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Sports
Wilkens Quits Cavaliers, Takes Job As Hawks Coach
RICHFIELD, Ohio (AP) ?
Lenny Wilkens, seven-year coach of
the Cleveland Cavaliers became the
Atlanta Hawks coach this week.
Wilkens became the seventh
?coach in Atlanta Hawks history. -
Wilkins replaces Bob Weiss, who
was fired after three seasons.
Wilkens, whose 869 NBA
coaching victories rank second only
to Auerbach's 938, resigned last
Monday, exactly one week after his
Cleveland Cavaliers were knocked
out of the playoffs by the Chicago
Bulls.
The resignation was not a sur
prise, because there had been much
speculation Wilkens would quit or
be fired in light of Cleveland's
repeated failures against the Bulls.
The Cavaliers were in the
playoffs five limes during Wilkens*
seven years as their coach. Four of
those times, they were ousted by the
Bulls ? including an embarrassing
four-game sweep this year. ?
"I think we all are disappoint
ed that we didn't fare better this
year/* general manager Wayne
Embry said. "We felt by keeping
the team intact, improving internal
ly, maybe adding a player over the
summer, we would have a chance to
get over the top. We didn't, so obvi
ously we were disappointed."
Wilkens had one year remain
ing on a contract that reportedly
would have paid him $750,000 next
season. During the past week, he has
been mentioned as a candidate for
coaching vacancies with the Atlanta
Hawks, Indiana Pacers and^Los
Angeles Clippers. ?
"It's been a great seven years
-here with, the Cavaliers^the 55
* year-old Wilkens said in a prepared
statement. "However, I think it's
time to move on."
Lenny Wilkens
Wilkens and Embry together
had helped rejuvenate a Cleveland
franchise that had been badly mis
managed in the early 4980sv The
1986 draft brought Brad Daugherty,
Mark Price and Ron Harper to the
team, providing a foundation for a
Lady Bulldogs Capture Track Title
This past weekend in Abilene,
Texas, the SIAC continued to excel
in the sport of track and field. The
Lady Bulldogs of Alabama A&M
led the way by claiming their sec
ond straight NCAA Division II
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Championship.
Last year, Alabama A&M
cruised to its first title win with a
? ? ?
47-point victory over second place
California State-Los Angeles. This
year, Alabama A&M received some
strong competition from the host
Wildcats of Abilene Christian and
the national champion was not
determined until the final event.
Going into the 1600-meter
relay (4x400), the 19th and final
event, Alabama A&M held a slim
82-80 lead over Abilene Christian.
All the Lady Bulldogs needed to do
was finish ahead of Abilene Christ
ian to repeat as national champions.
Both teams were neck and neck
until the final leg, when Shelly
Beckford of Alabama A&M pulled
away from the rest of the pack to
give her team a first-place finish in
the 1600-meter relay and the team
scoring (92-86 over Abilene Christ
ian). The bulk of Alabama A&M's
points came in the 400-meter dash,
where they garnered 24 points by
finishing first, second and third At
the conclusion of the meet, Alabama
A&M sprinter Taiwo Aladefa
proudly displayed a sign that read
"Excellence Repeals Itself!" ^ ...
Overall, Alabama A&M sent
_nin? athletes to the nationals and
came back with nine All-Ameri
cans. Beckford finished third in the
400-meter dash (53.50), sixth in the
200-meter dash (23.90) and ran on
the first-place 1600-meter7eTay
team that set a new Elmer Gray Sta
dium record (3:37.96) and the sec
ond-place 400-meter relay team
(45.00). Aladefa was second in the
100-meter hurdles (13.19), fourth in
the 100-meter dash (11.58) and ran
on the second-place 400-meter relay
team (45.00). Chinweoke Chikwelu
won the javelin with a throw of 154
feet 2 inches and finished fourth in
the heptathlon with 5,1 12 points.
