Unto by Craif T Oroenlee
Running back
Justus Pickftt races
past defenders on a
28-yard touchdown
run.
Spring
from page BI
as the Rams head coach. "If we can keep
everybody, we're going to have real good
chance (to have a championship season)."
TVpically, Winston-Salem State fields
stellar defensive teams and that's not likely
to change in 2016. Trinity Roberts, Brian
James and Amyl Smith are key figures in
what promises to be a formidable D-line
rotation. All three recorded one sack
apiece in the spring game. Xavier Gregory
and Kyrell Williamson show positive signs
of emerging as the designated ringleaders
at linebacker.
Offensively, look for the Rams to ham
mer the opposition with a bruising ground
game. At this juncture, there's no way to
tell who might get the call as the featured
running back. Tyree Massey (867 rushing
yards and 8 touchdowns) got most of the
totes in 2015, but since it was his senior
season, he's no longer available for duty.
Xavier Quick (320 yards, 3 TDs and
4 J yards per carry last season) could be
the one. The Rams, though, are deep at
running back. Kerrion Moorc<281 yards, 1
TD, 5.6 yards per carry in 2015) show
cased his break-away skills in the spring
game by darting through the defense on a
55-yard touchdown run. Moore gained 62
yards on five totes for the White team.
Malik Mosley, who saw spot duty a
year ago, is a capable ball carrier who has
the ability to make tacklers miss in the
open field.
Perhaps the most intriguing backfield
prospect for WSSU is Justus Pickett, a
transfer from Tennessee who?lso played at
Maryland. Pickett, a senior, produced the
game-winning score on a 28-yard touch
down run last Saturday. He finished the
day with 40 yards on 10 carries.
"We have few guys who can take it the
distance," said Boulware. "But we also
have a couple of guys who can pound you
until the cows come home. It's going to be
an arsenal there."
Using this year's spring game as a
barometer for WSSU's passing attack is a
tricky proposition. With the strong winds,
there was no way to get a feel for the quar
terbacks' throwing accuracy or the ability
of the receivers to make the proper adjust
ments on deep throws and fade routes.
For now, the Rams starting QB is Rod
Tinsley Jr., the redshirt-fteshman who led
WSSU to victory over Bowie State in the
CI A A championship game last November.
When fall practice begins, JUCO transfer
AJ. Nocciolo is expected to challenge
Tinsley.
Tinsley connected on 6 of 13 throws
for 81 yards, which included a 30-yard
touchdown pass to Brandon Holmes.
Nocciolo, his counterpart on the White
team, completed 8 of 13 passes for 63
yards.
Boulware concedes that Tinsley has an
advantage because he's had a full year in
the Rams offensive system. Even so, he
likes the progress that Nocciolo has made
since his arrival at WSSU in January.
"Right now, Rod has the hot hand,"
said Boulware. "We brought A J. in for the
spring and he hasn't a chance to get his
feet wet in our system until now. He's bet
ter now than when he came in. But Rod
was the quarterback in the CIAA champi
onship game. He had a chance to taste
some adversity early on and grow through
it."
Tmsley finds himself in a vastly differ
ent situation from a year ago. At that time,
he was one of several newcomers who had
aspirations to become the Rams starter at
QB. During the season, Tmsley had his
struggles. But in the end, he played a big
role in bringing another CIAA football
championship trophy back to Winston
Salem State.
"The difference between last year and
right now is confidence," he said. "I've
studied and I know the play book a lot bet
ter. I know my abilities and what I can do.
In that championship game, we had some
low moments, but we figured it out. I
learned how to stay confident and believe
in my teammates.
"To build on that, you keep studying
film; keep getting better in the weight
room and the practice field. It's about per:
fecting your craft and being the best that
you can be."
Photo by Guilford Colkfe Athletic*
Anais Weatherly of Winston-Salem fre
quently draws double-teams as the top per
former for Guilford College. This past sea
son, Weatherly was named Honorable
Mention NCAA Division HI AU-American.
"Playing
against
guys was
really a
big help."
- Anais Weatherly
Weatherly
from page HI
knack for making big plays
at the most crucial times.
Over the past year, she
improved a lot with the use
of her left hand and her 3
point shooting. In our
league, there is no one who
can stop her."
The desire to perfect
her craft is the main reason
why Weatherly exudes
confidence about her abili
ty to raise her level of {day
for next season. Last sum
mer, she was in the gym
three hours a day, five days
a week. To add to the inten
sity and degree of difficulty
of her work-outs, she
trained with and competed
against men in pick-up
games. Some were mem
bers of Guilford's men's
team.
