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SAT., JANUARY 17, 1981 THECAMUJUTKIES-S Basketball In the Black Colleges A Historical Chronology 1891 -1980 By John B. "Johnny Mc" McLendon and Contributing Editor to Black College Basketball Yearbook By JNW Publications About Coach McLendon Rcprintt'tl witliiwrmlion of J,SV Publications, co , ) ('( 7. Nicholson, 3815 l.uteshore Drive, Slireveport, . in. 71109 - ' '"" Parti ' THfe HISTORY OF BASKETBALL in the United Slates can be divided into five periods. Research of basketball history, indicates fcertain, factors at various times which allow the following delineations: PERIOD I 1891-1920 A. Invention of Basketball, 1891. B. Early History, .Entry. Incorporation Into Sports Pro grams of Black Colleges. " ' . PERIOD II 1920-1940 Development of Basketball in Black Colleges and in Other Social Institutions. PERIOD III 1940-1950 A. Black College Basketball . During World War II Years. B. The Acceptance of Black Athletes Into the Profes sional Sports of Baseball, Football, and Basketball, and Its Impact on Black College Athletics. PERIOD IV 1950-1960 Black College Basketball Acceptance and Visibility. :ii PERIOD V 1960-1980 A. Basketball During the 60's in Black Colleges. B. Increased Significant Achievement in Black College Basketball id Date. C. Objectives of the Future. The Spartan Period, I through III (1981-1950), was one of abject "invisibility". The general sports public in the United States had little or no knowledge of black college athletic teams and individuals, and certainly no awareness of their significant contribution to the total national spons scene. Blacks were thought of only irt" terms of blue overalls and brogan shoes. Occasionally, a super black star managed to break the barrier with individual brilliance in a .sport like track and field and football, or command wide acclaim that helped to propel him to the zenith of his era in boxing. Jack Johnson; the first black heavyweight champion is a case in point. While talking every fighter in sight., . with1 disdain reserved for tieopw with acute nautosis. Boxing as a professional sport, clearly outlined many fine black athletes. The legacy started with Joe Gans, continued with Kid Chocolate, Henry Armstrong, John Henry Lewis, "Sugar" Ray Robinson, the incom parable Joe Louis and numerous others who used the prize ring to authenticate what they already knew about themselves. Because of the Olympics, the speed and wizardry of Howard Drew, Ed Gordon, DeHart Hubbard, Jesse Owens, Eulace Peacock, Eddie Tolan, Ralph Metcalfe, Archie Harris, etc., were spotlighted by bold headlines. During this early period, football heroes from nor thern and western schools were the only other black pro ducts of team sports. In the formative years, black athletes got the public's eye, principally through par ticipation on teams representing majority colleges and universities. $ Sports on black campuses were relegated to the back of the caboose. The press completely .ignored the fact that black schools existed and social ctfstoms prevented white sports fans of the time fron getting close enough to form opinions. , ' A writer might listen politely when the name of a resi dent black star was mentioned, but nobody thought much about it. So what if he were a phenomenon? He was still black and he didn't count. All blacks marched to the beat of a different drummer. Black teams were accustomed to an altogether diverse lifestyle, but coaches kept their noses to the grindstone while their athletes groped for general recognition. A new era, and new hope dawned when the sports scene was finally Americanized through the integration of professional baseball. (1947-48), professional foot ball 1949-50)r and professional basketball in 1950-51. The transition was dramatic. Sports writers stopped being openly antagonistic and commentators from radio and TV stations across the country perked their ears and took