Newspapers / Elizabeth City State University … / Feb. 1, 1984, edition 1 / Page 9
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page 9 ECSU SPORTS SPORTS SPOTLIGHT Claude Mackey: Man Behind the Scenes by Tammye Y. Jones Claude Mackey is the Associate Head Coach of the Vik ings basketball team. He is the man who practices with the team players. Head Coach Bobby Vaughn makes the plans, and Mackey executes them. Coach Vaughn sometimes gives him the liberty to change the plans, and usually it is a combination of both men. Mackey tries to keep the team together as one. When he has to punish a player he has to make sure it does not affect the team. Especially then, he ha s to por tray the tough guy. “Working in the gym is only a small part,” he added. “It is all of the small things that are important.” His great personality is what makes Coach Mackey tolerable. Mackey is a leisurely dressed, easy-going guy. “If a student is hungry at 1:00 a.m. , I will cook for him,” the coach said. Coach Mackey makes sure the practice clothes are clean and keeps the guys from breaking curfew. He makes sure none of the small problems reach Coach Vaughn. “I don’t make any ma- ior decisions,” the coach said. “That’s the head coach’s job.” Coach Mackey does not work with any of the money. Coach Vaughn handles the budget . Mackey just asks for the things he thinks the team needs. An example of the problems he handles is, if between 21 guys, he has only eight rooms, he has to figure out who shares with whom. According to Mackey, “The relationship with the parents is more important than that with the student.” He feels that if you can show the parents you are concerned, they are more at ease. You also need a good rela tionship with the students’ or athletes’ former coaches. Another example he uses is that of Calvin Maddoxx, a former basketball player. In his senior year of high school, he was number one athlete in Maryland. He could have gone to any school in the country. But because of the relationship between the coach and Coach Mackey, Maddoxx chose Elizabeth City. His high school coach not only knew Mad doxx was joining a good basket ball club, but he also knew Coach Mackey would make sure he did his work. Track member Ron Stewart is another example. He is ranked number three in the nation, and he comes to school without finan cial aid. Coach Mackey talks to his mother twice a month and she feels confident that Coach Mackey will look after him. If it were not for the relationship and communication with Stewart’s mother, Stewart would be runn ing for Florida A & M. “Lots of problems could be avoided with communication before they become real pro blems,” Mackey said. Last semester. Dr.Townes ask ed faculty members to recruit for second semester. Coach Mackey did not have to out on the road. He just made a couple of phone call which resulted in 27 students for the second semester. All this was possible because of Mackey’s relationships with other people. Coach Mackey said, I feel when the time comes, I can make the transition to head coach.” Head coaches are supposed to be visible and make appearances and speeches. Mackey feels he can do that. According to Mackey, “All it takes is a positive mental attitude approach.” As far as the losing season is concerned, “This is only a tem porary situation.” Mackey said. The athletes and the students have to keep thinking positively. You have to take life as it comes. You win some; you lose some. A certain player whom a positive surrounding has helped is John Speller. Speller not only is a good basketball player, but his grades have become excep- Hampton Beats Vikings Jan. 19, the Hampton Pirates sailed to Elizabeth City to play the Vikings at home. Hampton’s first attempt for two points was thrown away, but their second attempt was worth' two points. by Tammye Y. Jones The second half of the game was fast-paced. Hampton im pressed their fans with their fantastic shooting abilities. The Vikings made too many errors during this half, and the Pirates stopped at nothing. The Vikings’ first two points Last year’s best free throw were made by #24 “Iceman” j shooter, #30 Rudy Burton, made McDaniel. Benji Brown § 20 it to the line and only made one of added another two. two shots. At 10:19 the score was 51-35 - you guessed it -- the Pirates. After desperately trying, shooting air balls, missing lay ups, substitutions, and throwing the ball away; the final score of the game was 76-56, Hampton Pirates. Hampton’s offense was definitely overpowering the Vikings. At 10:12 of the first half, the score was 18-7, Hampton. During the first few minutes of the game, the majority of Elizabeth City’s baskets were air balls. Hampton was also dominant with rebounds, which was not to the Vikings ad vantage. With Coach Vaughn sub stituting constantly, the score finally began to change. By half time the score was 33-22, Pirates. _____ Spartans Win by Tammye Y. Jones Before a large crowd of excited fans, the Spartans proved to be the better team by embarrassing the Vikings with a score of 89-67. At the nine minute mark, during the first half, the score was 32-10, Spartans. Vikings held that score for at least four minutes. Lady Luck didn’t even Deek at the Vikings. They didn i get any rebounds and made many fouls. The first string of the Spartans played so well -- Spartan coaches put ia their second string, who also played well. Everytime the Vikings tried to catch up, the Spartans scored more. By the three minute mark of the first half, Coach Vaughn needed a secret weapon! During the second half, though the Vikings missed four con secutive lay-ups by Speller, Hilton, Brown, and Hyman; the fans cheered for the Viking. Again, Rudy Burton was not his best on the free throw line. The Vikings did not give up, though it seemed useless. A few words from the SPORTS DEPARTMENT of the COM PASS: We know the Vikings can do it, if they only try. Gary Williams: Speedster by Gary Savage Have you seen a ceriam young man running at