"Playing against guys
was really a big help," said
Weatherly, who graduated
from Mount Tabor three
years ago. "It helped a lot
with my quickness and
being able to anticipate
what's going to happen on
the court. I didn't start
playing basketball until my
ninth grade year and I
didn't play AAU until the
summer after my senior
year of high school. So, I
feel like there's still so
much more room for me to
grow as a player."
As the Quakers mar
quee player, Weatherly, an
ODAC All-Tournament
pick, frequently faced
opposing defenses which
were designed specifically
to limit her scoring. As the
season progressed, she
drew more double-teams
and saw a lot of box-arid
one defenses.
"Perhaps the most
improved part of
Weatherly's game is out
side shooting.- Her best
game shooting the bail
from long distance came in
an early-season 67-56 win
over city rival Greensboro
College. Weatherly scored
six 3-pointers in the first
half, which included four
3-balls in the first quarter.
"Nobody came out to
gua^d me because they
knew I could get to the bas
ket quickly off the dribble,"
she said. "So, I kept taking
the shots. That was a fun
game because I got a
chance to show off my
guard skills."
Even though Weatherly
has another season of col
lege eligibility remaining,
she's already thinking
about her athletic career
beyond Guilford. She's
fully aware that making the
grade at the next level will
be a difficult task. But
when she considers how far
she's come in such a short
period of time, Weatherly
believes she can give her
self a reasonable chance to
succeed.
At her height, there's
no question that she will
have to change positions to
play pro ball. In her case,
that means playing in the
back court. That's why
she's going to spend much
of this upcoming summer
working on extending her
shooting range and improv
ing her ball-handling.
"After college, I want
to go pro," she said. "To do
that, it's a must that I get
better with my handle and
with my shooting accura
cy.
Jumper
from page Bl
J
When Reynolds watched Wright win a slam dunk contest
a year ago, she was convinced, then that the basketball
player was tailor-made for the high jump.
Tiemond has natural talent," said Reynolds. "When I
stalled working with him, I just told him what he was
doing wrong. He listened, took it all in, and did it right.
And from that point, he continued to improve."
At this point in his still-embryonic track career, Wright
competes on sheer athleticism. He didn't come out for the
track team until after basketball season, which means that
he didn't compete during the winter indoor season.
Given that he first started out by jumping 5-8 and then
improved by 10 inches in a span of a few weeks is
unheard of, because such rapid development is so rare.
That's because the high jump is an event in which tech
nique makes all the difference. Right now, Wright uses a
20-foot approach to the bar, which is a very short distance,
compared to his more polished counterparts.
"Right now. he doesn't have the technique," said
^harlton Rolle. head coach for boys' track at Reynolds
"He doesn't have a full approach yet - so once he gets
some speed and some distance behind him - it's just scary
when you think about the possibilities for him.
'Tor starters, he's just now learning how to flop and
how to take off and hit all those correct positions. I've
seen him jump 6-8 in practice. So, now he just has to do
that in an actual meet. Jumping 6-8 or 6-10 is within his
reach for this spring."
While there's no question about Wright's physical
gifts, his coaches are cognizant that he must handle the
mental side of competing in order to contend for high
jump titles at the regional and state levels. They believe
his ability to handle the mental aspects of competition will
ultimately help to determine his level of success.
"The high jump is very mental," Reynolds explained.
"Sometimes, Tnemond can get out of the zone and over
think things. That's when I have to remind him to just go
for it. He knows he can do it."
With about a month remaining in this outdoor season,
Wright is confident about his chances to clear higher
heights and win a stale title. At the same time, be hilly
understands that be cannot reach his goals based solely on
raw jumping ability
? * & .
"I expect to win a (state) championship" said Wright,
who wants to attend college on a track scholarship and
major in business or engineering. "I really want it and I'm
going to bring one to my school. The biggest challenge for
me is technique. As 1 do the work and get better with my
technique, I feel like I can go a lot higher. It comes down
to putting a lot of time and effort into it. That's what you
have to do."
Even though Wright is brand-new to the sport, Rolle
believes that by season's end, Wright will have an oppor
tunity to further his education and compete in the high
jump at the college level. Rolle's rationale is based on
what Wright has already accomplished.
"1 haven't seen anybody quite like Tremood," said
Rolle. "Jumping 6-6 will score points in a (NCAA
Division I) college track meet. He's proven the caliber of
athlete he is, and I think he has a lot more left in his tank.
Track is definitely where he belongs. We're just trying tq
help him get comfortable with what he knows already. 1
tell him, don't think man, just do what you did the first
day of practice - just go out and jump."
ff f