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wm 3C SPORTS/tn^ Cfioilotte Thursday, April 29, 2004 Jamison OK wiUi reserve position Johnson C. Smith UNivERsrrY Surrounded with Success at ThinkPad U Continued from page 1C things. With Jamison, Walker and Nowitzki all playing the same position, something had to give. Coach Don Nelson asked Jamison if he could handle coming off the bench. He immediately agreed, realiz ing that it was better to be a reserve on the playoff-bound Mavericks than a starter on the lottery-bound Warriors. “The important thing for me was that I was going to be able to win a lot of games,” said Jamison, who never won more than 38 in Golden State. “You just make the best of it.” Van Exel was in a similar situation when he came to Dallas. He handled it by making the Sixth Man award his goal. Jamison never did because he didn’t think he’d be a candidate for very long. “I thought it would be like, 'Let’s try it for a month and see how it goes,”’ he said. Jamison scored 22 points in his third game and went for 26 before Thanksgiving. He hit 26 twice more and fin ished with a 14.8 average. He led the team in scoring seven times and had 17 games in which he either matched or outscored an opposing team’s entire bench. He was third in the league in shooting percent age (.535) and 13th in offen sive rebounds with 233, 2.8 per game. “He’s definitely the Sixth Man of the year as far as I’m concerned,” Nash said. “He’s sacrificed a lot and still been incredibly productive.” The Kings understand the importance of a super sub because they have Bobby Jackson, last year’s top sixth man. They appreciate it even more now that he’s out with an abdominal injury. Jackson hasn’t played this series and missed 28 of the final 29 regular-season games. Presents the 7th Annual Jack S. Brayboy Memorial Golf Tournament Monday, May 3,2004 8:00 A.M. Registration/Open Range 9:00 A.M. Shot Gun Start Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation 7500 Olde Sycamore Drive Charlotte, NC 28227 704-573-1000 Thompson again leads Hoyas fortunes Continued from page 1C It’s not that Esherick let the place go to shambles; it’s just that John HI will be such a better fit for the pro gram. He was the only fit for the program. Unless, of course. Big John himself roUed out of the TV/radio booths and returned to Georgetovm. See, the Hoyas no longer come close to possessing the best athletes in the Big East, as they did in the 1980s. But with John III running that Princeton-styled offense at Georgetown, the above-aver age athletes on the roster will take the system - and the team - to heights not seen since the Hoyas were wearing gray T-shirts with sweat rings under their dark blue jerseys. No, John III isn’t a Georgetown alumnus, but you can best bet he knows how his daddy put together those Hoyas teams that went to the Final Four three consecutive years. You can best bet that John III win know how to take classy stands and endear himself to a generation of kids whose uncles and fathers probably used to think Georgetown was a black college located across tovra from Howard University. I know that’s what I thought. And, no, I didn’t love Georgetown because 1 thought it was a black col lege; I loved it because I saw John Ill’s daddy, Big John, exemplifying a strong-mind ed, professional black man, which went against the grain of the mainstream images of black men in the early 1980s. And I loved Thompson because he was producing young black men just like him - men who were educated, confident and pre pared for anything. I’m not saying Esherick didn’t turn any of his players into good, productive men during his tenure. But truth be told, John III is better equipped to do the job. And please don’t misconstrue things and think Tm saying any black man could do this. The fact is, John III is clos er to being Big John than anybody who could have applied for the job. Except, perhaps, Ronny Thompson, an assistant at Arkansas. Big John was what Wooden was to basketball in Westwood, what Rockne was to Notre Dame football. Big John is the face of Georgetown basketball, if not the whole dang universi- fy- And now the school has his namesake. A picture of Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking the torch from Dale Sr. comes to mind. Had Georgetown hired any other man - white or black - the chance was too great for it to become just another top program. That would be so esoteric at a school such as Georgetown. Hey, 1 know coaches with great graduation rates get fired all the time (see: Esherick, Craig), but it just has to be about more than the wins and losses. Thankfully, Georgetown didn’t go after the “hot” coaching prospect. It went after the prospect. E-mail columnist C. Horton seejemalwrite @aol. com. right Jemal at y^-4^ Dodge Durango’s qualities make it a fetching pickup Winfred B. Cross Test Drive noise gets in, but -wind going around those big mirrors does have a pronounced hum. Build