* Sports People Canada' By SAM DAVIS Chronicle Sports Editor Just one look at the court where Charles Douthit grew up ? playing basketball will let you Vnnw tVio? V>? !? - 1 1 1 ?..vn uiai iic is a numoie, "aown home" kind of guy. * The weather-beaten cedar post that serves as the support for his hoop has been there since his father replaced an old bushel basket where the two used to shoot baskets a decade ago. Children from the neighborhood have beaten a path alongside the winding dirt road that lfctftis to tlie Douthit? household. The portion, at the. yard where Douthit and his friends played basketball is e-? ? ounivvii 11 uiu icpcaicu pounaings of feet. From all appearances, it is not the likely childhood basketball court of the National Rookie of the Year in, of all things, Canadian collegiate basketball. The secluded split level home where the Douthits live is covered with memorabilia attesting to the athletic talents of their eldest son. Trophies line the walls and several table tops in the household. " When I look back on it, / kept them (recruiters) away. M ?# i ? un ziuuymg ur auing my wc of the major colleges Were saw I didn 7 have the grades You can tell from the way his family talks when you ask questions about Douthit, or "Punkin," as they call him, that they have a special love and respect for him. '"Punkin" played basketball constantly when he was growing up," says his mother, Patricia Douthit. "All the boys from the + neighborhood would come over to our yard and play every day. ^ nights they out * there up until about 10 o'clock. "We had no idea that he would develop into a really good basketball player," she continues. "He was cut from the team in the fifth grade and that made him work harder. From that point on, he kept improving every year." Yet, Mrs. Douthit knows her son's future in sports could have ended last spring, just as it has every spring for a number of high school basketball stars who never realize their dreams of playing on th* r>r\11 actioto IawaI Vliv WUV^lUkV IV T VI i Things looked pretty bleak for Douthit when he returned home after a brief stint as a collegiate player. Yet, he refused to put blame on anyone else or make excuses for not getting the chance to play for a major college. Instead, he continued to polish his game and waited patiently for his By Gregory Davis Those make-believe checks used by componies in contests and promotions may be confusing, but they're not illegal nor inherently deceptive. tee "He who opposes the public liberty overthrows his own." -William Lloyd Garrison. American abolitionist and editor. 1843 Where a legitimate child is permitted to sue for wrongful death on the death of a father, an Illegitimate child of that father ha? tha tama rinht trww m.W ?? t t Don't cross the street on Sunday in Marblehead, Massachussetts unless you're ready to give a very convincing roason. It is an illegal act there toe The transfer of a deed document is avsotutety essential to the validity of any land transfer. # # * Brought to you as a public service by: Gregory Davis Henderson & Summers. Attorneys at Law 224 N. Trade Street Winston-Salem. N.C. 27102 725-9185 724-7054 ? v.-^" ?r *7 - -V?U' u xr--.. s Rookie of th time to shine again. As a high school junior, uoutnit, a 6'44" small forward, was tabbed by the WinstonSalem Journal as its Frank Spencer Award winner -- the most valuable player in Northwest North Carolina. He was also named the North Piedmont Conference's Player of the Year and earned a spot on the all-state team. His 22-point average had . - _ * _ it _ * major colleges drooling as his team stood atop the 3-A standings for more than eight weeks. But when he became a senior, J^?c^ among college recruiters began to plummet. Whiie frre average only dropped by one point per game, his team struggled through a .500 season. Worse than that, his grade-point average dwindled close to the 2.0 cutoff which is required for admission to NCAA Division 1 schools. Following his senior season, none of the major colleges came acallino "When I look back on it, I know that it was my grades that kept them (recruiters) away," says Douthit. "I