Kimberly Golden ran on the second
place 400-meter relay team (45.00>
Jakki Henderson claimed second *
place in the 400-meter dash (53.20)
and ran the lead leg on the stadium
record-setting 1600-meter relay
team (3:37.96). Ifcanyi Aduba
cleared the bar at 5'8 3/4 to take
third in the high jump. - - -
The leading scorer for Alabama
A&M was Olga Robinson with 22.5
Robinson finished first in the 400
meter dash (52.54), second in the
200-meter dash (23.40) and ran the
third leg on the first-place 1600
meter relay team (3:37.96) and the
second-place 400-meter relay team
(45.00). For his team's accomplish
ments throughout the season, Joseph
Henderson was bestowed with the
honor of being named Coach of the
Year by the NCAA Division II
Track Coaches Association.
Seventeen Collegiate Legends
Inducted into SWAC Hall of Fame
Seventeen legends of collegiate
sports were enshrined into the
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Hall of Fame on May 28 at the
Louisiana Superdome.
George H. Lockhart served
Alabama State for 42 years, gaining
a reputation as perhaps the greatest
baseball coach in the history of
ASLTs Laboratory '* School.
A profession- ? ill player ~
with the Atlanta City Bachart Giants
and the Chicago American Giants,
Lockhart further distinguished him
self by pitching the deciding game
of the 1926 Black World Series,
which he lost 2-1. He redeemed
himself in the 1927 Series by pitch
ing a 1-1 deadlock that was called
because of darkness.
Dr. John H. Jones, of Alabama
State University from 1948 to 1961,
excelled as head track and field
coach at Alabama State University.
He was so noteworthy in his
endeavors that the university estab
lished, in his honor, the John H.
Jones Athletic Scholarship for stu
dents enrolled in freshman English
Public Speaking with the purpose of
encouraging them to continue their
education beyond the first semester
of their freshman year.
A well-known athlete himself,
Jones was so respected on the track
and in in the classroom that one of
his former students and star athletes
stated, "Coach Jones coached and
taught from the profoundness of his
heart, soul and mind, and committed
himself to getting the very best out
of each of his students."
Samuel Crump, a Memphis,
Tenn. resident and 1954 graduate of
Alcorn State University with a
degree in physical education, was an
all-conference running back on the
football team from 1951 to 1954.
Crump also was an outstanding
trackster and baseball player at
Alcorn State. He set school records
in the 120 high hurdles, the 220 low
hurdles, the 100 yard dash and the
pole vault. In baseball, he held an
impressive .333 batting average his
senior year.
Dr. Norris Allen Edney is cred
ited with stopping a sinking ship
from heading to the very bottom.
When he became president of
the SWAC in 1975, the conference
had no automatic berths, it had three
lawsuits pending against it and it
was $130,000 in the red. Nine years
later, when he stepped down the
league had automatic berths in base
ball, men's basketball and football,
the legal problems had been
resolved and the conference was on
very sound financial footing.
Willliam Ferdie Brown was a
multi-sport and multi-talented ath
lete at Grambling State from 1959
to 1962, serving as senior class pres
ident and graduating with a degree
in health and physical education.
Brown played split end on
offense and linebacker on defense
while winning four letters on Gram
bling's football team. He also earned
two letters with the track squad.
Although he was signed as a
free agent out of college by the
Houston Oilers in 1963, and later
released, he was picked up by the
Denver Broncos and a legendary pro
career was started.
The comerback went on to play
16 years in the American and
National football leagues, gaining a
reputation as "one of the shrewdest
pass defenders who ever patrolled a
corner in denver and Oakland."
Brown, wfio was inducted into
the ProFQotball Hall of Fame in
1984, playedTrfc&ve AFL All-Star
games and four NFL Pro Bowls.
Fred C. Hobdy, the director of
athletics at Grambling State Univer
sity, won more college games than
any other coach in Louisiana basket
ball history.
A 1993 inductee into the
Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame,
Hobdy retired from active coaching
after the 1985-86 season with a col
legiate record of 567 wins and 287
losses over a tenure which spanned
30 years.
His Grambling teams won 20 or
more games 15 times and captured
eight SWAC championships, nine
NAIA regional titles, two NCAA
regional championships and one
Midwest Confcrencc crown. His
1960-61 team won the NAIA
national championship while his
1962-63 team won second place.
John A Peoples Jr. became
Jackson State University's sixth
president and the first alumnus to
head the university when he
assumed the post in 1967.
