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Friday, January 12, 2007
Miller Grove has the White touch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He elevated Carver from a program of little significance to the Class A 2004 championship game. Along the way, he instilled pride in young men who had lost 14 of 17 games the year before Sharman White arrived.
Today, White is performing a similarly commendable job at Miller Grove, a DeKalb County school in only its second year of varsity, but one that already has established itself as a force.
This is so even after perhaps the model program in DeKalb — Columbia — showed its depth, experience and know-how in handling Miller Grove 76-54 on Friday night.
To defeat No. 1 Columbia would have amounted to a significant upset, what with the Eagles’ pedigree. Plus, they had the two best players on the court in Georgia Tech-bound Lance Storrs and Georgia-bound Jeremy Price and a slew of athletic, hard-working players.
Still, it was apparent even in the carnage that White has his team going in the proper direction. They were 11-4 before Friday, with the quartet of defeats coming by a combined 11 points, including a five-point defeat to Columbia earlier.
Considering the age of the program, Miller Grove is ahead of everyone’s schedule but White’s. After elevating Carver, he had lofty expectations moving over to talent-laden DeKalb.
“I’ve coached in Atlanta and now in DeKalb, and it’s not even close which has [more] talent,” White said. “Schools in DeKalb are sometimes two miles apart, but each school has a bunch of talent. It’s crazy.” So, with something to work with, White expected the kind of success they are experiencing.
“Compared to what had to be done at Carver, this is a walk in the park,” he said. “At Carver, I had to take what I was given and mold it into something worthwhile for the kids, the school and the community,” he said. “But we went in there and … won a lot and, best of all, we saw the kids’ self-esteem rise.
“At Miller Grove, I started from scratch, but I didn’t have to change a mind-set of losing. I set a standard from the beginning of hard work and success and, most importantly, the kids bought into it. And here we are.”
Where they would like to be is where Columbia is. Coach Phil McCrary is a motivator, a tactician, a winner. His team is a well-tooled operation. The Eagles spent the second half throwing down dunks to the pleasure of their fans, who raised cards with “10” on them as a way of judgment.
The 6-foot-8 Price also delivered a forceful message when he set a vicious screen at mid-court on Miller Grove’s young phenom, Mfon Udofia. Price flattened the 6-foot-3 guard who already has drawn the interest of Duke, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Florida, UConn, Arizona and on and on.
Udofia, whose parents are from Nigeria, is a left-handed athlete with an uncanny feel for the game. But when he did not make the obvious pass on a 2-on-1 break and missed a difficult layup, White did not hesitate to express his displeasure. Loudly.
So it is with a young team — in age and varsity experience. But with White at the helm and Udofia, senior Anthony Jones and the versatile Bijaun Leak, among others, Miller Grove some day soon could hold as lofty a position in the state as Columbia.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Milton bids to repeat ‘97 Wheeler upset
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every so often, Van Keys gets nostalgic about the most dynamic time of his nine-year run as coach at Milton.
It was Feb. 12, 1997, at Pope High, when his unheralded Eagles knocked off No. 1 Wheeler in the subregion tournament, an upset that reverberated throughout the state.
No one expected Milton to defeat the Wildcats, who were the most dominant team in Class AAAA that season, with D.A. Layne, Antwuan Dixon and others. But Milton pulled it out, on two last-second free throws, and ended Wheeler’s run.
That is of interest now because the two teams meet again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Milton. It is the Eagles’ best opportunity to defeat Doug Lipscomb’s perennial power in the past 10 years.
Since the 58-57 Milton victory, Lipscomb has built Wheeler into perhaps the state’s most prolific program. The Wildcats have won three state championships and are yearly contenders. Milton, meanwhile, has never had a moment like it did in ‘97.
This weekend offers that opportunity. The Eagles are 11-1 and ranked No. 7 in the state. Wheeler is ranked No. 3.
To defeat Wheeler, much has to fall into place, as it did for Milton 10 years ago.
“Just a great game,” recalled Keys, 46, a physical education teacher and tennis coach at Milton. “It was unexpected that we would upset them. It was the best we played all that year.”
Keys can recall details of the game as if it were a recent happening. “Nip and tuck the whole way,” he said. “We had our moments, but they had some great players in Layne and Dixon. They were great.
“What we did have was a 6-8 kid, Justin Valentine, who played great inside for us.”
Still, Wheeler held a 57-56 lead when a foul was called on Dixon against Greg Rosinski with 1.2 seconds to play. Fans recall seeing the entire Wheeler cheering section run behind the basket and wave their arms to distract Rosinski.
With the noise at ear-splitting level, Rosinski, “nailed them both, like it was nothing,” Keys said. “And that was the game.”
The Milton fans, from shock and glee, rushed the court. “It was an unbelievable celebration,” Keys said.
Rosinski, the son of former Falcons play-by-play announcer Bill Rosinski, was a hero, as was the entire team, which lost the next week to Marietta.
“I got home about 11 that night and received calls of congratulations until after midnight,” Keys said. “Even the Roswell coach called. He was glad. We had gotten Wheeler out of the way for them. And Roswell went on to win the championship.”
Since then, Milton has not beaten Wheeler. Hasn’t come close. In fact, the Eagles lost to the Wildcats twice in 1997 by double-figure margins.
“You win a game like that and it sticks with you,” Keys said. “Now, Milton has a chance to do it again. If it’s anything like the game we played 10 years ago, it’ll be a great game this weekend. … I can’t wait to see it.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Curtis Bunn
Darius Walker made good decision at right time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Darius Walker made plenty of good moves this season, but the Notre Dame running back saved his best for last.
On Thursday, he shocked football fans from Atlanta to South Bend by saying goodbye to Charlie Weis and the Irish and declaring for the NFL Draft. Don’t let all the Darius doubters and draft experts fool you — it was absolutely the right decision.
Popular belief is that the former Buford star might not even be a first-day selection. His lack of breakaway speed is the first thing they point out. But why is staying another season going to make him faster?
Walker is listed as having 4.5 speed. (I’ll take the over). Yet, in his impressive performance in the Sugar Bowl, he consistently was fast enough to get away from LSU’s vaunted SEC speed. Actually, he reminds me of a former SEC back that everyone also said was too slow to play in the NFL. Florida’s Emmitt Smith ran a 4.7 in the NFL combine and slipped all the way down to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 17.
Tiki Barber also comes to mind. The recently retired Giants’ back is the same size as Walker (5-10, 200) and has never been considered a burner.
Those comparisons are obviously on the high end of the scale. Who knows whether Walker will even last five years in the pros, let alone become a perennial Pro Bowler? But his draft stock wasn’t going to get any higher by staying another season at Notre Dame.
The Irish lose nine offensive starters and will be breaking in a new quarterback behind an inexperienced line. Not exactly the recipe for a successful ground attack. Plus, there are rumors that Walker and Weis weren’t on the best of terms. Weis didn’t appear at Walker’s press conference to announce his decision. Being in the doghouse next year certainly wasn’t going to help his draft stock.
Walker says he’s planning on finishing school and receiving his degree. “This was not a blind decision for me,” he said. “It’s not something just all of a sudden I woke up one day, ‘Hey, let me got to the NFL and see if I can make it. It’s definitely something that I put time and research in, something that I feel is right now.”
Whether Walker makes it in the NFL or not, he picked the right time to take his shot.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: David Purdum
