AFTON – Kyle Hinman earns The Evening Sun Athlete of the Week award for his most recent performances on the basketball court as an all around performer, but is recognized as a constant standout on and off the court.

“There aren't too many really good kids around anymore. Now they are all individual players and parents are all individual. A good athlete gets good by all the stuff he does in the off-season, and Kyle is one of those good kids,” said Afton's head coach Dick Winans.

The son of Robert and Stephanie Hinman, Kyle excels not just on the basketball court for the Crimson Knights where he has been a varsity starter since ninth grade, but is impressively a four sport athlete.

Hinman now a senior, just finished the Fall athletic season actively participating on both the varsity cross country and soccer teams. In the Spring, Hinman will be taking the field for the baseball team holding down the first base position. In the off-season Hinman once again takes to the basketball curt where he plays AAU basketball for the Southern Tier Rage out of the Binghamton area.

Winans noted that Kyle performs at a high level at everything he sets his mind to doing not just at basketball, noting academic achievements in the classroom as well. Hinman is a part of the National Honor Society as well as consistently makes the high honor roll.

However, when it comes to basketball, Hinman went on to explain how he first started playing saying, “Honestly I used to hate basketball, then one day Coach Winans came up to me and was like you’re really tall, you should come to one of my practices and be my manager, ever since then I have just loved it. I never would’ve even got into basketball if it wasn’t for him.”

Fast forward to Hinman's sophomore and junior years in high school, and the athlete who once hated the sport earned second and first team MAC All-Star awards respectfully. Hinman posted a 15-point average as a junior on the basketball team for the Crimson Knights.

Now a senior for Afton, Hinman has 20-point average on the season where he will be looking to possibly repeat some All-Star honors.

“He averages probably 2 or 3 blocks a game, he is a great defensive player and he is a positive player. He doesn’t get down and he keeps the other kids focused, he just doesn’t get mad,” said Winans. “He is probably half of a team, the defense, the offense, helping to keep the team focused. I don’t have to pull him out to tell him stuff out which is great. I can just yell him stuff while he is playing and he corrects himself.”

Earlier this week against Bainbridge-Guilford, Hinman netted 22-points while going 7-8 from the free throw line in what would end up a losing effort to The Bobcats, despite the high level of play.

“He has 10 or 12 rebounds every game and he probably gets at least 15 double-double's on the year. The kid works his butt off,” said Winans.

“I am just really competitive, I don’t like to lose so whatever I can do offense or defense to help us to win I want to help out. It is really hard, but I try to encourage my team, you know we're not the best but I just want us to go out there every game and give it our all. Even if we don’t win, if we give it our all then thats all we can do,” said Hinman before continuing. “I want to thank my team for pushing hard and sticking together, they never gave up the ones who stuck around. We started with 11guys and five quit so those six never gave up, I want to thank them,” said Hinman.

Hinman will be attending Finger Lakes College following graduation where he will look to continue his basketball play.