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DEL.ICIO.USMiller 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.
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Comments
By KSShake
January 16, 2007 09:39 AM | Link to this
Glad to see a good coach young coach is getting recognition for getting the job done. I’m also glad to see that high school basketball is at a peak right now in the state of Georgia, especially in the metro area. Boys basketball is better than ever (especially deeper). Personally, Columbia is the best boy’s team amungst a long list of good teams. Dunwoody, Miller Grove, Riverdale, North Clayton, Mundy’s Mill, Tri-Cities, Westlake, Meadowcreek, Peachtree Ridge, and the great recruiting schools Norcross and Wheeler.
In girls basketball, it may not be as deep, but, the teams and players at the top are real good, Maya Moore is the best girl high school basketball player in the last 25 years. She plays for the #1 team in the country, but I’m not sure if it’s the best Collins Hill team ever. St. Pius, Stephenson, Avondale, Marist, Mays, and South Gwinnett all have good teams. Collins Hill vs. Stephenson for the AAAAA title is going to be one of the best games ever!
By Ernest
January 16, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this
Good article! Great to have additional insight on Coach White. It would be really interesting to see where Miller Grove would be if they did not lose 3-4 of their players to Columbia over the summer.
Some teams have to rebuild to reload. Some simply recruit….