Peoples was a true "scholar-ath
lete" at Jackson State from 1946-50.
He was a varsity football player and
a tutor.
The ex-Marine also was the
only two-term Student Government
Association president in the history
Please see page A4
team that Magic Johnson once pre- '
dieted would become the team of
the '90s.
The Bulls, and particularly
Michael Jordan, kept that froin hap
pening. Jordan twice put them out of
the playoffs on last-second shots.
"Seven years ago, when we
hired Lenny Wilkens, I strongly felt
that he was the right man for the
job,'* Embry said. "He has distin
guished himself as the coach of the
Cavs, and we all should be apprecia
tive of the job that he has done and
for the contributions that he has
made to the franchise. We wish him
the very best." *
This season, the Cavs exceed
ed SO victories for the third time in
Wilkens' seven years. The 54 wins
brought his career victory total with
Cleveland, Seattle and Portland to
869, pushing him past Bill Fitch,
Dick Motta and Jack Ramsay and
leaving him behind only Auerbach.
Had he stayed in Cleveland,
Wilkens probably would have
passed Auerbach during the 1994-95
season.
1
"He said he thought a lot
about it and had decided it was time
to move on," said Gordon Gund,
co-owner and chairman of the boards
of the Cavaliers. "He felt that
maybe there was something to the
fact that he had been heard too much
b>4he players, that it was possibly
trme for a new voice and a new
coach.
"We respect his decision and
his desire to be. released from his
contract. We are complying with his
request and wish him all the best in
the future.'*
? A former All-Star guard for
St. Louis, Seattle and Cleveland,
Wilkens coached Seattle to the NBA
championship in 1979. He also was
an assistant coach with the U.S.
Olympic basketball team last sum
mer.
Under Wilkens, the Cavaliers
this season became the first team to
lead the NBA in all three shooting
categories: field-goal percentage,
free-throw percentage and 3-point
percentage. They also led the league
in assists.
Their reliance on finesse
instead of power, however, was a
continuing problem in the playoffs,
when rougher play is the norm.
Embry said the search for a
new coach would begin immediate
ly. "We will look for a coach thai?
has had head coaching experience, a
coach that has the ability to lead/*
Embry said. "I think that we still
have a good basketball team here. I
think that the person we hire will
have very good players to work
with.'*
I
YMCA Basketball Action
Winston-Lake YMCA Basketball Action from the Men's Senior League sponsored by RJi. Barringer
Inc. (More photos inside).
Winston Lake AAU Team In Nationals
By DEBY JO FERGUSON
Chronicle Sports Writer
The Winston Lake AAU fin
ished in second place in the Bob
Gibbons Tournament of Champions
in Hickory last weekend.
According to Coach William
Butler, the Winston Lake 17 and
Under AAU team has been very
successful this season.
The Dell Curry Tournament
held in Charlotte involved teams
from several states with the Win
ston Lake 17 and under team finish
ing second. The team finished third
in the state finals losing only to the
Charlotte Royals 77-71 who cap
tured the state championships.
The Lakers earned the right to
represent Winston-Salem and their
state in the national 17 and under
tournament which will be held in
Winston-Salem July 16-24.
The team was invited to the
first annual Bob Gibbons Invitation
al 17 and Under National Tourna
ment of Champions in Lenoir on
May 29 and 30. This tournartient
hosted 16 of the nation's best 17 and
Under AAU teams. Winston Lake
played New Jersey on May 29 at
Hickory High School. They also
played Memphis, Tenn. that day.
The team's record was 12-2.
This team's make-up is very
different from most AAU teams,
because most AAU teams select
their players from all over the state.
This team is made up of some of
the best returning sophomores,
juniors, and seniors from the Win
ston-Salem/Forsyth County School
System," Butler said.
"This city is blessed with a
wealth of talent and is getting
national attention," he said.
The team finished 11th in^the
national tournament last year with
players from our school system.
This year's players are: Josh 1
Pittman, William Butler III, and
Larry Williams from East Forsyth
High School. Josh made All 4-A
Metro. Dameon Foster, Jermaine
Crowe 11, and Reggie McCombs are
from North Forsyth. Foster made
All 4-A Metro and All Northwest
Pleas* see page A6