Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / June 4, 1998, edition 1 / Page 41
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NOTEBOOK from page 2 of athletics, said the program made great strides under Merfield and he was being given a vote of confi dence by being named to head the program on a permanent basis. "I'm pleased to remove the interim status from our head bas ketball coach position," Thomas said. "Coach Merfield did an excel lent job in moving the program for ward this season. ... We know Coach Merfield will continue to move our basketball program in a positive direction, not only in wins and losses, but in all phases." Merfield said he looks forward to taking the program even further in the future. "We were able to make excel lent strides this past season and we plan on working towards making Hampton Univ. a top notch Divi sion I program," he said. Black College AO-Star Classic makes another successful run For the third consecutive year, the Black College All-Star Classic gave seniors from the nation's black college men's teams an opportunity to showcase their skills one final time for profes sional scouts. Players from the CIAA, MEAC, SWAC and SIAC were invited to participate in the classic, which was played recently in Baltimore. The classic also featured a women's game this season, giving increased visibility to female bas ketball players from the black con ferences who an opportunity to play in one of the women's profes sional leagues. Coaches for the game were Earl "the Pearl" Monroe, who led Winston-Salem State to the NCAA College Division champi onship in 1967 and former North Carolina Central standout Sam Jones, who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics. Legendary Coach Bighouse Gaines was the spokesman for the classic. "This tournament is really the only opportunity that kids from black colleges have to show the professional scouts what they can do," Gaines said. "It is an excel lent opportunity for them to go out and impress them." Two years ago, Ben Wallace of Virginia Union impressed the scouts with his ability in the clas sic and earned a spot in the NBA rookie camp in Chicago. That ulti mately led to Wallace earning a position on an NBA rpster. The classic was held in Atlanta, Ga., in its first two years. This year's move to Baltimore is accompanied by an increased sponsorship base. The event is sponsored by Mobile Oil, Gillette, Fila and Delta Airlines. The Association of Black Col lege Sports Information Directors selected the players who partici pated. ? The CLAA was represented by four players in the men's game. The MEAC placed eight players. The North team was comprised of players from the CIAA and MEAC. The South team was made up of players from the SWAC and SIAC. Heart attack claims life of popu lar N.C. Central football assistant The football program at North Carolina Central was hit hard recently when assistant coach Anthony Price passed away on Monday, May 11 of an apparent heart attack. He was 42. "It's tough when you lose some one like that," said head football coach Larry Little. "It's a hurting feeling." Little hired Price, a 1980 gradu ate of NCCU, as offensive line coach in 199S. It didn't take long before Price quickly become a play er's coach. "All his guys loved him and he loved them," Little said. "He was always the same. He was a for real person. You knew where he was coming from, and he wasn.t a phony. He really was just a good person." A 1973 graduate of Durham High School, Price earned a bache lor's degree in Therapeutic Recre ation while also playing on the Eagle's football team. He began his coaching career in 1986 as an assis tant football coach and track coach at West Brunswick High School in Shallotte, N.C. In 1989 he was named assistant football and track coach, and head wrestling coach at South Brunswick High School in Boiling Springs Lake, N.C. Price returned to his hometown in 1991 to serve as a teacher and coach at Durham High. In his fourth season as head football coach, he was recog nized as the Crescent Con ference Coach of the Year, Prep News 3A Coach of the Year and Asso ciated Press ' State Coach of the Year. "Every body is stunned," said NCCU athlet ic director William Lide. "Anthony was a family man with youngsters whom everybody, especially the athletic department, knew on cam pus. His wife has been active in our programs, so we know the whole family. It was a double situation for us. He was such a good person that we all became friends, not just colleagues at the work site." Little says Price will be honored in some way this season by the foot ball team. No immediate details were available. Anthony Mm St. Aug's Young blazing trails, staying on track in academics Much is expected of Jerome Young these days. It's not hard to understand why. Lately he has been blazing a trail and a name for himself in the track and field world. After winning the 199S national junior championship, he has been one of the top runners in Division II track. A junior at St. Augustine's, Young set a new 400-meter record at the Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships last April with a time of 46:13. That erased the old mark of 46:17 set by former Falcon Ryan Hay den. He didn't stop there. At the world championships in Greece last August, Young, along-with teammate lyree Washington,' for mer Falcon and assistant track coach Antonio Pettigrew, and Chris Jones won the gold medal in the 1,600-meter relay in a season's best time of 2:56:47. A lot of Young's success can be attributed to his tough training regimen and his determination to excel. With that in check, some track fans are marking the days when he will break the 400-meter school record of 44:36, held by Pettigrew. Young himself sees it in his future. "Yes, it's just a matter of time,*' Young says. "But I'm going to just keep on doing what I'm doing and not really look at the record. If it comes, it comes; if it doesn't, it doesn't." He realizes that is a lofty goal. And after a moment of reflection on the magnitude of such an achievement, he adds: "That is a quick record." The holder of that record has no doubt that Young's name will replace his in the record books. It would be only fitting since, according to Pettigrew, Young reminds him of a "younger" ver sion of himself. "Jerome is the type of person like I was when I came from Macon, Georgia," says Pettigrew, who recruited Young to St. Aug's. "He comes out every day and he does his job on the track. We don't have to get on him. We don't have to say, 'Jerome, you're not going to class, or Jerome, you're not doing anything. He's a very disciplined athlete who's on a world-class level right now. I'm just waiting for him to break my school record." Young says he has definite sights on the 2000 Olympics. It could possibly be a family reunion of sorts for the Jamaica native. Young, who lives in Con necticut and became a U.S. citi zen in 1995, hasn't seen his mother in 10 years. Or maybe the reunion will be in 1999 when Young receives his diploma in sports management. "When I met coach Pettigrew overseas, he said 'Jerome, track is a good sport, but you've got to look back at something'." Young says. "If I have a degree, I can do anything I want. I'll have the whole 100-percent package not just 50 percent." - Bonnitta Best
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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