Washington's Haywood returns to city
Washington Wizard center
Brendan Haywood is very
familiar with this area. He's
played in a number of high
school games in Winston
Salem while he was a basket
ball star at Dudley High
School, where he was also
named the Gatorade N.C
Player of the Year as a senior
Then he enjoyed quite a bit of
success while playing with the
Tarheels and defeating Wake a
number of times in the Joel.
Haywood will return to
Winston-Salem and the Joel
when his Wizards play an
NBA preseason basketball
game against Tim Duncan and
the San Antonio Spurs tonight
I wanted to see how Brendan
felt heading into that game. I
Brendan: Uh. 1 feel all
right. 1 don't think we played
us good as we should've on
defense. I'm real happy with
the way that we started the
game.
Anthony: You also got a
chance to play against one of
your former teammates in
Larry Hughes. How big was
that?
Brendan: It wasn't that
big because it's just the pre
season. Larry was chillin' out
there a little bit. During the
preseason most guys concen
trate on running your offense
and not getting hurt. So it was
nice, but it wasn't that big of a
deal.
Anthony: How important
are these preseason games to
One-on-One
with Anthony llill
also wanted to see what's new
with the 7-foot, former first
round draft pick from Greens
boro.
Haywood began his NBA
career on fire, after tying the
MCI Center record with a
career-high seven blocked
shots against Atlanta on Dec.
12 , 2001, during his rookie
year. But he's only averaged
6.9 points per game so far in
his career. That's big for the
first player in UNC history to
record a triple double in a sin
gle game and the ACC's all
time field goal percentage
leader.
Brendan and I discussed
his NBA career, as well as a
few other things when he and I
talked earlier this week.
Anthony: What's good,
Brendan?
Brendan: I'm chillin'.
Anthony: 1 feel that. How
do you feel after that first pre
season game (on Monday)?
you all?
Brendan: I think the closer
you get to the season, every
preseason game becomes more
important. At the beginning,
you just want to implement
some of the stuff you learned
in training camp and get
everyone in (the games).
Toward the end, you try to
warm up more for the season.
Anthony: Well you've got
a big preseason game on
Thursday (tonight) in this
area. How big is that game
going to be for you, being that
you're from around here'.'
Brendan: Um, I definitely
want to come out and do well
because I will be in front of
my home crowd. I'm going to
be in front of a lot of family
and friends. You always want
to come in and do your best at
home.
Anthony: Is it important to
win?
Brendan: Sure. I mean,
you want to get a win because
MCI
3'
V*rgj I
33L
49
Bsssi
KCSS
I
Photo by mtchell Layton/ NBA Photo*/ Getty Images
Washington Wizard center Brendan Haywood it a former all-state bailer from Dudley High in
Greensboro.
you want to play well. You
want the starting unit to come
out and play well. You want
the second team to play well.
And you want the guys that are
trying to make the team to play
well. It's always important to
get the win because you want
to see that progression. You're
not crying if you lose, but you
definitely want to get the win.
Anthony: I feel that. Let's
talk about your Tarheels for a
moment.
Brendan: All right.
Anthony: How big was
that for you to see your boys
win it all this past year?
Brendan: It was great to
see Carolina back on top. They
hit a low for a little bit after I
left. We weren't doing so well.
But those guys worked hard
and worked their way to the
top. They made the Carolina
See One-on-One on B5
A&T to host several track meets in spring
Irwin Belk Track
getting more exposure
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Thanks to meets such as
the Nike Championships and
the N.C. High School Athletic
Association Track and Field
Championships in 2005, N.C.
A&T s Irwin
Belk Track
emerged into a
viable facility
to host track
and field
events.
After 2006,
it should blos
som into one of
the most uti
lized and
respected track
and field facili
ties in the
country.
There will
be 10 track and field events
hosted at Irwin Belk in 2006,
highlighted by the 2006
NCAA East Regional May 26
27. N.C. A&T will become the
first historically black college
or university to host a Divi
sion I NCAA track and field
regional.
"This will be one of the
finest track and field seasons
in the history of our institu
tion," said Roy "Spaceman"
Thompson, the director of
track field programs at N.C.
A&T. "Being the first HBCU
to host a Division I regional
championship is a major
accomplishment. I am very
proud of my university."
Six different organizations
will bring meets to Irwin Belk,
including the return of the
Nike High School Outdoor
Track and Field Champi
onships. which brought
national exposure to N.C.
A&T because thousands of the
best high school athletes com
peted at Irwin Belk in 2005.
All four of the NCHSAA
classifications' (1A, 2A, 3A
and 4A) track and field cham
pionships, the Russell E. Blunt
East Coast Invitational and the
USATF National Age Group
Championships also return.
The other new addition to the
schedule of events other than
the NCAA East Regional is
the MEAC Outdoor Track and
Thompson
Field Championships, which
will feature athletes from all
11 member institutions.
The Aggies track and field
program will conduct four
home meets of its own, start
ing with the Aggie Team Invi
tational on
March 18.
Teams sched
uled to appear
include Clem
son, Howard,
Maryland,
Northeastern,
North Carolina
and Wake For
est.
The Aggie
Relays, the
Murray Neely
Alumni Invita
tional and the
Aggie Last
Chance Meet will round out
the Aggies' home schedule.
File photo
Former Mt. Tabor sprinter J-Mee Samuels (left) broke a national record during the Blunt Invi
tational track meet this past summer.
Brandon Trutty
Trusty sets
MEAC
honors
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Hampton University run
ning back Alonzo Coleman was
selected the Mid-Eastern Ath
letic Conference Offensive
Player of the Week, the league
announced on Monday.
Delaware State linebacker Sam
Smith was chosen Defensive
Player of the Week.
But they weren't the only
two big winners out of the
MEAC on Monday.
Aggie senior Brandon
Trusty also picked up MEAC
weekly honors after his play
against Morgan State last week.
Trusty did it all last Saturday,
but he made two key special
teams plays that earned MEAC
Special Teams Player of the
Week honors.
Trusty completed a pass,
scored on a punt return and
scored a two-point conversion
in the Aggies' 40-33 overtime
win over Morgan State.
Trusty started the game
with a 62-yard completion to
Chaz Dawson that set up a 3
yard touchdown by Orrick
"Rico" Watkins. Trusty then
took over on the special teams
phase of the game. He used a
block from Michael Haye to
break into open field for an 88
yard punt return that gave the ,
Aggies a 19-0 first-quarter
lead.
Trusty's final feat of the
evening may have saved the
game for the Aggies. With the
Aggies leading 31-25 in the
third quarter. Trusty, who was
playing the role of holder on an
extra point following one of
Brandon Sweeney's four touch
downs, took a bad snap from
center. He alertly stood up and
ran the ball into the end zone
before the Morgan State ;
defenders even noticed.
Trusty's main duty is still
catching passes. He had five
catches for 57 yards last Satur
day and has caught at least one
pass in 19 straight games, a
streak that dates back to the
2003 season.
He leads the Aggies in
receiving yards (208) and
receiving (22 catches).
"We call him 'Trust,'" said
Small. "I think that's an appro
priate name for him. You can
trust that he's going to do the
right thing on the football
field."
Other winners include
Jonathan Woods (South Caroli
na State), who picked up Rook- ]
ie of the Week honors; and the
Pirates' Nevin McCaskill ?
picked up Offensive Lineman 1
of the Week.
Check it out!
NORTH CAROLINA UT STATC INIVERSITV^