notice. Together they served as a common denominator to help bridge a 100-year communication gap. It was almost too much to imagine for crusty pioneer coaches like Harry Jefferson, Virginia State; Fred Long, Wiley College; Zip Gayles, -Langston; Cleve Ab bott, Tuskegee, Eddie Jackson, Hcrward University; Ox Clemmons, Lane College; Arnetl Munford, Southern University; Alex Durley, Texas College and Henry A. Kean, Tennessee State. " While daily newspapers and radio and television Sta tions were introducing bright, new faces from black schools to their media audience, readers of the black weekly newspaper were musing. "I told you so." The black press had kept them informed. For years,' the Pittsburgh Courier, Chicago Defender, Afro-American, Norfolk Journal and Guide; Atlanta World and the Kansas City Call labored to remove the "mediocre" stamp placed on teams from black schools ' by daily papers through editorial persuasion. With sports writers Chester Washington, J. Don Davis, Fay Young, Dan Burley, Jim Hall, Sam Lacey, A.S. "Doc" Young, Wendel Smith, John Johnson, Ric Roberts, "Skpper" Dixonn, Marion Jackson, Bill Nunn, "Scoop" Jones, Cat Jacox and Lem Graves of the Norfolk Journal and Guide, Art Carter of the Afro American, A.M. "Alex" Rivera of the Pittsburgh Courier, Bill Tuck and "Shorty" Davis of The Carolina Times, chorusing long and loud about the flashing feet, accurate shooting, and hard punches . of sculptured black giants, the pre-Renaissancc agony was made easier. In order to provide readers of The Carolina Times 'with a clear understanding, of this evolution, attention will first be focused on a-'general look involving the CIAA, 1912-50 and a closer look at 1940-50. Subse quently a close look will be taken at the crucial period of 1950-60, the beginning of "Visibility" for Black College .Athletes. ,.fi Li vll - J v. j: MHMMKMMHIiHIIHHHMMHMW i ; " ... -.... , ' .- The Man Who Invented Four Corners (ma " THECoach By Howie Evans Sports Editor A msterdum News Coach John B. McLen don, one of basketball's greatest innovators, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball HaTl of Fame in a significant off-season development. For nine years, friends, fellow-coaches, writers and former players waged a quiet war with the selec tion committee to recognize his enormous contributions to the sport in virtually every part of the world. In international circles, McLendon is highly regarded for his ability to uncover, develop and ac centuate basketball talent. . The Hall of Fame ceremony in Springfield, Mass., was quite fitting since Coach McLendon personally knew the late Dr. James Naismith, the man who invented basket ball. Dr. Naismith took McLendon under his wings while he was a stu dent at the University of Kansas in the mid-30's. Because of racial pre judice existing at the time, McLendon was not per mitted to try out for the Kansasbasketball team. Thf coach recently recalled that "Whenever I decided to go swimming, or it was time for my class in swimming at the University, everybody would immediately get out of the. pool when I entered. '1 couldn't play basketball 4?u 1, had, the grinned, tongue-in-cheek. Even though McLendon was denied the opportuni ty to participate in inter collegiate basketball, he became a student of the game and turned to coaching. -Jn. 1935, while still a junior, Dr. Naismirh recommended him for a coaching position at Lawrence Memorial High School near the university, He coached the team to the Missouri-Kansas athletic conference cham pionship his senior year. From 1934-40, he was an assistant coach at (what is now)' North Carolina Central University. He became head coach in 1940, starting a reign of terror that oldtime Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association observers still remember with reverence. In 12 years, McLendon guided the Eagles to 264 wins against 60 defeats. It was during this period that he experimented