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SPORTSWJe Ctartottc 8ost
Thursday, April 27, 2006
At best, drafting collegians an inexact science
Continued from page 1C
competitive player he has
ever seen in nearly 50 years
of scouting-
Thlent for the position?
Emmitt Smith, Curtis
Martin and Jerome Bettis,
Nos. 1, 4 and 5 on the career
rushing list, all were (and
are) slow by running back
standards, 4.6 seconds or
worse in the 40-yard dash
Walter Payton, No. 2 on that
list, wasn’t super-fast either.
TUd Barber, who at age 30
last season had the second
most combined yards rush
ing and receiving ever, ran a
4-55 in college - nine yearn
But all are quick, the rele
vant standard for a running
back.
So we go back 10 years.
After Johnson was taken
by the Jets, the Jaguars took
Linebacker Kevin Hardy
Defensive end Simeon Rice
went to Arizona at No. 3 and
offensive tackle Jonathan
Ogden to Baltimore at No. 4.
Then came mistakes, the
first by the New York Giants.
They took Cedric Jones, a
defensive end from
Oklahoma, who unbe
knownst to them was blind
in one eye (now THAT
should have shown up in the
predraft tests). Jones’ vision
problems precluded his play
ing on the left side, so the
Giants shifted their yo\ing
right end, Michael Strahan,
to the left side, where he
thrived.
The Giants seem to have
been shocked into taking
Jones. They really wanted
Ogden or Rice, and expected
one of the teams ahead of
them to take Lawrence
Phillips, the troubled but tal
ented running back from
Nebraska. No one did and
New York was stuck, a little
confused, and took Jones.
The Rams then took
Phillips at No. 6 and New
England selected wide
receiver Tferry Glenn at No. 7
against the wishes of coach
Bill ParceUs, who later, in
training camp that year,
referred to Glenn as “she.”
Now ParceUs, always com
fortable with former players,
has Glenn in DaUas and had
Johnson there for two years
after coaching him with the
Jets.
PhUlips is remembered for
his off-field problems. But he
wasn’t very good on the field.
either, averaging 3.4 yards a
carry in four seasons with
four teams. He, Jones and
Tim Biakabutuka, taken
ei^th overaU by Carolina,
are the three real busts fix)m
that top 10, Biakabutuka in
part because of a series of
knee injuries.
No. 9 was ti^t end Rickey
Dudley by Oakland and No.
10 offensive tackle WUlie
Anderson by Cincinnati.
Dudley was OK, no more;
Anderson is a three-time Pro
Bowler.
That’s about par for the top
10 in any draft: the good, the
bad and the ordinary
So are the unexpected
accomplishments of players
taken much lower, as Owais
certainly proves. Draft again
today and No. 1 ccould be
Owens, the 89th pick
More probably it is Lewis,
taken 26th overall by
Baltimore; he dropped
because he was a little
undersized for a linebacker.
The unmeasurables - lead
ership and, as with Thomas,
competitiveness — have
made him a two-time defen
sive player of the year, a
Super Bowl MVP and the
most dominant linebacker of
Globetrotter great has new mission
Continued from page 1C
fiT3m others in the sport of
basketbaU- That’s why he
was caUed the “Clown Rince
of BasketbaU.” Lemon has
been enshrined in basket
ball’s HaU of Fame. He has
performed with the
Globetrotters and with his
own basketbaU entertaining
group, the Meadowlark
Lemon AU-Stars.
Altogether Lemon has per
formed in more than 17,000
games and in over 70 coun
tries around the world. He
has also had command per
formances before two popes.
Lemon now travels all
across the country as an
evangelist, preaching the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even
thoirgh he was on a whirl
wind schedule, he consented
to a short interview,
OBSERVER: Describe Ufe
in the South, Wilmington,
North Carolina when you
graduated fix)m High School
in 1957,
Medowlark Lemon: It was
n’t segregated at aU. That
came later with the sit-in
movement that started in
Greensboro, North Carolina
and spread to Wilmington
Then when I left
Wilmington the civU rights
movement started in
earnest.
