.
? The Choice for African-American Sens
?The Chronicle
SportsWeek
*?" mm ? August 8, 2Q02
Kappa Magic brings home national title
File Photo
Members of Kappa Magic pose with coach Andre Gould and assistants Al Gainer and
Lacardd Means.
BY SAM DAVIS
THECHKUNICLE
4
If there ever was a doubt
about where the nation's best
high school basketball is being
played, there's mounting evi
dence that it is right here in the
Piedmont Triad. Two local
teams proved that when Team
North Carolina - made up of
local players. - including
Camille Little of Carver and
Chante Black of East Forsyth -
won the National Junior Girls
title and Kappa Magic, based
in Winston-Salem, took last
week's National Junior Boys
title.
All .of the players on Kappa
Magic's team are from the
JPiedmont. with the majority of
them having played in Forsyth
County. That squad, led by
West Forsyth's Chris Paul and
Reynolds' Reyshawn Terry,
had little trouble in capturing
its title. The team was coached
by Andre Gould of Winston
Salem and Lacardo Means of
Thomasville.
"We felt like before we left
here we had a chance to win
it," Gould said. "We had been
in a Jot of the premier tourna
ments with the top-flight teams
and had beaten a lot of them
this year. "We went down to
Florida with that idea. In Flori
da our depth and bench took
over."
Kappa Magic's closest
game came in the Final Four
when it held on for a five-point
c
victory over BABC from
Boston, Mass., which carried
Kappa Magic into overtime
before it fell by five points.
"Some of them had one or
two great players, but not the
supporting cast that we have,"
Gould said. "Our style of play
dictated that we were going to
run on offense and trap on
defense. No one was able to
stop that."
In addition to the play of
Paul, the 6-1 guard from West
Forsyth who has committed to
Wake Forest, and Terry, the 6
8 guard/forward who has com
mitted to the University of
North Carolina, Kappa Magic
had many other players who
Set Kappa Magic uri B2
Former WSSU greats
will be added to hall
i From The Press Box
^ Sam Davis
A significant increase in the number of Win
ston-Salem State's Sports Hall of Fame will take
place on Sept. 7 when the 2002 class will be
added to its rolls. WSSU's Hall of Fame current
ly has only 31 members, but that number will be
more than doubled with the addition of this year's
class.
Thanks to the efforts of a group of determined
alnmni. the WSSU Sports Hall of Fame has got
ten renewed interest in the past year. Members of
the committee hope to finally give the proper jus
tice to more than 50 people who have made major
contributions to the university through its sports
program.
WSSU has enjoyed a storied sports history.
Formerly known as Winston-Salem Teachers
College, or TC. the university burst onto the
scene in the prestigious CIAA thanks to top ath
letes who were being recruited by alumni and
friends in America's Northern urban centers and
Its Southern towns and cities.
TC surprised the entire field and captured its
first CIAA basketball championship in 1953. and
.since then it has had many high points in basket
Mi. football, baseball, golf, and track and field.
According to a source who wanted to remain
anonymous, this year's list of inductees includes
many of the athletes who helped put the universi
ty on the sports map.
"This is going to be a 'monumentous' occa- .
sion," he said. "We're very happy that we are
finally going to honor our own in this type way.
For many years we have not recognized individu
als who have made great contributions to this uni
versity and this community. We feel very proud to
call all of them Rams and to know that they too
are proud of their heritage."
This year's inductees include former NAIA
national track champion Russ Rogers, who is cur
rently head coach of men's/women's track and
field al Ohio State University. Rogers and more
than a dozen of his teammates on the 1959 NAIA
?
See Press Box on B3
Photo by Bruce Chapman
Robert Duncan, who helped lead Parkland to the state 3-A football championship last sea
son, stretches during a workout this week.
Duncan ready to
make transition
Mustangs' All-State lineman set to
compete at fullback at N.C. A&T
BY SAM DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
The transition from high school to college
football has begun for Robert Duncan. Dun
can. a former All-State lineman at Parkland,
reported to camp at N.C. A&T early this week
to began preparation for the 2002 season.
