Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Jan. 9, 1997, edition 1 / Page 15
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1B ^f)e Cliarlotte SPORTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1997 PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III DeMarco Johnson feels his best basketball is ahead of him. Johnson leads the 49ers By Herbert L. White THE CHARLOTTE POST DeMarco Johnson isn’t psirtic- ularly tall, fast or strong, at least as basketball players go. But he does enough of the little things that makes him difficult for opponents to stop. The UNC Charlotte forward is the 49ers’ top player, but sees room for improvement as the 49ers compete for the Conference USA regudar season title. No matter how good the junior is now, he feels there’s more ability to can be wrung fi-om his 6-8,245-pound fi-ame. “I feel like I’m playing just a B right now. I feel like I can play a lot better,” Johnson said. “Tfeams are double-teaming and triple teaming me but Fm looking for other guys and not trying to force the issue. I feel like I’ve stiU got a lot of good basketball to come.” Johnson has come a long way since setting foot on the UNCC campus. At times, his physical attributes were masked by his limitations, namely being out of shape. This season, he’s slimmed down, bulked up and is more of a iftrce on both ends of the floor. As a result, he leads the 9-3 49ers in ;ppints (19.1 per game) rebounds Cio.2) and steals (18). “We always knew Demarco had skills,” 49ers coach Melvin Watkins said. “It was more of liim getting his body in tip-top shape, more of him mentally saying T can be a big-time play er. He’s really worked hard in ;fhe oJBF-season, and I happen to think he’s one of the top players in the country.” The beauty of Johnson’s game isn’t physical attributes, thun derous dunks or breath-taking moves in the paint. What makes him effective is his knack in find ing the hoop regardless of who’s checking him. Although big men like Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan and Uteh’s Keith Van Horn get most of the national attention, Watkins Ukes his underrated big man. “He’s a 6-8 player who cem score,” Watkins said. “He doesn’t have the athletic ability of some of those guys, so he needs to be See JOHNSON on page 3B Give ’em props Panthers grab some respect By Herbet L. White THE CHARLOTTE POST Just because the Carolina Panthers are playing for the NFC championship doesn’t mean they expect to be feared. After beating the Dallas Cowboj;s 26-17 Sunday in the divisional playoff, receiver Willie Green said the Panthers will have to go out and prove they belong all over again when they take on the Green Bay Packers. Instead of being upset over a perceived lack of respect, the Panthers like being in a position to prove critics wrong. “We’re not mad because we’re not getting any respect,” he said. “What have we done? We haven’t won any Super Bowls. We haven’t won any thing as far as we’re con cerned. Dallas has won three or four Super Bowls. We were expecting people not to give us any respect. We like it. We like thriving off the underdog situ ation.” Carolina may be underdogs to Green Bay, but the Panthers are dangerous. All season long, they’ve done what many con sidered impossible for a sec ond-year franchise. First came a winning record, then the NFC West championship fol lowed by the win over favored Dallas. No obstacle has been too difficult to overcome. “We have some talented play ers on this football team, but more importantly we have a group of players that believe in themselves, that believe in each other, they trust in each other,” Carolina coach Dom Capers said. “Those are the two most powerful words you can have on any team - belief and trust.” It was no different against the Cowboys, who despite their problems off the field were favored by many to repeat as Super Bowl champi ons. Carolina controlled the game’s flow from the start, taking a 17-11 lead into half time, then continued its run of second-half success at Ericsson Stadium by limiting Dallas to six points over the final 30 minutes. “I think we’re beginning to get our respect,” comerback Tyrone Poole said. “That’s the main thing in the NFL. Respect is not given to you, whether you’re a player or a team. You have to get the big wins as a team when you’re pla3dng the big games and as a player you have to make the big plays and... main tain your ground in order to get respect.” ‘This team has made a big investment in terms of trying to do all the things that give you a chance to have success,” Capers said. “When we came in the locker room at halftime, we felt confident we could go See PANTHERS on page 4B PHOTOWADE NASH Carolina linebacker Lamar Lathon coliars Dallas running back Emmitt Smith during a goal line stand in the Panthers’ 26-17 win in the NFC divisional playoff last week at Ericcson Stadium. Carolina advance to the conference championship against Green Bay. No excuses for ‘Boys By Denne H. Freeman THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Excuses. There were pre cious few. It was like the Dallas Cowboys knew what was coming. Their dream of winning a fourth Super Bowl in