OBSERVER: You were aU
state in basketbaU for three
years during your high
school years. Did you ever
win the State
Championships?
ML: No we didn’t. Our
main player got sick and we
couldn’t get it done in the
State Championship Finals.
OBSERVER: After your
successful high school career,
was the NBA an option for
you at that time?
ML; No. there was no
option. When I did get
involved with the
Globetrotters back then,
there were only a few Blacks
in the NBA at that time in
the early 60s, BUI RusseU
came into the NBA and was
a • success and Wilt
Chamberlain came soon
after that, then Blacks were
more readily accepted in the
NBA.
OBSERVER: Did you ever
play with Wilt Chamberlain?
ML: Yes, I played with the
“Dipper” for 13 years.
OBSERVER: What are
some of your memories of
Wit Chamberlain?
ML: He was a giant, both
on and off the court. When
Wilt passed away a few
years ago, we were aU in dis
belief, because he was bigger
than life and we thought
that he would never die. He
did everything big.
OBSERVER: Why did you
leave the Globetrotters and
start your own traveling bas
ketball team, the
Meadowlark Lemon All-
Stars?
ML: Actually, I had a team
called the Bucketeers first.
This was a team that I
played on and started with
Wit Chamberlain and Andy
Johnson. I started the
Meadowlark Lemon All-
Stars later. I started the
team because I became a
man. I was not the same
young boy out of
Wlmington, North CaroUna.
OBSERVER: You were
famous for your half-court
“Hook Shot.” How and why
did you develop the shot?
ML: I had to do something,
because I stopped growing
and everyone else kept grow
ing. I could make the shot
fixim the comer as well as I
could fix>m half-court.
OBSERVER: Did you have
the same success with the
Meadowlark Lemon AU-
Stars as you did with the
49er expects Moore in spring
Continued from page 1C
I haven’t quite gotten to my 200 meter goal yet,
but I stOl have enough time. My 100 meter goal
I surpassed that and I am stOl getting better at
Slight of build, Moore is a technical sprinter
who shaves seconds off his time by hours of
work in the blocks, and the perfection of his
stride during his work out sessions. Sprint
coach Tim HaU says that Moore doesn’t have to
transform himself into a power sprinter to be
successful-
“He has surpassed aU of his seasons best as a
sophomore. He has been running very hard in
the indoor season and has already qualified for
Charlotte’s ultimate source
for HBCU sports.
Cliarlotte IPosJt
his era.
Make Harrison No. 2,
althoix^he was 19thoveraU
and the fourtii receiver cho
sen. Owens is No. 3, but in
retrospect perhaps someone
saw the potential personali
ty problems that dismpted
his tenure with the 49ers
and Eagles. Owens, after all,
was the 12th receiver taken
in what turned out to be a
receiver-laden draft. In
achievement he is up there
with Harrison, ahead of
Johnson and a distinguished
group that also includes
Glenn, Eric Moulds (24th)
Amani Tbomer (34), Muhsin
Muhammad .(43), Bobby
Engram (52), and Joe Horn
(135).
Tbomer, who in his prime
had five straight 1,000-yard
receiving seasons, partly
makes up for the Giants’
choice of Jones in the first
round. That’s another stan
dard draft story: We aU
emphasize the :^t roimd,
but many teams make up for
flops there by doing better
later.
Continuing the redraft,
keep Ogden at fourth over
aU, then go with three lower-
rounders: Bruschi, who went
to New England with the
86th pick; Dawkins to
Philadelphia at 61; and
Thomas to Miami at 154.
Bruschi was an undersized
defensive tackle who led the
nation in sacks at Arizona.
Years afl»r the fact, coach
BUI BeUchick, then the assis
tant head coach xmder
ParceUs, recaUed the discus
sions about drafting him
“The conversation was,
‘Look, we’re taking him,”
BeUchick said. “We’re taking
a good footbaU player. We
don’t know what we’re going
to do with him exactly, but
we figure we’U find some
thing.’”
