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SPORTS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1996
Davis is
a happy
Panther
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
T he Carolina Panthers
went shopping for top
of the line comerback.
Eric Davis went shopping for
a new team.
They found a perfect fit
Tuesday.
Davis, an all-pro with the
San Francisco 49ers, signed as
an unrestricted free agent
with the Panthers, ending
Carolina’s search for a young
comerback to pair with sec
ond-year pro Tyrone Poole. As
the third free agent to sign
with the Panthers - tight end
Wesley Walls (New Orleans)
and Greg Skrepenak
(Oakland) - Davis found an
end to the courting in
Carolina.
“It was a good fit,” Davis
said. “It’s just a question of
playing football now. This
whole process is behind me
and I’m very happy to be a
Carolina Panther.”
Davis’ deal is worth $11.4
million over four years. It
includes a $3 million signing
bonus and base salaries of $2
million over the next three
seasons before bumping up to
$2.4 million in the fourth.
Walls signed for $4 million,
including a $1.4 million sign
ing bonus.
Panthers
officials see
Davis as the
perfect com
pliment to
Poole at cor-
nerback in
coch Dom
Capers’ 3-4
defensive
scheme. Both
CAPERS
are aggres
sive and can cover receivers
man-to-man, a necessity due
to Carolina’s penchant for
blitzing. Davis, who has 292
tackles, 12 interceptions, 81
passes defensed and five
forced fumbles in regular sea
son play, brings a champi
onship mentality as well as
considerable skills, to his new
team.
“We are thrilled to have Eric
join the Panthers,” Carolina
general manager Bill Polian
said. “He brings us not only
all-pro credentials as a player,
but also a Super Bowl-winning
attitude. We feel we’ve signifi
cantly upgraded our defense
with the acquisition of Eric.”
Davis, 5-11 and 178 pounds,
was San Francisco’s second-
round draft choice in 1990 out
of Jacksonville (Ala.) State. He
started 65 of 81 games for the
49ers, including 63 of 64
See PANTHERS Page 10B
UNC’s Charlotte Connection
PHOTOS/WADE NASH
Former Providence High etandout Antawn Jamison has 10 triple-doubles as a North Carolina
freshman, one of the top marks In school history.
Mclnnis and Jamison
prime time Tar Heels
By Wade Nash
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
W ith the loss of Jerry Stackhouse and
Rasheed Wallace, Atlantic Coast
Conference basketball observers
assumed North Carolina would fall into the
lower half of the conference.
They were wrong.
With only a few weeks remaining in the reg
ular season, Charlotte natives Jeff Mclnnis
and Antwan Jamieson have the Heels in their
usual place: contending for a title.
Mclnnis and Jamison are both having all
conference seasons and have been the driving
forces behind the Tar Heels 18-8 season.
Mclnnis vaulted into the starting position
last year, starting 31 games and playing in 34.
With Stackhouse and Wallace drawing most of
the attention, Mclnnis averaged 12.4 points,
4.1 rebounds and 5.3 per game. Without the
NBA lottery picks, Mclnnis has stepped up his
Former West Charlotte star Jeff Mclnnis
has improved his offensive production.
game and is a top candidate for first team
All-ACC honors. At 6-4 and 190 pounds,
the former West Charlotte start is a tough
See TAR HEELS Page 10B
Junior partners have
Latin Hawks soaring
By Karl Petraroja
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
After winning the state girls’
basketball title last year,
Charlotte Latin still has some
unfinished business.
The Hawks have picked up
right where they left off in
their quest for back-to-back
independent schools champi
onships with a 20-2 record,
including 9-1 in the CISAA.
They don’t look to be slowing
down as the playoffs near, rid
ing the efforts of three juniors:
forwards Janae Whiteside and
Tonya Phifer, and point guard
Rachel Lewis.
“I just don’t want our team to
rest on our laurels because we
still have to go out there and
play everynight because teams
arn’t going to let us come out
and beat them, we have to play
to the best of our ability,”
Phifer said.
“Our season wouldn’t be com
plete I ^ess, unless we win
the state championship,” says
Lewis.
