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SPORTS
THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2000
Black College Sports/14A
JCSU adds teammates to women’s hoops recruiting class
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Johnson C. Smith has rounded
out its women’s basketball
recruiting class with a pair of
high school standouts from
South Carolina and a junior col
lege transfer from New York.
Natasha Morgan and Veronica
Thomas of Hillcrest High in
Fountain Inn, S.C., have signed
national letters of intent, as did
Kristina Zemaityte of
Manhattan (N.Y.) Community
College.
Morgan, a 6-1 center, averaged
8 points, 8 rebounds, 1.5 assists
and 1.5 steals as a senior. She
was named all-region, aH-tour-
nament and team co-MVP.
Thomas, a 5-9 guard, averaged
8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2 assists
and 1.6 steals during the 1999-
2000 season. She was named ad-
state, all-toumament and team
Co-MVP.
Zemaityte averaged 19 points,
5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per
game as a sophomore at
Manhattan.
Morgan Thomas and
Zemaityte join Joi Surratt,
Tykesha WiUiams and Kiystal
Wesson in Smtih’s 2000-01 class.
Surratt, a 5-4 guard from
Olympic High, was the scoring
and assist leader in Charlotte-
Mecklenburg area high schools
averaging 22 points and 5 assists
per game. Throughout her four-
year career Surratt amassed a
total of 1,430 career points.
Surratt was all-MEGA 7 4A and
conference player of the year;
team MVP,
Williams and Wesson led
Shelby High to the Soutwestem
3A conference regular season
and tournament championships
and the South Piedmont 2A reg
ular season and tournament
championships.
Williams, a 5-11 guard, aver
aged 19 points, 6 reboxmds, 5
steals and 2.0 blocks per game as
the Golden Lions’ MVP and an
all-conference pick.
Wesson, a 6-4 ad-conference
center, averaged 9 points, 8
rebounds, 1.0 steal and 7.0
blocks per game. She hit 69 per
cent of her free throws.
Smith won the CIAA Western
Division championship with a
division record of 9-1.
NCAA
gets hostile
rebel flag
response
By Pete lacobelli
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The NCAAhas
received himdreds of e-mads about its
cad to remove the flag from the
Statehouse dome, most of them from peo
ple adamantly opposed to taking the flag
down,
“As somebody whose e-mail address is
out there. I’ve gotten some e-mail that I
couldn’t ted you about,” spokeswoman
Jane Jankowski said this week.
Last month, the NCAA’s executive com
mittee, acting on a request from the
National Association of Basketball
Coaches, said it would not hold its men’s
basketbad regionals at Greenvdle’s Bi-Lo
Center in 2002 if the flag stUl flew. In
addition, no other NCAA championships
would be held in the state if the flag
remained.
Many of the e-mad responses were
anonymous or signed with chat-room
nicknames, Jankowski said. But “there
are a lot of people who have taken time in
much detad to explain why this is an
important issue with them,” she said.
“Many have done that very eloquently.
Some of them have been rude.”
The NCAA sent a brief statement May
11 after South Carolina’s House, as the
Senate did in April, approved a plan to
take the flag from the Capitol dome and
place a simdar banner on a pole at the
Confederate Soldier Monument on the
Statehouse groimds. Gov. Jim Hodges is
schedided to sign the bid tonight.
Jankowski said the NCAA executive
committee would discuss the flag and
whether the Legislature’s measures were
good enough at its Aug. 11 meeting.
“I wish I could predict what’s going to
happen,” she said. “The NCAA’s resolu
tion was pretty speciflcady stated as to
the flag coming down off the state
Capitol. I reahze that’s very vague.”
But very dttle has been clear about the
flag debate. The NAACP enacted a
tourism boycott of South Carolina on Jan.
1 and has tried to get sporting events in
the state caught up in the discussion.
South Carolina footbad coach Lou Holtz
said the flag adversely affected some of
his recruiting. The New York Knicks
pulled out of a playoff camp held most
years at the Codege of Charleston.
Serena Widiams, the first black woman
to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament
in more than 40 years, withdrew from the
Family Circle Cup last month on Hflton
Head Island, citing the flag controversy.
Please see NCAA/13A
0
PHOTO/WADE NASH
Rookie Rashard Anderson’s introduction to the NFL continues next week at Carolina Panthers minicamp.
Anderson, Carolina’s No. 1 draft choice, is battling Deon Grant for the starting free safety spot.
Basic training
Secondary’s primary at
Panthers minicamp
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The next step in rebudding the
Carolina Panthers’ defense begins
next week.
