PhoKs by Craig T Oreenfae
Desha wn
Corprew of
Quality
Education
Academy has
emerged as a
prized major
college basket? .
ball prospect.
QEA power for
ward M arse lli s
Purvis (33) is <
expected to play a
pivotal role in
Saturday's game
against Word of
God Christian
Academy.
QEA basketball showdown features marquee match-up
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE _______________
When Word of God Christian Academy comes to town
to play Quality Education Academy on Saturday night,
basketball connoisseurs are sure to get an eyeful. Tip-off
is 7 o'clock.
The upcoming showdown features a pair of big-time
college recruits who figure to produce an intriguing
match-up. Word of God's Rawli Alkins is a five-star
recruit who ranks among the Top 15 high school players
in the country.
A year ago, Alkins was voted Player of the Year in
New York City while playing for Christ the King High
School. The heavily-recruited Alkins transferred to Word
of God for his senior season and has reportedly narrowed
his choices to nine schools, which includes North
Carolina, N.C. State, Kentucky, Kansas and St. John's.
QEA, on the other hand, has an upper-tier player of its
own in Deshawn Corprew, whose stock continues to rise
as the season progresses. Corprew initially committed to
Arkansas-Little Rock, but changed his mind and now he's
free to pursue other possible destinations. The list of inter
ested parties continues to grow. Louisville, Kansas,
Florida State, UCLA, Oregon and Texas are all in the hunt
to sign Corprew.
During the course of Saturday's
game, these two will very likely
end up guarding each other for long
stretches. Both are 6-feet-5. Both
are athletic, and they have the abil
ity to shoot from the outside and
score in heavy traffic. At the col
lege level, both are projected to
play shooting guard.
Given Alkins' national reputa
tion as an elite player, one would
nrp?nm<? that fY*mrf?w u/rtnlH hav#?
added incentive to perform well on Saturday. That's not
the way he sees it. In Corprew's mind, his level of inten
sity should always be the same.
"In playing ball, you go after your opponent," he said.
'To me, it's all the same. I don't look at anybody as being
any less than or any more than anybody else. That's my
approach regardless of who the opponent is."
Saturday's contest, however, isn't solely about the
marquee match-up between Corprew and Alltins.
Aside from Alkins, the Holy Rams have four other
players who are Division I prospects. Jalen Fomes, a
shooting guard, has signed with UNC Wilmington. Post
player Brandon Huffman, along with guards Blake and
Jalen Harris, have yet to choose a school.
In spite of its talent level, Word of God (4-11 as of Jan.
15) has not performed as well as expected. In the presea
son, the Holy Rams were viewed as a program on the rise.
The school's most notable basketball alumnus is NBA
All-Star John Wall of the Washington Wizards.
Word of God plays a demanding national-level sched
ule against teams who are stocked with the nation's top
high school players. A week ago, Word of God held its
own in a road game against defending Class 4-A state
champ Raleigh Garner, but still came up short in a 93-89
loss.
The Pharaohs (15-3 as of Jan. 19) has given a good
account against national-level competition this season.
Although Corprew is the prime force, he is not a solo act.
Jaylan McGill has delivered as an on-the-money outside
shooter. Point guard Renathan Ono Embo has proven him
self as a viable ball distributor who can score and defend.
In the paint, 6-foot-7 Marsellis Purvis and 6-foot-9 Pape
Ndiaye are the key contributors.
So, which team will have an edge on Saturday? Coach
Isaac Pitts believes the Pharaohs can prevail by making a
concerted effort to pound the ball in the post.
"Word of God is top-heavy with guards," said Pitts.
"Their guards will have to defend our bigs in the post. And
we'll have to defend their guards, so we're going to see
which team can impose its will on the other. We feel like
we have an advantage in the low post, so we're going to
get the ball inside."
Ralkins
WSSU track & field
team returns to
action at invitational
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
The Winston-Salem
State University Rams
women's track & field
team returned to action in a
big way, Saturday, Jan. 16,
when the team competed
in the 2016 Wake Forest
Invitational. Though com
peting for the first time in
nearly a month, the Rams
had some solid perform
ances at the meet.
WSSU senior sprinter
Raven Covington led the
way for the Rams with an
impressive effort in the
women's 60m dash as she
placed seventh in the event
with a 7.80 in the event
finals. Her best perform
ance, however, came in the
event preliminaries when
she ran a 7.68, an NCAA
Division II provisional
qualifying time.