a bigger truck and they will come. Bihld a big ger tnick with a big honkin’ grill and they wUl come run ning. That’s one of the reasons why so many find the new Dodge Durango the newest gotta-have monster. It also helps it’s a lot better than the outgoing Durango in eveiy element. It’s the Kenworth looks that draw people to the beast. I didn’t like the look of the last Durango and I’m not crazy about this style either. Yes, it’s cleaner looking, but that griU is way too big. You can drive the old truck through the openings in this snout. That said, I like the rest of the truck a lot. The interior is a major upgrade. There’s still too much plastic, but it’s now higher grade and fits better. The fient seats are easy chair comfortable while being supportive. The next rows of seats are as comfort able but kudos go out to the third row. Even adults will fit. The Durango has a sur prisingly smooth and quiet ride considering its girth. Not much road or engine Driving the Durango is a pretty good experience. It feels like a much smaller vehicle (until you try to park it). Handling is helped by the 17-inch tires and an all wheel drive system that knows what to do when. The engine is the 4.7-hter Magnum V8, which used to be top dog. That crown now goes to the Hemi. The Magnum is enough to haul the truck about with a quick ness. It’s also torque rich so you can tow just about any thing you want. The base price of my SLT test truck was $30,945. The nearly six grand in options included leather seats, trac tion control, sunroof, stereo upgrade, beefy off road tire upgrade and a options pack age with hghted mirrors, CD changer and overhead con sole. At $36,565 the Durango isn’t cheap, but it has more interior room than some of its competitors and more standard horsepower. How good is it? WeU, it’s another reason to go out and look at a big honking truck. It’s not a quantimi leap above the others because nearly every manufacturer builds a quality large truck. But the 2004 Durango is going to be an easy sell. Your source for things that go VROOOM! Read Test Drive in Ci^atrlotte FORD’S USED TIRES Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. New Tires ■ 8 p.m. • Sat. 8 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. • Brake Job Front $35.00 Back $45.00 » Oil Change - $21.88 3401 Tuckaseegee Rd. Charlotte, NC 28208 (704)393-1109 Ford’s Busy Bee Mini Mart 505 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 (704)333-8448 1222 Central Ave. Charlotte, NC 28204 (704)377-0870 ( •w RELAY FOR LIFE SAVE THE DATE! American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Charlotte May 14-15, 2004 New date and location this year! Dear frCe^^di', Mark your calendars for May M-IS (6:00 p.m. - 9:(X) a.m.) for your American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Charlotte. This year's Relay will be held at West Charlotte High School. Relay For Life is your American Cancer Society's signature activity and is the largest, most recognized event held by any non-profit organization in the nation to celebrate suA-ivorship and raise money for cancer research and services. During Relay, teams of people will gather at West Charlotte High School and take turns walking, logging or running lap,s. Throughout the night, each team is asked to keep at least one representative of their team on the track at all timo,s. We. will be featuring our traditional himinaria ceremony, so you may purchase a luminaria "In Memory" or "In Honor" of a loved one for $10 each. Cancer survivors qre also encouraged to join in the celebration of life and will lx; honored as th(;y. kick off Belay by taking the first lap of the event. Come help fight the war on cancer and get involved in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of VV'esl Charlotte today. To sign up or for additional ques tions, please call me at (704) 63'1-1222 or your local American Cancer Society office at (704) 552-6147. Belay For Life is fun, and il; is in your ncighborhoodl Join "The Power of Purple” today! See you in May! Sincerely, Ttxmekctr KirThgf' Chair, Relay For Life of West Charlotte For more information about Relay For Life of West Charlotte, contact Tameka King at (704) 634-1222. Come Join the Fight Against Cancer at West Charlotte H.S.! 1-800-ACS-2345 ♦ www.cancer.org SATURDAY MIGHT WALL-TO-WALL BRAWL CAROIINA COBRAS vs. COLUMBUS DESTROYERS SATURDAY, MAY 1 ► 7:30 RWl. • CHARLOTTE COLISEUM WITH A SPECIAL HALFTIMi PFRFORMAIMCE BY ‘*LIVE ACTIOIM WRESTUm^^ FEATURIIVE BUFF BAGWELL, RICK STEIIMER, MBIYEY MIKE & TOMMY EUIYIY ‘AROUNA Tickets starting at [ust S10 available now at the Charlotte Chariot, // > Coliseum box uhiie, at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at HCeh.ih,'.- ' Si-\ www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at 704-522-6500. ' . . LIVE ACHON SVRESrLWG
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 29, 2004, edition 1
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