They did.
Make Rice No. 8. With 119
career sacks, he could be
higher in the redraft. But
like many players chosen
high by the Cardinals, he
didn’t blossom rmtil he got
out of Arizona and landed in
Tkmpa,
No, 9 is Eddie George, who
was taken 14th, and make
Anderson No. 10, right
where he was taken, like
many Bengals, he didn’t get
his due imtil the team
improved Under Marvin
Lewis, but he’s now a peren
nial at the Pro Bowls,
Keyshawn?
Make him the wUd card.
Anywha^ from 3 to 11.
Globetrotters?
ML: We had some success;
however, after a couple of
years, I disbanded the team
to do other things, such as
acting in movies and moved
back to North Carolina to
concentrate on evangeUstic
ministry I have been
involved with my ministry
now for over 20 years, travel
ing aU over the country I
reaUy enjoy my role and
work in ministry
OBSERVER:. You have
traveled aU over the world,
in over 70 countries. Name
your Tbp three.
ML: Number one is
Austria, and I love Germany
and Prance. AU of those
cormtries are good today and
once you get past aU of the
other stuff, people are peo
ple. I would rather be here in
the USA.
OBSERVER: I know you
are a fan of the NBA. Name
your aU'time former NBA
players and your favorite
current NBA player?
ML: Oh gosh, there are too
many of them! You have the
“Big Dipper” CVSTlt), you have
Bill Ri^seU, you got to put
Michael Jordan in there, he
is fix)m my home town, you
have Dr. J (Julius Erving)
and the Big “O,” Oscar
Robertson. You got Kevin
Johnson fium right here in
Sacram^to. Tbday if I were
going to start a team, my
choice would be 'lim
Duncan.
OBSERVER: What advice
would you give to the youth
of today?
ML: Seek you first the
Kingdom of God.
OBSERVER: As you go
through fife, what do you
want people to have as the
enduring memory of
Meadowlark Lemon?
ML: I just want people to
know that I’m a Man of C3od.
the regionals in outdoor,” HaU said. ‘T think he
will be fine as a technical runner. By Jason
being smaU in stature it doesn’t necessarily
limit his ability to run fast, if he continues to
improve and educate himself about sprinting
he’s gone to.be awesome.”
Working with HaU on his starts and coming
off a surprisingly successful indoor season has
Moore excited about his future.
“I’m not reaUy an indoor runner,” he said,
“I’m stiU getting used to the banked tracks and
what not, but my time has dropped (indoors)
tremendously Althoiigh I’m more slender, my
str^gth is increasing every day, and I’m get
ting faster.”
Mt. Olive Presbyterian Church
5125 Mt. Olive Church Road • Charlotte, NC 28278 • 704-394-8814
Znd Annual Mt. Olive Presbyterian Church
Golf Tournament • May 12,2006
Sponsored by:
Location:
The Men’s Ministry
Renaissance Golf Course
1525 West lyvola Road
Charlotte, NC
$80--
Entry Fee Per Player
Women and Men are invited to play; Three Flights; Men • Women • Seniors (62 or older
Captains Choice is the format of the tournament
Registration will be held from 7;00 am until 7;45 am
For additional information, please contact;
Ernest C. Grier
704-421-5228
John Lathan
704-591-0914
Robert E. Grier
704-589-8928
NC A&T Charlotte Metro Aggie Club
3rd Annual Spring Golf Tournament at
The Olde Sycamore Golf Club
Date: Saturday, April 29,2006
Time: Check-in M 7:00 AM; Shotgun Start at 8:00 AM
Place: The Olde Sycamore Golf Club (Soft Spikes Required)
Format: 4-Players Captains Choice
Suppport Levels:
$400
-four players
- Ice sponsorship
- banner recognttiom
• rul! page placement in promotional material
- 4 mulligans
- Choice of .start point
$300
- four players
- toe sponsorship
- two mulligans
f page in promotional material
SI25- four players
- one player
- tee sponsorship
-1 niiilligan
i^ted in promotional material