It's great to coach a player who believes in the process. How many players these days really understand the process. Nina understands the reward is the process. She has been rightfully named to a lot of "All" something teams, broke school records, multiple times named MVP of Showcase games, accepted to Harvard and literally put us on her shoulders but never once did I get the sense she was complacent with what she accomplished. She is always adjusting her goals. I can't speak for her but I believe her greatest satisfaction the past four years is the fact Trinity Hall basketball is more than just relevant, we are respected and that means more to her than any individual. She is going to remain driven and relentless and I would bet the house on her having a great career at Harvard. She won't allow herself to be unprepared.
Matt McCarthy Head Coach Trinity Hall
Today we announced something that has never happen in Shore post season award history. NINA EMNACE OF TRINITY HALL IS THE 2024 HOOP GROUP PLAYER OF THE YEAR. In winning this award she becomes the first player in Shore Conference history to win the triple crown of major post season awards. This will mark the first time a player has won Freshman of The Year, Defensive Player of The Year and Player of The Year over the course of a career. When you think of all the legendary players in Shore history. It only makes Nina Emance's accomplishment that more stunning. In becoming the first player to ever do such a thing. NINA EMNACE just capped off what can only be described as on of the greatest careers in Shore Conference history.
It's time for NINA EMNACE to move on, folks. In this case moving on means attending the most prestigious school in America, HARVARD UNIVERSITY. She leaves behind a legacy that may never be matched again. That's because Nina Emnace has done more for the Trinity Hall school and program, than any one player has ever done for a school. That is non debatable. No school has ever gone from completely on the bottom to one of best programs in the state so quickly.. Nina, has made Trinity Hall relevant. She gave them credibility and more importantly respect. All you have to look at is the amount of publicity and student enrollment to understand her impact . There simply won't be another one like her again for a long time. She did things for Trinity Hall that will not be matched again in my lifetime. We are talking about taking a school with no history of success and carrying them to heights that were unimaginable four years ago. She now will go down in history as the most impactful player perhaps in shore history in terms of importance to a school. They say the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. Today NINA EMNACE gets the biggest award of all time. She becomes our first and only TRIPLE CROWN WINNER. Just like it was hard for some to acknowledge Trinity Hall's success over the past four years. It's been hard for some to accept the greatness of NINA EMNACE. You know the line "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." well it's never applied more to a player, than Nina. She leaves behind the unthinkable before she arrived. A Shore Conference Pod Chip, multiple division championships, state ranking, SCT final fours and State tournament wins. In a nut shell Nina did what so many thought was impossible during her time at Trinity Hall. She took a chance on a school, a coach and community and was rewarded with a dream of a lifetime.
Some believe she is arrogant and cocky. That's because she has never played the political games so many kids and parents play. She has never needed the approval of others to know her standing. Some call it stand offish. I call it confidence. She is like all the great ones ones. She uses every slight as motivation. She knew many expected and wanted her to fail along the way. But she just keep making them eat their words. When her Trinity team started the season unranked by some media outlets as a junior. She made them look silly and carried Trinity to a historic season. When she committed to Harvard it came as no surprise. She told everyone she was going there as a 8th grader. Opposing coaches felt her wrath at times. She didn't warm up to them or suck up to them. She didn't ask or need there votes or approval because she simply didn't care. When the 2024 final Top 10 came out in some media outlets. One picked Ocean Twp ahead of Trinity Hall. She laughed, because her team had just beaten the breaks off Ocean. She knew this was all part of the nonsense that meant nothing in the big picture. You see Nina, EMNACE suffers from a case of supreme confidence. It what's makes her who she is today. The First TRIPLE CROWN WINNER.
Don't ever forget how great a player NINA EMNACE truly was. She set a standard that was impossible to live up. Please do not insult anymore by comparing them to her defensively. I have seen them all people "the Cookie Monster" is the best defensive player in Shore Conference history and that is a fact. Don't forget she was doubled and triple teamed her entire career and still got her numbers against the best of the best. Never forget in every matchup against a so called top player. She just didn't win her matchup, she dominated her matchup.. over and over. She never asked for special treatment or expected any more credit than anyone else. All she did was compete. When her team lost she was overrated. When they won it was her supporting cast was better than others. These were the haters at work. But it never impacted Nina Emnace, that's because the Triple Crown Winner simply didn't care what others thought. Because she was her own worst critic. You see this is where her greatness starts. Her character and mental toughness are unshakable …
Well, now it's time for Nina to say goodbye. She leaves Trinity Hall as the greatest player the school will ever have. She holds just about every statistical record on offense and defense. She represented her country in the Philippines. Nobody will ever wear her number again. She did it against the best competition. Her team this season played just about every Top 10 team in the state! . She did it on the biggest stages. She did it when nobody thought it was possible. She didn't join them, she beat them at their own game. There is no need to talk about who was the best player in the Shore Conference in 2024. The truth of the matter is this was settled long ago. No player has accomplished more under tougher conditions. All outstanding bills have been officially settled. Now NINA EMNACE can leave the small potatoes behind. Now she will move on and leave the haters and doubters behind. She'll come back from time to time and visit her Coach Matt McCarthy who she has a marrow deep trust in. She'll come back to visit the school she put on the map. The haters and doubters she will have long forgotten. They will not enter her mind. She'll walk by them like a ghost as if they don't exist. But she'll forever torturer them by leaving them with the memory as THE 2024 HOOP GROUP PLAYER OF THE YEAR, and FIRST TRIPLE CROWN WINNER… Congratulations to NINA EMNACE and TRINITY HALL!