five years stopped two games short, killed off by injuries and distractions and a Carolina Panthers team that played the opportunis tic type of football the Cowboys showed last year. “We can’t make any excus es,” said Dallas owner Jerry Jones. “We had injuries but other teams have injuries, too. We know how it feels to win like Carolina did. But we also know how it hurts to lose. Now, we just have to put it all back together again.” loosing Michael Irvin to a first quarter sprained collar bone put the Cowboys offense in a funk. Then they lost Deion Sanders to a blow to the head in the fourth quarter and any chances of a rally fizzled out. After a year of injuries, suspensions, distractions, and a lost offense, having Irvin and Sanders go down just about told the story of the season. It was a wonder the Cowboys won the NFC East and beat Minnesota 40-15 in a wild-card game. It was a disastrous year starting with training camp in July when Irvin was noti fied he had been suspended for five games by the NFL for drug use in a case where he pleaded no contest and See COWBOYS on page 4B PHOTO/WADE NASH j' Frustration creases Emmitt Smith’s face after the Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs Throw in the towel, sit down Suns suspend forward Horry for two games By Michelle Boorstein THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOENIX - It might as well have been a brick. That was the message from Phoenix Srms president Jerry Colangelo Monday to forweird Robert Horry, who was suspend ed without pay for two games for throwing a towel in coach Danny Ainge’s face during a game Simday night. Colangelo scolded Horry for his behavior and his recent play, saying he would have given Horry a more severe penalty if his hands weren’t tied by the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. “Fm of the old school, so I would have taken much sterner action,” Colangelo said. “We don’t want the inmates running the asylum. “My beUef is that it was really fhistration with his own play, because his play has been spo radic at best and is very disap pointing, from my point of view,” Colangelo added. “We’re paying these people a lot of money to do a job, and I don’t think it’s asking too much for them to go out there and work for a few hours a day.” Horry, who has had made it clear he’d rather be elsewhere since being traded from the Houston Rockets during the off season, will lose about $40,000 in salary for the two lost games. He also loses several thousand dollars in fines for the flareup during the fourth quarter of a game against the Celtics in Boston. Colangelo discounted rumors that Horry’s agent contacted the Suns about being traded and that the throwing in the towel was Horry’s attempt to leave Phoenix. Attempts to reach Horry through the team were unsuc cessful. Messages left at the National Basketball Players Association’s New York City office were not returned. Horry missed Monday’s game in Atlanta emd Wednesday’s game at Washington. He will rejoin his team Friday in a matchup with Cheirlotte here. The altercation occurred when Horry was pulled after an errant 3-point attempt. He screamed obscenities at Ainge and threw the towel before being restrained by teammates. The Suns lost 109-102. Tve always been a fighter ever since I was in high school and college,” Horry said Svmday. “Sometimes when you have a lot of emotions you come back, even at coaches.” Horry, who helped the Rockets win two NBA titles, apologized to Ainge and the team. “Players are entitled to display finstration, but there is a limit to what our staff will tolerate,” Suns general manager Biyan Colangelo said. “Once the sus pension is served, we will regard the issue as closed and forgot ten.” Doug Williams takes over at Morehouse PHOTOA/VADE NASH Howard football coach Steve Wilson (center) celebrates the Bison’s 27-24 win over Southern In the Heritage Bowl. By Herbert L. White THE CHARLOTTE POST Doug Williams, who has bro ken a lot of new ground as a football player, hopes to match those feats as a coach. Williams, who was named Super Bowl XXII’s most valu able player as a Washington Redskins quarterback, was named Monday as Morehouse’s new coach. He begins work immediately after serving two years as a college scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Doug Williams’ experience as a collegiate and profession al player will give our football program at Morehouse a more solid foundation than ever,” Morehouse provost John Hopps said. “Our goal is to pre sent a quality program that will attract scholastic achiev ers who desire to continue their athletic careers in col lege.” “Morehouse’s mission is par allel to my expectations as a football coach,” Williams said. “It is important to me to devel op a program that will attract scholar-athletes and produce a championship team.” • All season long, Howard laid claim to being one of the best teams in black college football. Now the Bison have some thing to show for it. Howard was crowned black college champion Tuesday by the Sheridan Broadcasting Network, edging Florida A&M and Jackson State for the top spot.
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