PROFILE
"Gunslinger"
wilt Lead Norfolk State
At Norfolk State, winning football
games is like religion. Coaches get paid ?
for Division II schools at least -*? big
money and are given big perks. In return,
the students, the fans and the alumni all
want the Spartans to not just win but win
every time.
And if you don't win, it's simple; you
go somewhere else. Willard Bailey, Nor
folk's last football coach, had won and
won and won, but last season, he struggled
a little. And when his team lost to Johnson
C. Smith, which had annually been to the
CIAA what the Tampa Bay Bucs are to
the NFL, Norfolk's support group had
seen enough.
It was basically common knowledge
after the Smith game that BaHey, whose
offensive schemes weren't producing
many points, would be leaving. Now with
the naming of Archie Cooley as Norfolk's
new head man, scoring shouldn't be any
thing close to a problem.
Cooley comes in with a fancy nick
name and a record to match it Friends and
enemies_call him the "Ounslinger" because
Cooley doesn't mind taking chances. His
run-and-shoot offense produced some
wicked numbers at Mississippi Valley
State in the mid 1980s. His teams aver
aged better than 60 points per game.
After that, Cooley brought the wide
open style to Southern University, where
he worked as the Jaguars' offensive coor
dinator. And as Cooley returns to a head
coaching position, he promises that CIAA
fans will see the same kinds of things Coo
ley "has done in the past.
That may not be the best of news for
? defensive coaches in the CIAA.
"We'll do some things that have not
been done lately," Cooley said, "and we
hope to put some excitement, along with a
return to the winning tradition, back into
the game at Norfolk State.**
Cooley is best known for his exotic
formations, using a no-huddle approach
along with four and sometimes five wide
receivers and no running backs. But in the
past, Cooley has had lots of talent to make
the system work.
At Mississippi Valley, Cooley utilized
some guy named Jerry Rice to execute his
mad offensive schemes. And while Nor
folk doesn't have a Rice in its lineup ?
who does? ? the Spartans do have more
than enough talent to make the transforma
tion necessary to play the Gunslinger*s
style.
Quarterback Aaron Sparrow is a .
mobile, strong-armed quarterback, and
receivers James Roek Steve Hines and
Travis Ramseur are capable quality
Receivers with lots of speed.
"A winner is not far away here," Coo
ley said. "There are many things we can
do to make the offense go. And we'll find
a way.'*
ball coach and a graduate of Jackson State,
where he was an all-American football
player. Cooley holds a masters degree in
education from Southern Mississippi.
"We are pleased to name a coach with
the impressive credentials that Cooley
brings to this vacancy,** said Norfolk ath
letic director Dick Price. "If I could use
.two words to describe him, I would say -
he's an innovator and a motivator.**
Price hopes Cooley can motivate the
Spartans towards a winning season. And if
a guy named "Gunslinger" can't do that,
Norfolk's^program may be in more trouble
than many believe.
? LANGSTON WERTZ JR
Archie "Gunslinger" CooUy
SPORT NOTES
Alabama A&M Women's Track Team Wins Title
The Alabama A&M University
Women's Track Team won the NCAA
title for the second consecutive year in
outdoor competition by edging host Abi
lene Christian University 92-86 recently in
Abilene, Texas. Pictured from left to right
Germaino Crocker (400 meter relay); Kim
Golden (400 meter relay); Wallace Jack
son (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference Commissioner); Shelly Beck
foid (400 meter relay, 200 meter dash, 400
meter dash, and the 1600 meter relay);
Taiwo Aladefa (100 meter dash, 100
meter hurdles, and the 400 meter relay);
and Dr. Joseph Henderson (Head Coach).
Seventeen of the 22 athletes repre
senting the SIAC earned All-America
status. Henderson was named the National
Coach of the Year for the third time in the
last five years.
I Pro-Am Classic
Showcase Highschool
Basketball
The Third Annual Pro-Am/D.C.
Summer Classic will showcase the best
high school basketball of the season on
June 19-20. The tournament will feature
high school ail-star teams from Washing
ton, New York, Chicago and Virginia.
The theme of the Pro-Am/D.C. Summer
Classic is "Combining the power of athlet
ics and education for our youth
This tournament is unique in that
its focus is on education as well as athletic
excellence for our future MBA/NBA
MVPs. Educational activities will include
distinguished guest speakers discussing
topics as: career planning; AIDS aware
ness education; substance use prevention;
college preparation; motivational speak
ing; leadership workshops; and Prelimi
nary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) tips.
The tournament will take place at the
Smith Center on the campus of George
Washington University, in northwest,
Washington, D.C. Speaker; for the educa
tional activities are Len Elmore, Chair,
Pro-Am/DC Summer Classic and CBS
Sports Analyst; Dexter > onley, former
Washington Redskin; CnJvin Hill, former
Washington Redskin; Ed Tapscott, Direc
tor, Administrative Affairs, New York
Knicks; Desmond Howard, Washington
Redskin.