SportsWeek
Also Community, Religion and Classifieds february 26, 2015
CIAA Tournament:
a mixture of hoops, hype, entertainment
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
There's no denying that the CIAA
Basketball Tournament ranks among the mar
quee events in all of college sports. Last year's
tournament generated an economic impact of
$47 million for the host city Charlotte.
This week-long mix of basketball, step
shows.
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after-par
ties and
class
reunions.
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tournament started on Tuesday and will end on
Saturday.
In recent years, die-hard basketball aficiona
dos have come to believe that the games are no
longer the tournament's centerpiece. Some
would argue that it's now stage right or stage
left, or maybe it's no longer on the stage at all.
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SportsWeek called on a panel of experts who
are very familiar with the background and inner
wnrkinoc of the tournament All are involved
with media outlets that provide nationwide coverage of black
college sports.
Lut Williams, editor/publisher of the syndicated Black
College Sports Page, remembers attending the 1968 tournament
when North Carolina A&T played Norfolk State in front df a
sold-out crowd of 20,000-plus at the Greensboro Coliseum. He
also recalled that 5,000 were turned away.
"The best players at HBCUs back then were like the top
black players you see today in the ACC and other major-college
programs," he said. "The quality of competition was very rivet
ing. But give credit to the CIAA for understanding where the
revenue comes from and how to make the best of their situa
tion."
See CIAA on B2
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
WyKevin Bazemore (22) protects the ball after grabbing a rebound against
Joshua Linson of Johnson C. Smith.
Rams Drop
Season Finale
To Livingstone
Rams lose, 86-83, still earn
southern division crown
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
SALISBURY, NC - The Winston
Salem State Rams had four players to score
in double figures, but it wasn't enough, as
the Livingstone Blue Bears fought back
from a 19 point deficit to overtake the Rams
86-83 in the CIAA regular season finale.
Despite the loss, Winston-Salem State
will grab the No.l seed from the Southern
Division based on point differential between
the two games against Livingstone this sea
son. WSSU defeated the Blue Bears won
89-80 in Winston-Salem on Jan. 31, and the
Blue Bears won 83-80 in Salisbury, thus
giving the Rams the edge.
This was a heavyweight battle that lived
up to all the hype, as the Rams were able to
take control of the game early, jumping out
to a 7-2 lead, before the Blue Bears would
fight back to cut into the WSSU lead.
WSSU led the contest until two Hakeem
Jackson free throws with 11 minutes to play
in the first half, gave Livingstone their first
lead of the night at 22-20.
The game would go back and forth the
See Rams on B4
W-S Prep called county's
No. 1JV basketball team
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
This is the first of two season-ending articles on
junior varsity basketball in Forsyth County. Here's
the season wrap-up for schools in Classes 1-A, 2-A
and 3-A.
Winston-Salem Prep's junior varsity ran the
table in dominant fashion. The end result was an
undefeated season (20-0, 14-0 Northwest
Conference) and acknowledgement as the county's
No. 1 JV basketball team.
The Phoenix is stocked with an abundance of
quick athletes with rangy builds who play multiple
positions. Pressure defense is a staple and no JV
team does it better than Prep, who has won three of
the last four Lash-Chronicle Holiday Classic cham
pionships.
At the end of the season four members of the
JV team got the call to move up. Caleb Burgess,
Davier Dixon, Justin Carter and Keith Watson
joined the varsity team in its quest to win a fourth
straight Class 1-A state championship.
"Everyone played together and nobody cared
who got the credit," said Coach Bill Tibbs. "The
hardest part was keeping everybody focused and
grounded."
Prep was equally impressive on offense. Six
players -J Brandon Palmer, Anthony Williams,
Burgess, Watson, Carter and Dixon averaged
between 9 and 14 points per game.
"With the people we had this season, we were
confident that we'd get 65 points every game," said
Tibbs. "It didn't matter if one player had a bad
shooting night. There were others who would
always pick up the scoring."
Atkins
Coach David Prim believes that Atkins (6-15)
has started to turn the comer. That's because the
Camels nearly broke even in Northwest Conference
play (6-7) and they tripled their win total from the
previous season.
"They bought in to what we had been teach
ing," said Prim, whose team won five of its last
eight games. "Towards the end, they turned things
around and made it a meaningful season. We can't
go anywhere but up."
During their season-ending run, the Camels got
strong performances from Syrus Sadler, Justin
Noland, Montel Twyman and D J. Williams.
2-A Carver
With a roster comprised mostly of 9th-grade
players, Carver took its lumps. The Yellowjackets
finished 3-17 overall and 2-8 in the Western
Piedmont Conference.
Quinn Baker, Quan Jackson and Russell
Bradley were Carver's top performers.
"We had a lot of players who went through a
tough adjustment in their first season of playing at
the high school level," said Coach Jamie Foster. "To
See JV on B2
Photo by Charles E. Leftwich
Davier Dixon of Winston-Salem Prep is one off our JV players who
were moved up to varsity.
WSSU track coach works on recipe for victory
1 ?
Photos by Crwg T Greenlee
Lady Rams' Raven Covington (in red) has Division II's second-fastest time
in the 60-meter dash.
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
PGR THE CHRONICLE
Inez Turner wasn't surprised when
Winston-Salem State's women won the team
title at the CIAA Indoor
I rack ana rieia
Championships at JDL
Fast Track last week. In
her mind, winning the
conference crown was
n't a case of happen
stance, nor was it a case
of the stars being
aligned properly.
Turner, the WSSU
women's track head
coach, envisioned vic
tory when cross-coun
try practice started last
August. Based on week
ly evaluations of practices and competitions,
she was confident that the Lady Rams had as
good a chance as any to unseat St. Augustine's,
winners of back-to-back indoor titles.
"Overall, I'm very pleased with our
progress," said Turner. "Things are going
according to plan. The athletes come together
and they push themselves. When 1 looked at
the improvements everyone had made in
recent weeks, I liked our chances."
Turner's
grand design
involves coming
up with the right
mix of training
and confidence
building which
is tailored to fit
the needs and
attributes of
each athlete.
Everyone does
the core work
which builds
strength and
stamina. But
that's not all. The coaching staff plays a crucial
role in making the correct on-going adjust
ments in training to help produce the desired
results.
See TUrner on B2
Inez Turner, WSSU women's track coach
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