Joining her with a spot
in the finals was defending
national champion C'Evon
Jones, but the rematch
would not happen as Jones
did not compete iiKthe
event finals. , _A
It was the Rams' 80(Jm
runners who had the best
finishes of the day when
junior Taska Johnson
placed second in the event
with a 2:17.87 while junior
Tametris Morrison placed
third with a 2:20.42.
Sophomore Domtilla
Kiplagat placed seventh in
the women's 3000m run
with an 11:04.30. The
Rams' distance medley
relay also had a strong day
when they placed third in
the event with a 12:57.29.
The Rams will split for
their next action, with
some participating in the
Emory Invitational in
Birmingham, Alabama,
while others will compete
in the WSSU Six-Way at
the JDL Fast Track in
Winston-Salem.
hoto by Garrett Garms, WSSU
Tametris Morrison races into third place for the finish in the 800m run
PLAYER OF THE
WEEK
i aK 1 i
#20 Lady Walker,
Virginia Union
(Jr, F - 6-2,
Cleveland, OH)
Lady Walker record
ed two double-doubles
this week in victories
over St. Augustine's
(102-53) and Virginia
State (84-68). Versus the
Falcons, Walker scored
35 points and grabbed 20
rebounds and against
Virginia
NEWCOMER OF
THE WEEK
#1$ Courtney
Best, Fayetteville
State
(So, F-5-11,
Raleigh, NC)
In two games played
this week, Courtney Best
produced 29 points and
17 rebounds. She shot
44% (13-29) from the
field and 75% (3-4) from
the free throw line en
route to victories.
?
ROOKIE OF THE
WEEK
#11 Jayln Brown,
Elizabeth City State
(Fr, G - 5-5,
Williamston, NC)
Jalyn Brown led
all scorers in the con
test versus Winston
Salem State with a
game-high 15 points.
She also scored 8
points off the bench iii
the Lady Vikings'
division opener
against Chowan
University.
PLAYER OF THE
WEEK
A.G. Hall,
Winston-Sakm State
Winston-Salem
State Head Coach A.G.
Hall led the Rams to a
perfect 3-0 record this
week, including a win
at Elizabeth City State
as well as an upset win
over the Bowie State
Lady Bulldogs. The
week included some of
the best efforts of the
season for the Rams as
the team held all three
opponents under SO
points and scored a
season-high 74 points
against Saint
Augustine's.
PLAYER OF THE
WEEK
i i
#2 Kortez
Smith, Chowan
University
(Sr, G, 5-8 -
Waldorf, MD)
Kortez Smith
averaged 19.7 points
per game as the
Hawks extended
their win streak to
nine consecutive
games with three vic
tories this week.
Smith also netted his
1,000th career points
in Chowan's 73-70
win over Livingstone
and led the Hawks to
a 76-71 win over
rival Elizabeth City
State with 24 points.
NEWCOMER OF
THE WEEK
I I
#4 Michael
Briscoe, Bowie
State
(Jr, G, 6-3 -
Waldorf, MD)
Michael Briscoe
ranked second on the
team in scoring this
week, averaging 133
ppg. His best game
of the week occurred
at home against
Fayetteville State,
scoring a career-best
23 points on 7-of-ll
. shooting from the
field, 6-of-9 at the
free throw line and
he dished out seven
assists.
ROOKIE OF THE
WEEK
i -? 1
#3 Marco
Masking, ChOwan
(Fr, G, 6-5 -
Fredericksburg, VA)
\
Marco Haskins t
averaged 10.3 points (
per game this week as I
the Hawks won'three t
straight games and g
extended their win <
streak tp 'nine consecu- \
tive contests. He ?
scored 12 points in vie- <
tories against "
Livingstone and 1
Elizabeth City State <
and continues to be a 1
consistent performer !
for the Hawks in his !
rookie season. This is I
Haskins third consecu- '
tive Rookie of the I
Week honor. <
COACH OF THE
WEEK
Brett Vincent, <
Chowan University
Coach Vincent led
lis Hawks to complete
i perfect sweep of
;iAA Southern
division opponents for
he first time in pro
;ram history and
:xtended the team's
vinning streak to nine
itraight games.
Zhowan earned a 73
'0 win over back-to
jack defending C1AA
Champion
-ivingstone, edged
5aint Augustine's 59
18 and clipped rival
Elizabeth City State
76-71 in their CI A A
Northern Division
jpener this week.