with and created many of the offen sive and defensive stratagems used world wide by college, national arid professional teams. One of his early ideas was "The Two-in-the-Corner Offense," which he graphically outlines in the 1957 Converse Year book. Today, they call it "The Four-Corner Of fense" and give credit for its creation to Dean Smith, University of North Carolina. Not so! Around the same time, McLendon caused a mass confusion in the CIAA with a v puzzling defense. that ,, at times, resembled a career to 1959. man-to-man defense. Actually, it was a tricky Combination of zone and man-to-man defense. It ii widely known nov "The Match-up Zoi.c." Still no credit to i. creator. McLendon left North Carolina for Hampton In stitute in 1952 where he re mained for two seasons, winning 32 games. Following his brief so journ with the Pirates, he moved to Tennessee State where his skyrocketed. From 1954 McLendon won 149 games while losing just 20 with trie Big Blues. It was at Tennessee State that he became the first college coach in the U.S. to win three straight national championships. His teams won 16 straight games in NAIA tournament play, a record th?t still stands. Equally significant, during the span, he sent Dick Burnett, John Bar nhill, Ben Warley, Joe Buckholter and Porter Merriweather to the Na tional Basketball Associa tion. Much earlier, Hal Hunter, a guard he coach ed at North Carolina Col lege (now North Carolina Central University), became the first player from a black school to sign a NBA contract. Many of his peers im itated everything he did. The famed Boston Celtic fast break of the Bill Russell era was a page out of - McLcndon's book. Following a successful fl- ta&as a pro coach with vnt McLendon (seated) flanked bv Tennessee Stats assistant coaches Richard Mack (lem andw : ndiuiu nmiiKr wun rauiu -fiaiinnai - --.- - iMrrnr n ifim it Tinn i nra nmii nrmMii r i irvrrnnrr r irrrrT tutu - a Ha nuuiBr thougnt it was great," ne sions, appeared 10 oc a (Continued on Page; NCCU Eagles Find Winning Ways Eagles Win Three of Four Since Semester Break NCCU has started off the New Year by racking up three wins in four games: The Eagles began the 1981 season with an 89-80 win over pre-season favorite Johnson C. Smith on January 8. Then on Saturday, January 10 they disposed of Livingstone College 94-85. They suf fered their only setback Monday, January 12 when they traveled to Fayet teville State 62-61 but re bounded Wednesday, January 14 to upend Divi sion I UNC-Wiltnington 82-73. NCCU 89, J.C.Smith 80 Junior guard John Bishop led five Eagles in double figures with 20 points as NCCU upset pre-season CIAA favorite Johnson C. Smith 89-80 in McDougald Gym. Senior guard Donald Sinclair ad ded 19, freshman reserve guard Michael Wright 15, junior reserve forward David Binion 13, and freshman forward Duane Griffin 10. The Eagles outrebound ed the Golden Bulls 50-48 with Binion getting a game high 14 rebounds. Griffin pulled down 10. J.C.Smith (80) Singleton 16, Reid 1, Smith 5, Lowery 9, Floras 18, Tibbs 8, Logan 10, George 1, Oliver 12, Thompson, Woods, Simmons, Boykins. . NCCU (89) Sinclair 19. Griffin 10, Murphy 3, Tyson 5, Bishop 20, Brooks, Evans, Wright 15, Moore, Taylor 2, Binion 13, WiUie 2. Halftime: NCCU 42-32. NCCU 94, Livingstone 85 John Bishop scored a career high 33 points and Donald Sinclair added 24 as Central downed Liv ingstone 94-85. Liv" ingstone dropped to 1-4 in the CIAA, 2-6 overall. The first half had five ties before the Bears gradually pulled away from the Eagles taking a 48-38 halftime lead. The Eagles rebounded behind the heroics of Bishop, Sinclair, and David Binion and took a short-lived 54-53 lead at 14:20 on a basket by Sinclair. ME AC Begins League Play Four Athletic Mid-Eastern Conference basketball teams begin their trek in quest. ;6f a regular season champion ship, and a possible MEAC title this weekend. the tenth annual MEAC Tournament is scheduled for