didn't really concentrate on studying or doing my work in high school and none know it was my grades that 1 didn't really concentrate >rk in high school and none interested iri me once They j." of the major colleges were interested in me once they saw I didn't have the grades." In fact, the only schools that wanted him were junior colleges. Thus, Douthit enrolled at Surry community College. "I did pretty good playing ball there," he says. "I worked on a lot of my weak areas and put more emphasis on my school work. But, before I left for the summer; was toUS ~ttiat the " basketball program there was being phased out." Douthit became a little depressed, but still felt he could play major college basketball. Little did he know that only six months later he'd be a member of a collegiate team vying for a national championship. "After they told us the program at Surry (Community College) was folding, 1 didn't know if I'd get another shot at playing ball," Douthit says, "so I came home to do some thinking and try to find out what my next move was going to be." Fortunately for Douthit, several things fell into place that caused a remarkable change in [B '100' PT P 1332-A ^ | 1983 B _ ^|g 1548-A ? W1983 B v J" 1287-A f' t1983 C I ' 9951-A M?1 1982 C 1428-A , 1978 Ir 1646-A fen 1979 Ir l|i - 9935-A \m 1981M /^x/- ./? * e Year is a nati ^ ? felir ' " *1 a^r fl Pi^fl * -j 1l Bfen ^1 * <* ^Vjjn kt t8 HABB I nKn ^B ** ^ Sure Shot Charles Douthit, known also as MF james rarKer). his future. me The head coach from Brandon wc University in Canada, acting on a ba whim, spotted Douthit in a summer league game at Carver High wl School and was sold on signing co thfc MidWhytrative. Still, Douthit rig didn't find out until the end of dij September that he would be play- no ing college basketball in Canada. ar< "I had no idea things would Br work out the way they did," he H< says. "I was working at Park die Place Restaurant (at Winston an Square) last summer trying to cal figure out if I'd ever get another chance to play basketball when wh Coach Hemmings came in one Cc day and said he wanted to see me sa> play. mc ?1 A.A^U \, ~ ?... U ? ~ 1 U1SJII I MIUW IIUW IU ICdtL lU an( him at first/' Douthit says. ,4I thi thought he was a crank at first. ] He told me that he had coached the at Surry Community College a of few years back and that he had I i heard a lot of good things about / ?? jo ?3000# DC uick Park Ave. $12 uick Regal $ I itation 4 dr $! avalier s/w npala 4dr npala 4 Dr $ . alibu s/w $ * , .r i?j n 1 ,1 n ii m 0 (7) it) tODERN Q 1 ve son Wt<"- ; ' . . 1H ' **" - - \>44^H r Ajflj 'unkin'," dunkin' (photo by But I didn't know that he >uld offer me a chance to play 11 in Canada." Though coach Hemmings liked tat he saw in Douthit, he uldn't offer him a scholarship ;ht away. According to Canaan collegiate basketball rules, ' more than three Americans i allowed on each team and andon already had three. )wever, one of the Americans in't return to school last fall d Hemmings gave Douthit a 1 when he found out about it. "I had begun to wonder ether or not I would hear from >ach Hemmings," Douthit ? 's. "It had been about two >nths since I first talked to him i I was beginning to wonder if ngs were going to work out." Late one night in September, j call finally came. "I was kind surprised when he asked me if ?vas ready to come up and Please see page B6 >WH ON AP 1441-A ,966 1978 Mai 1487-A 3488 1982 Cit; 1661 -A >561 1982 Mai 1450-A 1888 1983 Trai 1299-A L899 1982 Tra 1569-A L599 1982 Old 1449-A 1666 1982 Toy ^ A. @ 0 'w / / levrolet M The Chronicle, Thursday, August 9, 1934-Page B3 MNr AT WHAT WE MVT have to rent ^ rj ^8 CO?*Tft?Tttl (OUP HQUM |1QM | MOOtftt 5^ OOMtTAft.lt 5 A 3 XJL CONSTRUCTION EQUIP (ThSfl M g|] THUCKS ft TRAILERS tj U""~ J J WfllANCES w *Mi?i I^Hl BABY SUPPLES T~n ?VMAT TELEVISIOHS r?spi Sp ** FURNITURE CHARS ft TABLES r=, CHIN* 4 GIKSWWE ^ -M _ jll * i'S, ROllAWAY BEDS J 2 HOSPITAL I CONVALESCENT NEEDS "W^% LJ ? MANY OTHER ITEMS ? ^5 A HOSMTAt A W^0Z+ 765-6560 924-5236 996-4551 ^SJSS IJ1I SlUlfOM ?U MOO TAOftMVIllI mvt AT ?* ?. ***. 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