| Notes ‘n’ quotes ... Richard Gaston is alive and well.
The basketball player, who
wasn’t a star at North Rowan High School, but turned into one after transferring to
South Rowan, has now turned himelf into a Division I player.
Gaston, who played last season at
Labette Junior College in Parsons, Ks., has signed with Eastern Kentucky University.
Eastern Kentucky is coached by former
University of Kentucky guard Travis Ford.
Gaston, a 6-7, 225-pound forward,
averaged 12.5 points and 8.4 rebounds for Labette last season and was named team MVP.
Playing in the top junior college
conference in the nation, Gaston was chosen to participate in the Jayhawk League Top 20
All-Star Game.
Gaston joins Chris Carswell, who is a
6-foot-8 forward from Hiwasse Community College in Madison, Tn.
“We are looking for big things
from these players next year,” said Ford.
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Besides Gaston, Rowan County fans
will have three other Division I players to keep an eye on next year: Salisbury’s
Leonard Owens at Texas-El-Paso, South’s Carlos Dixon at Virginia Tech and of course,
West Rowan’s Scooter Sherrill at N.C. State.
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Speaking of Scooter, he attended the
School of the Year, athletic-wise.
Rowan County was certainly West World
in 1999-2000.
Just thinking about all that West
Rowan has accomplished this year is mind-boggling.
Scott Young turned around a football
team that finished 8-3 and was 5-0 at one time. The Falcons beat everybody in the county.
Basketball produced an All-American
(Scooter) and two East-West All-Stars (Scooter and Kari Schenk). The varsity boys and
girls teams won South Piedmont Conference and 3A sectional titles.
Baseball appeared out of the playoff
picture, that is, until Chris Cauble’s club made a late-season run that saw it win
seven out of nine games in the league and made the postseason .Graham Rabon made the state
golf tournament.
And West Middle School? Did the
Bulldogs not go undefeated in anything? It was the greatest year in that school’s
history.
A former West student, John Milem,
was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.
And to top off the year, the Piedmont
Boll Weevils let Scooter, Schenk and boys coach Mike Gurley throw out first pitches before
its game.
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Which brings us to the most heard
phrases this year:
“Hey Gallagher, do you have to
keep writing about Scooter? Do you live at his house or something? Is his family paying
you? Are you kin to him?
The answers are yes, no, no and Ifeel
like it.
n
It has been said that Laker fans are
apathetic. Not this year. Laker fans are so excited over their team that they actually put
their cell phones down long enough to clap with both hands.
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Thought you outta know: South Rowan
principal Alan King threw out the first pitch before the South Rowan Legion’s first
game Sunday night. He looks like a pitcher, long and lean.
n
When I was asked a few years ago if I
wanted the Boll Weevils beat, it pretty much excluded me from prep and Legion baseball.
This year, I’m glad. I would
hate to have to choose between North Rowan’s Daniel Moore and East Rowan’s Brian
Hatley for Rowan County Player of the Year.
How do you choose? Both were
un-boll-weevible.
There will be nine votes from coaches
and sportswriters so someone has to be the bonafide winner.
Superwriter Mike London said he
wanted to split his one vote so they could share it.
Not a bad idea.
n
My two favorite e-mails of the year:
One middle school coach said we
covered a game because a kid on the other team had a father who worked at the Post.
Oh yeah, sure.
A lady accused us of giving an error
to a kid just to “protect Daniel Moore’s ERA.”
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And finally ...
It was so hot today that John Rocker
was insulting eskimos.
See ya.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor
of the Post. |
Ronnie