter, received the Edward “Gint” Middleton Award. All the awards presented by the officials recognize not only talent on the court, but deportment as well.Abu, who lives in Mattapan, has been a METCO student at Marblehead since the sixth grade.”I’m honored,” he said. “I’m in good company, along with Eric Brunson and Sean Connolly (two past winners of the award).Letarte, a longtime basketball coach at The Prep, received the Robert Pierce Award. This year, the Eagles made it into the second round of the Division 1 North tournament before bowing out to Everett.”I’d like to thank the officials who presented me with this,” said Letarte, “but I’d also like to thank the students too. We do this for them.”Halloran received the John Mulkern Award. He has served on the board for six years, either as president or as a member of the executive board.A special president’s award went to Boston Herald high school sports reporter Dan Ventura for his reporting of the sensitive issue of required post-game handshakes during the recently-completed high school basketball tournament.Other awards went to Meaghan Thomann of Andover, who received the Roger Alley Award; Danny Williamson of Gloucester, an autistic student and a member of the Fishermen boys basketball team, who received the Courage Award; and Karen Christian, the girls coach at Triton, who received the John Squires Sr. award.