“If we didn’t win, that would
be a real letdown,” Whiteside
said.
It sounds as if the Hawks are
See HAWKS Page 10B
Va. Union
tries for fifth
Cl A A crown
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The 51st CIAA basketball tournament has the familiar subplots
and one burning question:
Can anyone beat Virginia Union?
The Panthers, who have won four straight tournament titles, try
for the fifth next week in Winston-Salem. Union, ranked first in
the nation with a 21-1 record, is the team to beat. Coach Dave
Robbins’ team has size and a superior backcourt, something that
no one else can consistently boast. Despite stumbling last week at
Norfolk State, the Panthers are odds-on favorites to not only win
in Winston-Salem, but to go on to Springfield, Mass and take the
national championship.
Norfolk State, playing in its last CIAA tournament before mov
ing on to Division I status, can make a run at Union. The Spartans
have an experienced crew and a veteran coach in Mike Bernard
who has big game experience and a national championship at N.C.
Central to his credit. Central, the Southern Division champion,
could make noise. The Eagles’ trademark defense now has an up
tempo offense to go along with it. Lavelle Moton is one of the
league’s best shooting guard and a leader on the court.
Johnson C. Smith is stuck in the middle of a four-game losing
streak after Tuesday’s setback at Savannah State. The Golden
Bulls lead the CIAA in field goal percentage with better than 50
percent shooting, but don’t have the depth or experience to play
consistently good ball, Melvin Abrams, the league’s leading scorer
at 20.4 points per game is close to Moton’s level when he’s on, and
forward Wesley 'Tubbs has come on of late, pushing his scoring
average to 17.2 points per game.
Smith’s strength is its backcourt, where Abrams joins Frank
Wilson and Erasto Hatchett in the lineup. The Bulls will go as far
See CIAA Page 11B
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Tonya Phifer, Janae Whiteside and Rachel Lewis (left to right).
Judge me by my
statistics, Giants
slugger demands
By Rob Gloster
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Barry Bonds wants to be judged by his
statistics, not by his words or his deeds off the field or the public
perception of him.
And based on those statistics, the San Francisco Giants left
fielder says, “there ain’t too many players better than I am in
baseball.”
Despite playing with a hairline fracture of his right wrist for the
last few weeks of the 1995 season and being emotionally drained
by a messy divorce. Bonds put up some exceptional numbers last
year.
He hit .294 with 33 homers, 104 RBIs and 109 runs scored. He
led the NL with 120 walks and a .431 on-base percentage. He had
12 outfield assists. He beceime the first Giants player with 30
homers and 30 stolen bases in a season since his father, Bobby, did
it in 1973.
Bonds, who was testy and defensive Monday in his first meeting
of the year with reporters, accuses them of worshipping players
such as Ken Griffey Jr.
“If you guys can put someone’s stats with mine, then let me know
who it is,” he says. “If people want to say Junior is better than me,
that’s fine. But the stats are right there.”
See BONDS Page 11B
N.C. Central signs
California juco all-star
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
N.C. Central picked up some size for its offensive line by siging
a junior college all-star from California.
The Eagles signed Dan Molina, a 6-3, 315-pound offensive line
man from Santa Barbara, Calif., to a football grant-in-aid. A trans
fer from Santa Barbara Community College, Molina is a two-time
All-Western State Conference team. An all-Califomia and all-
America selection at Santa Barbara High, Molina was rated
among the top 100 players in the west among high school seniors.
He brings size and good blocking technique to Central’s offensive
line.
“Dan will be able to help our football team immediately,” Central
coach Larry Little said. “We need a big guy at left tackle to protect
our quarterback’s back. On film, he did a good job with pass block
ing.”
Playing for Little, a former Miami Dolphins guard and a mem
ber of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, means a chance to learn from
the best, Molina said. Molina’s father and uncle recalled Little’s
playing days, which helped influence his decision.
“A lot of other schools were interested in me, but I wanted to play
for coach Little,” Molina said. “I feel that I will leam things from
him that other coaches would not be able to teach me.”