March 6-8 (Friday-Sunday) in the Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum. For the first time ever, the MEAC Tournament winner will gain an automatic berth into the Collegiate Association Division I . Basketball Tournamment. The NCAA's first and se cond rounds are set on March 12-15, regional games are March 19-22; and the finals are schedul ed in Philadelphia on March 28 and 30. Friday night, defending MEAC champion Howard University (4-4) will enter tain tough NCA&T (6-1), while South Carolina State (0-6) travels to Delaware State (1-5). On Saturday, Delaware State hosts NCA&T, and S.C. State will be at Howard. Each, will be seeking victories to get a jump on the rest. Florida A&M (6-3) and Bcthune-Cookman (4-5) begin conference play on January 16. Down 68-65, Sinclair canned two baskets giving the Eagles the lead 69-68 with 8:05 left. James Blake put the Bears back on top with a jumper at 7:30 and Livingstone led until Bishop hit a driving layup with 6 minutes to go giving the Eagles the lead for good 73-72. Central enjoyed it largest lead 90-79 with 1:25 left. Blake led the Bears with 27 points; Adrain Wright and James Hart added a dozen apiece. Livingston (85) Blake 27, Wright 12, Jim Robinson 6, Alien 7, Miller 9, Moultrie 8, Hart 12, Joe Robin son, Davis 2, James Robinson 2, Brown, Rogers. NCCU (94) Sinclair 24, Griffin 5, Murphy 7, Tyson 2. Bishop 33, Faucette 4, Binion 8, Wright 4, House, Moore, Johnson, Taylor 3, Evans 2, Willie 2. Halftime: Livingstone 48-38. Fay. St 62, NCCU 61 FAYETTEVILLE Fayetteville State snapped a three game NCCU winn ing streak with a 62-61 win over the Eagles in a CIAA contest. The Broncos went to 4-1 in the CIAA, 6-3 overall. Central drop ped to 4-2, 5-5. Alan Davis hit a twenty foot jumper with 7 seconds left lifting the Broncos to their winning margin. Central raced out to an early 18-10 lead at the 13:35 mark but saw the Broncos catch them at 30-all on the first of two free throws by William Person. The Eagles regained the lead on two free throws at 4:24 and kept it until FSU's Steve Mims con verted two charity tosses at 1:25. David Binion's field goal with 1 1 seconds left gave the Eagles a short-lived lead at 38-37 before Mims hit a baskets with 2 seconds left in the half. The Broncos raced to a commanding 51-42 lead with 14:29 left and led by 58- 46 before the Eagles went on an 11 point tear over the next six minutes cutting the Broncos margin to 58-57 at 5:47. Freshman guard Mike Wright tied the score at 59- all with a jumper from the key at 4:08 before Charles Blackwell put the Broncos back un top at 1:13. NCCU (61) Sinclair 12. Griffin I, Murphy S. Tyson 6, Bishop 14, Bi nion 9. Wright 6. Tayter. WitSt, Faucette. Fay. State (62) Mint 2fi. i: Singleton. Halftime: Fay- State 39-31 NCCU 82, UNCW 73 Guards John Bishop and Donald Sinclair com bined for 53 points as NCCU beat Division 1 UNC-Wilmington 82-73. The Eagles raised their (Continued On Page 8) National Athletic (NCAA) NCCU Basketball At McDougald Gym Women Jan. 21 N. C. A&T Jan. 22 Atlantic Christian Jan. 24 Winston-Salem Jan. 26 St. Augustine's Jan. 30 UNC-Asheville Jan. 31 Fay. State "' Game time is 5:30 p.m. K Men Jan. 26 St. Augustine's (Doubleheader) Jan. 3r Fay. State (Doubleheader) Game time is 7:30 p.m. O OOOOOOOOOOO O 000 ADMISSION FOR DOUBLEHEADERS (At The Door) Adutts $4 00 (Non-Central) SturJents-$2.00 Ad Now LIMITED OFFER PLYMOUTH RELIANT-K Now our LOW SALE PRICES Plus you DDirK(Oie I II What v frnm Chrvtor Corn. EST HWY .ni.. v t um EPA attifiMMed NPB Sqmw companion Voo mtMg may wy dtponttng qi v$m iom& trip wngtn ana wiw tonam . yT!. TV rt u-u- n-tda iitnti lutomt ittau mHh TH nH M . IrfWTMl wqwuw "V" "TT" " - - ' " - - W W to M .000 otwcl Horn Clwyilw. paMng w r AppHM to tm bought on crtan. MlMtlU4NHem! 1 1 ,j u " OhTIm T
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Jan. 17, 1981, edition 1
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