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March 29, 2000
Salisbury Post; Rowan County, NC

Ronnie Gallagher Column

Scooter: Shirtless wonder

BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

           
BOSTON — We’ve seen Scooter Sherrill dunk.

We’ve seen the West Rowan star dunk backwards and sideways. With one hand and with two. We’ve watched him go around people to dunk and over people to dunk.

But never have we seen him dunk half-naked.

Tonight, on ESPN, all of the Scooter fans out there will see West Rowan’s McDonald’s All-American do just that.

The replay of Monday’s Slam Jam 3-point shootout and dunk contest will be shown before 24 of America’s best high school basketball players suit up in front of a national television audience in the FleetCenter at 8 p.m.

On Tuesday, most of the All-Americans who assembled here for the 23rd annual East-West All-Star Game were still gushing over Scooter’s latest glamour shot.

He didn’t win Monday night’s slam dunk competition — that honor went to Deshawn Stevenson of California — but it was Scooter who stole the show.

We’ve seen him do that too, haven’t we?

n

No one was really expecting Scooter Time Monday night. He even admitted that none of his East teammates thought he could make the final.

“But I knew I could,” he said.

Scooter had spent countless hours in the West gym practicing some dunks, visualizing Vince Carter soaring, slamming and then mugging for the crowd and the cameras. Carter had won the NBA’s version last month by giving the fans what they wanted — something so out of the ordinary that there would have to be a reaction.

In the first round, Scooter was quiet.

“I just did all of the dunks I do consistently,” he said. “But I kept thinking I had to do something else but I couldn’t think of anything.”

Until the last moment. It suddenly hit him. Why not undress? Sort of.

He bounced the ball against the glass, took his warmup jacket off in the process and attempted to slam it home.

He failed.

“I couldn’t get it off in time,” he laughed. “I tried a couple of times.”

So, he just decided to take it all off. Well, from the waist up, at least.

“I asked the judges if I could take my shirt off and they said ‘OK,’ ” he grinned.

Without a shirt, it seemed silly and fun and for some reason, much more dynamic.

This was a fashion statement never before seen in the McDonald’s All-Star Classic. The capacity crowd of 5,000 erupted.

“The girls went crazy,” Scooter laughed, adding that the female admirers were more satisfying than any ol’ dunk. “They were wiping my sweat, kissing on me and stuff. I mean, it was teenage girls, old women ... it was real nice. They were loving it and I was loving it.”

n

Just like all of those games that he dominated over the past four seasons, Scooter Sherrill had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

He went for the jugular.

Scooter stood at the foul line with his back to the basket. The crowd noise began revving up.

The idea was to bounce the ball between his legs and off the backboard, while he spun, leaped and stuffed.

“I had tried it at school a couple of times,” he said. “You’ve got to have a perfect bounce. I really didn’t know if I could do it.”

Oh, he did it, all right. After one try failed, he thought he’d give it another.

He completed it and lo and behold, received the only perfect score of the night.

“Everything was exactly like I expected,” he smiled. “Just like the NBA. Everybody on the sidelines was going crazy.”

n

“Just like the NBA.”

Hmm.

There used to be a time when teenage All-Americans talked about college first. But those days are over. During practice Monday, there were scouts from the Sonics, Trail Blazers, Cavs, Spurs and of course, the hometown Celtics, on hand.

West coach Rick Sherley, who has won 641 games in 30 years of leading Texas high school teams, just marveled at the talent and how it seems to be at a higher level each and every season.

“Ninety percent of these kids are going to be multi-millionaires in four or five years,” he said. “We’re not going to teach these kids anything.”

n

Know who taught those All-Americans something?

The kids at the Ronald McDonald House.

“We saw kids in there with cancer and it let us know how fortunate we are to be able to do the things we do,” said Scooter, suddenly becoming very serious. “It was really great. We made them feel good. They looked up to us and that made us feel good.”

Visiting the Ronald McDonald House was just one of the many adventures Scooter has had since arriving Saturday.

No sooner had he gotten off the plane than he was fitted for a tuxedo for Tuesday’s player banquet. He has visited museums, the JFK Library and exhibits in honor of James Naismith. He has been the mayor’s paesan, eating an Italian meal with Boston’s top politician.

This morning, he will have his photo taken with the legendary John Wooden, who despite being in his 90s, is still vibrant when it comes to basketball and young players.

n

Most of the fans don’t see the charity work by the All-Americans. They don’t see faces light up when a John Wooden puts his arm around them.

All fans see — and all they want to see — are the high-flying hoops stars of tomorrow.

Scooter Sherrill, that kid who honed his skills on an outdoor court in rural Rowan County, definitely has the potential to be one of them.

He’ll have his chance to prove it on national television tonight.

And he may or may not prove it with his shirt on.

n

Sports editor Ronnie Gallagher is covering the McDonald’s East-West All-American Game.

   

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