8B
CFiarlotte
SPORTS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1996
Lady
Eagles ’
new leader
Robinson
to coach
at NCCU
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DURHAM, NC - North
Carolina Central University
named Joli D. Robinson, for
mer head coach for girls varsi
ty basketball at Indejjendence
High School, the new head
coach of the Lady Eagle bas
ketball program, during a
press conference held Aug. 15
in NCCU’s Leroy T. Walker
Physical Education Complex,
“North Carolina Central
University was searching for
an individual who could estab
lish the Lady Eagles as one of
the top basketball programs m
the C.I.A.A. and the nation,
both athletically and academi
cally,” said Dr. William E.
Lide, Director of Athletics at
N.C. Central. “I am confident
that we have found the person
to accomplish these goals in
Joli Robinson.” Since 1990,
Robinson has directed the var
sity girl’s basketball squad at
Independence High School to
an overall record of 96-56.
During her six-year tenure
she guided her team to back-
to-back Conference
Championships in 193-94 and
1994-95.
For her work, she was hon
ored as the Conference Coach
of the Year in 1994, and N. C.
High School Athletic
Association Regional US Air
Sportsmanship Award in 1995.
Along with her responsibilities
to the girl’s basketball pro
gram, Robinson was also the
head coach of volleyball and
track & field, as well as
department chairperson and
an instructor of Health and
Physical Education at
Independence.
Robinson, a native of
Charlotte, graduated from
Charlotte Catholic High
School in 1973. She entered
Winston Salem State
University, where she played
point guard for the Lady Ram
basketball program^ for four
seasons and earned a bachelor
of science degree in 1977, with
concentration Health and
Physical Education.
That same year, she attend
ed West Chester University of
Pennsylvania to begin her
graduate studies in Health
and Physical Education. In
1990, Robinson achieved her
master’s degree in Health and
Physical Education from N. C.
A&T State University.
Since beginning her coaching
career in 1977, Robinson has
coached basketball, track &
field, softball and volleyball at
four different school systems
in Charlotte. She accepted her
first coaching job at Wilson
Junior High School, where she
stayed for six years. Robinson
spent five years at Eastway
Junior High School (1984 89),
earning Conference Coach of
the Year honors in 1986, one
year at Hawthorne Traditional
School (1989-90), where she
was again named Conference
Coach of the Year in 1990, and
spent the last six years at
Independence High School
(1990-96). Robinson has
extended her vast experience
to the community, as a coach
for the A.A.U. Girl’s
Basketball League and an
instrucor for a variety of
camps and clinics, including
the Reebok Clinic at Queens
College and the YES Clinic at
UNC-Charlotte this summer.
Panthers Buffaloed
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
A fter two underwhelm
ing preseason efforts,
the Carolina Panthers
are looking to find some
answers.
The Panthers, who play the
New York Giants Friday in the
final tuneup before the Sept. 1
season opener, dropped passes,
turned the ball over and were
thoroughly outplayed in a 24-0
loss to Buffalo. Offensively and
defensively, Carolina just isn’t
doing enough to win, said line
backer Sam Mills.
“We really didn’t do an54;hing
out there to help ourselves,”
Mills said.
“Basically, we had a couple of
plays in the game, but not near
ly enough.”
While preseason games are a
time for yoimg players to
impress coaches while veterans
see little action. Mills sees them
as a time to sharpen skills,
something that hasn’t happened
of late.
“Each person has to go out and
play better. Personally, I don’t
like losing preseason games,” he
said. “It doesn’t count against
the record, but it’s still prepEu^a-
tion. If you don’t see progress
made in the preseason, alarms
start going off, so you want to see
progress each time you go out,
and the last two weeks, I don’t
know if I can say that.”
“I thought we were just out
there, not really making any
thing happen,” Mills said.
Running back Dino Philyaw,
who wiU move further down the
depth chart with Tshminaga
Biakabutuka repwiting to camp,
said the Panthers’ use of young
See PANTHERS on page 11B
Is He Ready?
Biakabutuka says yes, despite holdout
Biakabutuka, right, Is ail smiles despite a 24-0 drubbing by the Buffalo Bills, photo/calvin ferguson
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Tbhimanga Biakabutuka and Chick Harris
are inseparable.
Biakabutuka, the Carolina Panthers’ rookie
running back, has been going
throu^ a crash course on offense with Harris,
his position coach. There’s
plenty of skull sessions, plays the rookie has
to learn before he takes a
snap in an NFL game. Meetii^s in the morn
ing, then practice in the afternoon.
'Then more meetings. How much schooling is
Harris giving Biakabutuka?
“A lot. We’ve been hanging together for most of
the days. We’ve had a lot of
meetings.”
“I don’t have time for that. It’s time to go full
speed and try to learn and
get momentum with the linemen.”
