Standing 6-foot-4, Nick Wilcox stood out among other players on the soccer field.

On the basketball court his height was considered average.

As it turns out, no matter which sport Wilcox was playing, he towered over the competition.

This Peters Township two-sport athlete finished his career with WPIAL gold in both soccer and basketball and a PIAA state soccer title. For his efforts, Wilcox has been named the PG South Male High School Athlete of the Year.

Wilcox has decided to play basketball in college. He will attend Bethany College in West Virginia.

He put together memorable regular-season campaigns consistently in both sports once he became a full-time starter during his sophomore year. He averaged 21 points per game during this past basketball season and scored 19 regular-season goals. But it was his performance in the postseason that will be remembered.

In the state soccer title game during his junior year Wilcox helped lead his team back from a 1-0 deficit with 7 minutes to play by assisting on two goals. It was the first state title for Peters Township since 1989. The second goal, in sudden-death overtime by Shane Pruitt, Wilcox recalls vividly and he has watched it "plenty" of times on video.

In the basketball postseason Wilcox turned his game up even more, averaging 27.3 in leading his team to the A.J. Palumbo Center and then on to a 60-54 win against Mt. Lebanon. It was the first WPIAL title in school history for Peters Township.

"The one major accomplishment that sticks out is the WPIAL championship in basketball," Wilcox said.

"Because that is my sport and no one thought we would win. No one thought we had a chance."

Overall in his basketball career Wilcox scored nearly 1,200 points. One game that sticks out in coach Gary Goga's mind is his performance in the WPIAL semifinals against Seneca Valley. When point guard Craig Wolcott was forced out of the game with an injury, Wilcox moved to the point and on defense remained responsible to cover Seneca Valley's 6-5 center, Matt Vogt. Wilcox finished the game with 32 points and Peters was on its way to the WPIAL title game with a 58-52 win.

"He had a great career for us, he just got better every year," Goga said.

"He worked hard and he was a leader. He was always improving on his game. He was a big factor in our success and as he continued to grow, the team grew around him. You need your best player to be your hardest worker and he was and that rubbed off on the other guys."

As for what is next for Wilcox, he is playing in a summer basketball league to prepare himself for his collegiate career at Bethany. He has been working out with his trainer, Chuck McConville, and has been working on building strength.

Even though he was a prolific outside scorer and had the ability to drive to the basket, Wilcox was unique in that he also used his strength and 6-4, 195-pound frame so he could post up bigger players.

As impressive as Wilcox was on the soccer field with scoring 26 goals and adding 13 assists during his senior campaign, some could be left to wonder how great of a player he could have been. Most soccer standouts such as Wilcox play the sport year-round. Wilcox played soccer only from August until November and he played basketball the rest of the year.

"It was always a hard transition to get back into soccer. I believe I would have been a lot better player if I played soccer year-round," Wilcox said.

"It was really hard to get your touch back and feel for shooting after playing basketball all summer. I am not a 12-month player like most kids, it took me four or five games to score my first goal this year. But when I get going, it is hard to stop me."