W-S Mavericks suffer heartbreaker
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Winston- Salem Maverick play
ers endured a stem heartbreak when
they recently traveled to Cocoa Beach,
Fla., to play in the 1 1 U National AAU
Basketball tournament. The heart break
didn't necessarily come by the hands of
another team.
The Mavericks had a chance to fin
ish seventh place in the tournament, but
had to forfeit the game due to not being
able to make it to the arena in time for
the contest Thft,Mi??*rn.k* charter biu?.|
jlgtft lost .vfejfci- game The ,
,.?quad finjstotf JfUh vyt qf a total of 93, ,
n?rl u tsii <?) du
bait "I'm st||l Mwy proud of our young
i, qien," said head coach B.B. Patrick. "1
love the way they bonded together and
remained focused as a team even after
the challenges. I want wurn all team
. bwvu*ess rnawil&aiuudiigatfhes to put a
xiaust in ydqowntraet for the price of
??be> tournament so they don't throw
away their money without letting their
players prove themselves."
The Winston-Salem Mavericks 1 1U
AAU Basketball team faced many
challenges in the tournament, accord
ing to Patrick. The team began the
tourney with a loss to the Speed City
Chargers (63-41). That squad sent on to
in the national championship. The
Mavericks bounced back nicely to pick
up wins over the New York Westchester
Hawks (54-53) and the Boston
Warriors to finish 2- 1 in Pool Play.
The Mavericks dropped their first
game in the championship bracket to
Submitted photo
Winston-Salem Mavericks III] squad.
the Vegas Elite squad, losing 54-48.
"I still would like to thank the com
munity of Winston-Salem, businesses,
local churches, individuals who donat
ed money," said Patrick. "... and to the
parents for their fundraising efforts to
make this trip possible. The team
would like to send out a special thank
you to Sharon Mosley Johnson of Top
Priority Care Services, IXC for being
the top donor and also to Josh Howard
for his support. I would also like to
thank Bryant McCorkle at Reynolds
Park."
Patrick would like to warn all team
business managers and coaches if you
charter a bus. put a clause in the con
tract for the price of the tournament so
they do not throw away your money
without letting your players prove
themselves.
"Many lessons were learned on this
trip, which has brought the tram and the
parents closer together and looking for
ward to next year when they get to go
back to the Nationals to reclaim their
winning seat," concluded Patrick.
The members of the team were
Mike Hughes, Ryan Henderson,
Keeshon Patrick, Mitch Cain, Dequan
Cunningham, Cam Mack, Jamel
Deshields and James Antoine. The
Mavericks are coached by B.B. Patrick
and Taft Mack.
South Carolina State is
selected as MEAC favorite
CHRONK I t STAFF REPORT
South Carolina State's Will Ford and Endor Cooper of Howard earned the
MuJ EaMern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) top football preseason awards, as
announced by the league last week at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel.
Fdrd was selected as the preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Cooper
wasjwuied the Defensive Player of the Year by the MEAC head football coach
es and sports information directors. j m u n . ^
For the second year in a row tne
South Carolina State Bulldogs were the
consensus pick to win the MEAC title in
2008. The defending MEAC Champion
Delaware State Hornets finished second
in the preseason poll.
Ford led the Bulldogs in total rushing
yards with 1,389 yards on 210 attempts
and four touchdowns. He finished sec
ond in the MEAC in rushing yards per
game with average of 126.3. Ford
eamecMhe MEAC's Rookie of the Year
honor his freshman season and was
selected to the All-MEAC First Team as
a sophomore.
Cooper earned the defensive player
of the year honor after leading the Bison
with 50 solo and 87 total tackles in
zuu/. ne nnisnea nnn in me league in r ~ ? - ?
tackles and tallied three forced fumbles, SCSU's Will Ford finished with
fourth best in the ME AC. I J89 yards last season.
Hampton led all teams with six play
ers on the preseason All-MEAC first
team. The Pirates also had three second team selections for a total of 1 1 . South
Carolina State had 12 total selections on both teams; five were recognized on the
first team. Delaware Statfe, Morgan State and Norfolk State had six total selec
tions each. ?
The 2008 Preseason Predictions and All-Conference teams are listed as fol
lowed: South Carolina State, Delaware State, Norfolk State, Hampton. Morgan
State, Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman. Howard and North Carolina A&T.
Hill
from page B1
J-Ho is more than a bailer
I tell you what. It gets no
better than NBA star Josh
Howard. I am not saying that
because he's my man. I truly
mean that. I am a fixture at
Reynolds Park. I mean. Roscoe
Anderson Center". That's where
Josh Howard host his youth
summer basketball league each
summer.
The championship games
were played this past Monday,
and they were as entertaining as
advertised or expected. First,
shout out to the champions of
each class. The Mavericks won
the 1 1 and under division. The
Predators won the 1 3 and under
division. And, J-Ho TICKS won
the 17 and under division after
defeating a team full of varsity
guys. The TICKS were basical
ly a 15U, which made the win
:ven more impressive. That
:ame was truly exciting*.
The best part about the
;ames and the league was the
act that Howard was there to
vitness the action.
I mean, it would' ve been
:asy for Josh to simply put up
?ome money and simply let the
eague go on without him. But
hat didn't happen. Josh was at
james almost every night. He
wasn't just in the gym. J-Ho
was talking to the crowd, break
ing bread with old friends, giv
ing kids acjvice and simply shar
ing his time with the communi
ty. You have to love that about
Josh. He's not a guy that's
going to hide behind his NBA
status. He's a guy that's going to
get in the midst of the commu
nity. He's a guy that's going to
help kids every chance he gets.
J-Ho is also a guy that's true to
his old recreation center. And,
he doesn't do things for media
attention or pats on the backs.
He does things for the love of
his community.
What makes me mad some
times is how some people try to
compare Josh and my man
Chris Paul. Please get off of
that. They are two different peo
ple. And, what really gets' me
mad is when people try to make
Chris out to be THE GUY of the
community, and Josh out to be
the villain. Josh is far from a
villain. Just because you don't
see what number five is doing
on the TV every night, or read
about it in every paper doesn't ,
mean that he's not doing great
things. He's definitely doing
great things. Just know that.
What about the camp?
Since we're talking about
number five, I've got t mention
his youth basketball camp that
also took place at Reynolds
Park.
He and 1 talked a little about
his camp in our one-om-one
interview, but I wanted to say a
little more real quick.
J-Ho's camp, which has
been going on all week and will
conclude tomorrow, had almost
200 kids enrolled this year. The
best part about that is the fact
the camp was free. That's right.
Josh gives a free basketball
clinic every summer, and this
might 've been the best year.
The kids get a chance to
meet and leam from other bas
ketball stars and former players.
The kids also get a chance to
meet different celebrities, eat
free lunches, get cool Jordan
gear and a few other things.
Where was Josh when I was a
kid? Oh yeah. He wasn't born
yet.
I just had to take a moment
to give credit where it's due.
Keep doing what you do for us
J-Ho. We love you brother. And,
we're kicking it this weekend.
(I'm laughing as I type this).
Anthony Hill is the sports
editor for The Chronicle. He
can be reached at 722-8624
(ext. Ill) or
v . , ,v. v'o^r *1+ i i Photo by Anthony Hill
Josh Hoitard (right, r gat) takes a picture with the Predators after they won the 13U title.
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