Biakabutuka, who agreed to terms with
Carolina last week, may not be ready to play
Friday against the New York Giants, but he pro
nounced himself on the way to readiness after
his first practices after a month long holdout.
“We went through a lot of meetings and I
remember most of the plays that I learned in
minicamp,” he said. “That’s why I was doing a
lot better than I
thought I would.”
Before Biakabutuka can start playing, he’ll
have to continue his crash
course. Panthers coach Dom Capers said.
After missing all of training camp, it’ll take
some time for Biakabutuka to learn the offense
and contribute.
“Obviously, he’s rusty in some areas, but he’s
had good meeting time,” Capers said. Working
Biakabutuka into the offense will take some
time, receiver Willie Green said.
Although he’s not expected to know all the
plays, the extra study time can only help his
game preparation. In other words, the rookie is
on his own.
“Fm pretty sure he can (catch up) if he’s an ath
lete,” Green said. “I don’t
worry about whether hell be there. If he’s
there or not, the game’s got to
go on and I’ve got to do my job. I hope he holds
up his end.”
Because Biakabutuka hasn’t played in a game
since he suited up for Michigan last season, con
ditioning is a concern, Capers said. Special care
vrill be taken with his groin area, which was
strained in June minicamp.
“The biggest thing Tim’s going to have to do I
don’t care what kind of
running you’ve been doing off the field, it’s not
football running - cutting
with the ball and doing all the things you have
to do. We’re going to have to
monitor that to make sure he doesn’t pull a
muscle or something that happens early in
training camp.”
Although he hasn’t spent much time scrim
maging, Biakabutuka said he’s ready to play.
Of course, Carolina’s coaches will determine
whether he’s learned enough to start pla3?ing.
See BIAKABUTUKA on page 10B
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Student cannot
resist call of game
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Two years ago. Chuck Young turned in his football cleats for
a roofer’s
hammer.
Now, he’s rebuilding his fortunes at Johnson C. Smith.
Young, a junior, dropped out of Tennessee State in frustra
tion after a
lack
of playing
time and
coaching
changes. He
took several
jobs to sup
port
himself, but
the game he’d
tired of
called.
“I did a lot
of things. I
did a little
roofing, I
worked as a
shoe sales
man,
I worked
with the kids
at the YMCA
in Nashville,”
Young said. “I
think that
year gave
me a lot of
time to ■ find
myself and do
a lot of grow
ing up. It was
all business,
so I knew I
had to work
hard and
that year
prepared me
to work hard, whether it was the books or on the field.”
Although Young wasn’t playing, he stayed in touch with TSU
assistant coach Daryl McNeill, who installed the Tigers’
offense as its coordinator. When McNeill became Smith’s head
coach. Young followed him.
“I gave him a ring and asked him point blank ‘Do you need
a quarterback,’”
Young said. “He said ‘I’ve got a good one in De’Trell
Calloway, but I could
use some help at the position.’ I said ‘Coach, do you think I
can do it.’ He
said ‘Do you think you can do it.’ Without a doubt in my
mind, I knew I was
ready.”
Young has worked hard enough to earn the starting job with
the Golden Bulls, who open Aug. 31 against Benedict.
Although his statistics weren’t as good as Calloway’s, Young’s
off-season and spring workouts vaulted him into the top spot.
“In the spring I kind of felt it was up in the air and we had
See YOUNG on page 11B
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Young
Baseball very, very good, but not to all
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Kenny Lofton of the
Cleveland Indians recently
said that his baseball team
may be suffering criticism
because the team is heavily
populated with Black and
Hispanic ballplayers. In a
report titled “A Statistical
Analysis on Discrimination
Evidenced by Voting for the
Baseball Hall of Fame,” the
researcher was quoted as say
ing that “There is evidence
that African Americans must
perform at a higher level, on
average than their white coun
terparts to remain in the
game.”
Baseball’s bad boys come in
all shapes, sizes and complex
ions, however, white athletes
seldom take as many verbal
whippings from white sports
“experts.” And if superstars
like Barry Bonds, Albert Belle,
Daryl Strawberry, Lee Smith,
Doc Gooden, Eddie Murray,
etc. weren’t so dense and
cocky, they would also see it for
what it really is. Even “good
guys” like Tbny G3wnn and
Ozzie Smith are not above
being dogged for not always
being superhuman.
A few years ago, a popular
sports magazine picked some
of its all-time greatest baseball
players and would you believe
that only Willie Mays and
Henry Aaron consistently
made the lists. We seem to
have forgotten that the
National League, which first
brought black ballplayers in
wholesale, dominated the
annual all-star game until the
last 15 or so years. Many
thanks to Bob Gibson, Frank
Robinson, Willie McCoVey,
Juan Marichal, Dick Allen,
Orlando Cepeda, Ernie Banks,
BiUy Williams, etc.
Today, there are still only
See BASEBALL on page l|l B