Newspapers / Grimsley High School Student … / Nov. 30, 2011, edition 1 / Page 11
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November 30,2011 Sports 11 Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils dominate coliege basketball once again BY MAC BALL Sports Editor Once again, UNC and Duke started the basketball season as the top teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC has become a two-team race every year, and it seems no other school offers a legitimate challenge to the Tar Heels' and Blue Devils' reign over East Coast basketball. Carolina starts the year at #1 overall in the AP poll, with Diike not far behind at #6. The only other team close to the top 25 is Florida State ranked as 26th. Even so, the ACC is only the second best conference in the cormtry for basketball; the Big East is generally better overall. UNC looks to win the NCAA tournament only three years after its 2009 championship. Last year turned out to be an impressive start for the rebuilding progress after losing nu merous seniors the two years before. A pre-season All-American, sopho more forward Harrison Barnes aver aged 15.7 points per game (ppg) over the course of the season. He had less than impressive stats to begin the sea son but was able to step it up in the last two months, which helped UNC win the ACC regular season title and a #2 seed in NCAA Tournament. Senior center Tyler Zeller also had 15.7 ppg, along with 7.2 reboimds per game. Junior Forward John Henson averaged a double-double at 11.7 ppg and 10.1 re bounds. Sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall needs to pick up his scoring ef forts after only averaging 6.2 ppg, along with 6.2 assists, third in the NCAA. These returning starters, along with junior guard Dexter Strickland, will need to mold together again as the truly best starting lineup in the nation. Duke looks to begin its rebuilding pro cess after losing their three leading scor ers, seniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler and freshman Kyrie Irving. They main tain the largest front court in the country, close to the 21-feet in total Plumlee broth ers. Senior Miles (6'10), junior Mason (6'10"), and freshman Marshall (6'11) add up to be 20' 7 of Plumlee. Besides the Plumlees, Ryan Kelly adds 6' 11, and a key shot in the clutch from mid range. Junior guard Andre Dawkins will enjoy more court-time minutes alongside Tyler Thornton now that Kyle Singler is gcaie. Junior Seth Curry and fresh man Quinn Cook will head the offense in place of Nolan Smith. Both teams will rely heavily upon young talent, especially the Blue Devils, who will most likely start two to three North Carolina’s starting five are a big reason why the Tar Heels opened the college basketball season as Number One. From left: pointguard Kendall Marshal, center lyier Zeller, forward John Henson, and guard/forward Harrison Barnes. Internet photo. freshmen: Austin Rivers, Quinn Cook, and Marshall Plumlee. UNC wiU rely upon sophomores Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall. The Heels will expect several minutes of play time from Bob McAdoo's nephew, James Michael McAdoo, and former Dudley star P.J. Hairston. Other Big 4 Four schools. Wake For est and NC State, are hoping to come back from a less than impressive season, especially the Deacons. Wake finished the season at a dreadful 8-24 (1-13 in ACC). State finished a little more impressive at 14-16 (5-12) but fired five-year coach Sidney Lowe af ter failing to make the NCAA tourna ment after Lowe's first season. Considering all of these factors and the achievements of other ACC teams, UNC and Duke will dominate the ACC with Florida State following in a not-so-hot pursuit. UNC will have the best chance of winning the school's sixth national title, and Duke will fight for its fifth. Wrestling team starts season strong with new coach BY MADISON CAMPBELL Reporter With their first official practice on October 31, wrestlers and head coach Tyrell Lee looked forward to a strong season. Lee intended on having the team more conditioned than any other team on their schedule. Assisting Coach Lee is Kolton Wade, who has served in the wrestling program for the past two years and continues to do so. Wade has over five years of wrestling experience, along with four years of jujitsu. Like Lee, Wade has clear expectations for the wrestlers regarding their behavior on and off the mat. "I don't like anything dirty. I want to go in, shake hands, and win the match. That's just how I roll," said Wade. Senior captains Justice Bailey, Madi son Campbell, Eric Draughn, and Jus tin Stanley all have participated in the sport for their entire high school career. They lead the team by example, em phasizing the importance of main taining weight, conditioning, at tending practice regularly, and showing good sportsmanship. "Four years of hard work is going to show this year. I expect to qualify for the State Championship—no question about it," said Draughn. Team captains and coaches alike an ticipate their underclassman athletes will also be major contributors to the team's success. "We have lost several guys who graduated, changed schools, or just de cided not to come out. Every man (and woman) counts. We need everyone we can get if we want Grimsley wrestling to be a powerhouse in the high school wrestling world," said Campbell. Wade is looking forward to matches against some strong com petitors this season. "This is going to be an interest ing year. We have two former Grimsley coaches who are now at different schools, each of whom we will be facing off against at differ ent parts of the season. I know a lot of the upperclassmen are really driven to show their old coaches how far they have come as wres tlers and as young men," said Wade. Page remains an infamous rival for the Whirlies, but Dudley and Union Pines are on the radar this year as well. Former Grimsley head coach Rob Root coaches at Union Pines, and former head coach Brandon Anderson coaches at Dudley. Many students are'involved in ath letics but not many recognize the chal lenges of being a wrestler. Besides the physical toll the sport takes on a wrestler's body, the mental anguish is just as seriously consuming. "Overcoming the feeling that you can't go any more, pushing past that, and never giving in are the toughest parts of wres tling. If you can overcome the feeling of being tired and push yourself above and beyond your limits, that's when wrestling becomes truly rewarding," said Bailey. Besides conditioning, weightlifting, learning new moves, and live wrestling Senior Justice Bailey takes down sophomore William Clontz in a leg sweep during a sparring session at practice. While he did not qualify for state last year, Bailey explained he had high hopes for meeting eligibility winter. Jenkins Photo are keeping the wrestlers in top shape. "I can't wait for the first win of the season. Winning a match just gives me a feeling of Jubilation. In my mind the crowed is going wild," said Draughn.
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