At A&T. Duncan will be joined by several
of his teammates, including Sherrod and
Shernard Shore and Jeff Middleton. All four,
who have been working but together in the
weight room and on the track all summer,
played integral parts on the Mustangs' 2001
state 3-A championship team.
None was more impressive than Duncan,
The 6-0, 260-pounder was the lead blocker on
most plays for Jed Bines, who rushed for
more than 3,000 yards and 38 touchdowns
last season. That helped draw the attention of
college recruiters. But A&T coach Bill Hayes
was the only one who made an impression on
Duncan.
Perhaps the most important thing he said
was that he would give Duncan an opportuni
ty to play the position he feels best suited to
play on the college level, fullback.
"That's the position I first started out play
ing when I was in Pop Warner," Duncan said.
"I thought that was my natural position, and
all of my coaches kept me there."
That is until Duncan found himself
beyond the league's weight limit when he
reached middle school. He had to sit out those
years, and that left a hunger for the game
when he reached high school.
After putting on weight and tipping the
scales above 220 pounds as a freshman. Dun
can quickly found himself as the anchor of the
Mustangs' junior varsity offensive line as a
freshman. When current coach Deangelo Bell
arrived before his sophomore season. Duncan
was entrenched in the Parkland program. He
was also a staple in the weight room, and that
Sec Duncan on B2
Beatty played key role
for national champion
BY SAM DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Baseball has already taken
13-year-old Christian "C.J."
Beatty places. Beatty Was a
member of the Greensboro
Batting Center's 13-and-under
team that captured the Nation
al AAU championship. And
Beatty played a major role in
the title, coming through with
key hits in the semifinal and
championship games and also
mowing down opponents on
the mound.
A rising freshman at Park
land. Beatty got a last-minute
opportunity to compete for the
national championship. Beatty
played with the N.C. Baseball
Academy team during the reg
ular AAU season but was
picked up by Greensboro Bat
ting Center in time to compete
for the nationals.
"It was a very interesting
and fun experience." Beatty
said. "Being a first-time AAU
player, 1 really enjoyed going
to Florida to compete with the
top players in the nation. I had
competed with some top teams
around here, but the level of
competition at the nationals
was ever) tougher."
But it didn't seem to mat
ter. Beatty's play in the field
and at the plate helped catapult
his team to the championship
against an outstanding Field.
The field included tourna
,S<( Beatty on B3
Switch
Hitter
File Photo
C.J. Beatty displays a towel
with pendants from tourna
ments he played in this sum
mer in AAU baseball. Beatty ,
helped lead Greensboro Bat
ting Center to the national
13-and-under championship.
Beatty went 15-for-19C dur
ing the national tournament.
Dennis Thomas named
MEAC commissioner
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE _
GREENSBORO - Dr.
Dennis Thomas, who led
Hampton University to an
impressive number of mile
stones as athletics director, has
been named commissioner of
the Mid-Eastern Athletic Con
ference. announced William B.
DeLauder, chair of the MEAC
Couft.il of Chief Executive
Officers.
Thomas will leatf the II
member NCAA Division I
conference and succeeds
Charles Harris, who resigned
in June after six years in the
position. Thomas has been the
Hampton athletics director
since 1990.
"We are very pleased that
Dennis has accepted our offer
to lead the conference and to
enhance its reputation as one
of the nation's premier confer
ences," said DeLauder,
Delaware State president.
"Dennis has demonstrated out
standing administrative leader
ship, and we are confident the
MEAC will continue to pros
per under his outstanding lead
ership."
Thomas said, "I am thrilled
and excited with this opportu
nity to lead one of the nation's
outstanding conferences. 1 am
very appreciative that the con
ference has placed confidence
in my ability. I can only assure
you that no other individual in
Se, MEAC an B3
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