The second minicamp, which runs
through June 4, is supposed to get
everyone accdmated to teammates,
coaches and schemes. But, as with
the May minicamp, head coach
George Seifert wid continue to mon
itor the revamped defense, which
finished 26th among 31 NFL teams
last season. Of particular interest is
the secondary, where the only given
is change. The comerback battle ,
between incumbents Eric Davis and
Doug Evans and free agent acquisi
tion Jimmy Hitchcock wid add
another chapter. Extra spice wdl be
added in that June 1 is the first day
teams can dump huge veteran con
tracts to minimize salary cap
restraints, Seifert has said he does
n’t plan to cut either Davis or Evans,
which means whoever loses that
competition wdl make a lot of money
to start opposite strong safety Mike
Minter, who is being moved after
Brent Alexander’s release, Seifert
wants to convert
as a reserve.
The other hot competition is at free
safety, where rookies Rashard
Anderson and Deon Grant wid fight
Seifert
Anderson, the
former Jackson
State standout
and Carolina’s
top draft choice,
from codege cor
ner to pro safety.
Physicady, Grant
has the size (6-4,
210) and speed to
play anywhere in
the secondary.
The next step is to get him comfort
able at safety.
Sting’s
still one
big ache
By Karl Petraroja
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
With a week to go before the WNBA
season opener, the
Charlotte Sting are
worried.
Point guard Dawn
Staley is still slowed
by off-season surgery
on her right knee.
Add to that injury
concerns with small
forward Tracey Reid,
and first round draft
pick Summer Erb,
and the Sting is far
from 100 percent.
Staley
Charlotte may be able to survive any
injury except an extended one to
Staley. She was third in the league in
assists last season, second in free
throw percentage and 14th in minutes
played. She also came within one
rebound of the. WNBA’s first triple
double, finishing'with 13 points, 10
assists and 9 rebounds last July 25 at
Detroit.
The 30-year-old Staley had surgery
in February while with the Olympic
team, but feels the right knee is
almost ready now.
“I’m over two months down and it’s
definitely turned the corner,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to getting back
into competitive games. My target
date is June 1st, the opening game of
the season, and I think I’m on target
for that.
Sting head coach T.R. Dunn puts on
a brave face when it comes to the
injuries, but knows he needs Staley on
the floor to win.
“I’m concerned about them, most def
initely but the only thing we can do is
let the time and rehab take its place
and just hope to get them back,” he
said. “In the meantime we have to still
play. We have to prepare and go with
the players we do have.”
If Staley doesn’t start the season,
expect veteran shooting guard Andrea
Stinson to handle most of the point
guard duties. She can bring the ball up
the court and still find ways to score
but Stinson’s not overly worried about
Staley’s knee.
“Dawn’s a tough player, she’s a tough
person and I think Dawn is going to do
what she needs to do to bounce back,”
Stinson said. “I try not to worry about
her because I know mentally and
physically she’s strong enough to get
herself back into it.”
There’s no rest ahead for Staley in
Please see ST1NG/12A
Report: Cowboys’ Irvin
urged to quit pro football
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH, Ifexas — Michael Irvin, one of the NFL’s great
receivers, has been advised by doctors to stop playing football
because of a spinal condition and plans to retire, the Fort Worth Star-
Tblegram reported Tuesday.
The Dallas Cowboys’ all-time leading receiver is uncertain when He
vrill announce his retirement, the newspaper said.
’The member of the Cowboys’ organization, who spoke on condition
of anonymity, said Irvin has spinal stenosis, a congenital condition
that could cause permanent paralysis, and he met with the player
about it at the team’s training headquarters the past week.
, “I know it’s hard on him,” Dallas running back Emmitt Smith said
Monday. “It’s hard on any man that has to put down the game in the
fashion that he has to put it down. It’s a tough situation.
‘ “Nobody wants to go out like that,” Smith said.
The Cowboys have already moved to replace Irvin in the lineup
Please see COWBOYS/15A
Correction
PHOTO/WADE NASH
Last week’s Post incorrectly identified the winner of the N.C. 4A
boys’ track and field championship earlier this month. Vance
High (above) won the title, the first in school history.
Trailblazers’ agression
poses problems for L.A.
By Beth Harris
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Scottie Pippen’s urgency
set the tone for the Portland Trail Blazers. He
crashed the boards, pounded the ball inside
and created fouls for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Pippen’s play was contagious as the Trail
Blazers rediscovered their aggressiveness in
beating the Lakers 106-77 Monday night to
tie the best-of-seven Western Conference
finals 1-1.
Games 3 and 4 are in Portland beginning
Friday.
“He pressured their team into playing
aggressively,” Lakers coach Plul Jackson said
of Pippen, who had 21 points and 11
rebounds.
The Blazers employed the same strategy
Pippen
Please see AGGRESSION/12A
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