The first thing you notice is the name. So undeniably uncommon – Silvestro Silvestro – it causes a double-take to make sure there isn’t a mistake.
But his name isn’t the only thing unique about Signal Mountain’s versatile senior. On the basketball court the 6-foot-2, 160-pound Silvestro can play a variety of positions – wherever he’s needed – and is a gifted defender with a knack for taking charges and generally disrupting opposing offenses.
“My mom wanted me to kind of stand out, and she thought giving me that name would be one way of doing that,” said Silvestro, a three-year starter for the Eagles who averages just under 10 points and six rebounds per game as well as having taken 25 more charges than any other teammate.
“Now my name is how everybody knows me, so I guess her idea worked. I’ll see scorekeepers before games asking to make sure that’s really my name, and people always say something to me or ask me about it.”
Silvestro helped the Eagles win five of their last six regular-season games to claim the No. 2 seed in their first year competing in District 6-AA – one of the toughest in the city – and the first area Division I league to begin its district tournament tonight when Hixson’s boys travel to Red Bank.