*
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
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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 $ *
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ve son
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r
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'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
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levrolet
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The Chronicle, Thursday, August 9, 1934-Page B3
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