high speeds, manuevering and handling the ball with accuracy? He is Gary (Jersey Red) A. Williams, a junior Criminal Justice major from Teaneck,New Jersey. WiUiams is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Prince Williams, natives ol North Carolina. Williams graduated in 1980 from Teaneck High School, where he received his letter and awards. A three- year starter for his school ball club, Williams averaged 27.7 points per game. He was award ed All Region and MVP., and he was given a scholarship to Beren Community College, where he started two years and averaged 23.7 points per game. Gary received the All State award for tying the record for most points per season. Williams played in the 1983 Holcombe Rucker Tournament where he was given the All- Tournament in the Region Award. The Holcombe Rucker Tournament is a well known summer league in New York City where college players from all over the U.S. come to play. Dur- Viking Triumph St. Paul surprised by Vikings by Tammye Jones The game started off moving very fast with no one scoring for at least two minutes. The Tigers started scoring and they weren’t being stopped. Most of the Vik ings balls were air balls. But the Vikings were not going to get beaten so easily. They started making shot for shot with the Tigers. By this time, Gary “Jersey Red” Williams was showing off his playing ability. But Jamie Turner, the high scorer was not going to let him get all of the glory, Tim McDaniel adds a backwards shot and Rudy Burton makes a pair at the free throw line. In the second half, the Tigers tried to pull out ahead but the Vikings didn’t make it easy for them. The Vikings started moving a little slower and scoring less as time ticked on. For a while the Vikings struggled, but with a combination of Brown, Neal and Williams, they managed to come back and lead with one point. The Tigers made a lot of mistakes which caused the Vik ings to keep the lead. The team was determined not to get beaten by St. Paul and they didn’t. Final score ,79-73, Vikings. Viking Upset The Vikings were moved to the third place seat Saturday night after beating Virginia State. At halftime the score was 46-39, Vik ings. In the second half, the Vik ings pulled away even more to make the final score 97-81, Vikings. Benji Brown and Jamie Turner tied for high scorer with 22 points each. Rudy Burton, who wasn’t afraid to drive up the middle was second with 12 points. Gary “Jersey Red” Williams and Tim “Iceman” McDaniel had nine. And let’s not forget Kenny Hilton with 11 points. Ervin Harris dominated under the board with eight rebounds, “Iceman” had five. But these guys had good competition from Virginia State’s Cliff Straoughn, who had 14 rebounds. In conclusion, Virginia was not ready for the team who had lost too many and were ready to start winning a few. Good Luck at the tournament Vikings, you can do it! Coach Mackey knows where he' is going, and if he doesn’t get where he wants to be, he didn’t try hard enough. Good coaches can take any situation, whatever it is, and deal with it. tionlly better. This brings Coacft Mackey to say, “Anything the mind can conceive, the body will achieve.” “You can’t please everybody,” says the coach, “and I would sacrifice a championship, if it means saving or helping a kid.” Associate Head Coach Claude Mackey is definitely the man behind the scenes. Lady Vikes On the Move The ball was first possessed by the Vikings. Audrey Prophet went under the basket for the first two points. Shelia Parker added another two after a jump ball. The first foul occurred by St. Paul’s Amy Sidner. Prophet went to the freethrow line, which was good for two points. The game was very slow pac ed, until a substitution was made and Anita Barnes was sent into the game and added two. Parker was very consistent with her blocks and steals. Valerie Davis adds a long jumper to the game. Sharon Banks and Sharon Graves, who were dominant with the re bounds, came in the game and took over. Kathy Blount hit two points on the halftime buzzer. The score was 33-14, Vikings. The second half started off fast paced, for the Lady Tigers desperately tried to catch up. But the final score was 54-42, Vikings. The lead scorers of the game were Barnes and Parker with 10 points apiece. Prophet followed with nine. Surprisingly, Bettina Guynn lead with seven re- bounds,Parker and Prophet tied for six. Prophet hit five rebounds and Davis, three. ing the past summer, the league" consisted of well known college players like Louis Orr of Syracuse University and Tony Campbell and Rick Adams of the University of Pennsylvania. Before transfering to Elizabeth City, Williams had offers from Lafayette College in Penn sylvania, Gordon University in New York, and Long Beach State University in California. When asked why he decided to come to ECSU, Williams replied, “I wasn’t highly aware of the academic standards of the big ger collegs and where I really wanted to go was too far out West.” Williams was referred to EC SU by an alumnus, Mr. George Long, who played basketball for the Vikings in the mid 60’s. Williams feels that he has ad justed well to the Viking ball club. When asked whom he con siders most supportive on the team, Williams said, “I feel Benji Brown has helped me fully adjust to the entire ball club.” Adjusting to the Viking cam pus was not much of a problem for Williams because his home people from New Jersey and New York really made him feel welcome. After college, Willliams plans to try out for a pro team or play for the Continental Basketball Association’s Overseas Team. If he cannot continue a career in sports, Williams plans to put his degree to good use. In conclusion, Williams ad vises future players, “Believe in your goals and stay with them. Also, believe in our Father, the Lord, and the Son. Follow your dreams-surely things will get better if you don’t give up.”
Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 1, 1984, edition 1
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