Former Star Diggs Gave West Rowan Boys Some Needed Inspiration

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

The prep basketball notebook...

Seated behind the West Rowan bench during its win at A.L. Brown last Friday was Tremayne Diggs, one of the Falcons' leaders during the 1997-98 season.

It was appropriate that Diggs should turn up in Bullock Gymnasium, for it was in that building that he led the Falcons to a 61-43 win over the Wonders last February with 17 sensational points and one of the better rebounding games of his fine career.

On one occasion, West coach Mike Gurley drew upon the presence of Diggs for inspiration. That moment came when a Falcon tiptoed softly down the lane and shot a fadeaway instead of going strong to the hoop. "Come on!" admonished Gurley. "Tremayne Diggs would have dunked that ball!"

SMOOTH TALKER:

Gurley kept a running conversation going with all three officials at Friday night's West-A.L. Brown game, but the highlight came when Wonder 6-footer Rashad Robinson tried to get off a shot in the lane that was practically devoured by the Falcons' 6-7 freshman Donte Minter. Minter didn't have to leave his feet to effortlessly swat the shot, but a whistle, much to Gurley's dismay, blew just the same.

"If that's a foul," growled Gurley whose head is shaved smoother than I-85, "then I've got hair."

RELUCTANT RIFLEMAN:

There was a popular TV show long before West's Andre McCain was born called, "The Rifleman." The late Chuck Connors played the hero of the series, a fellow named Lucas McCain, who went around shooting up lawbreakers.

But West's McCain is no rifleman. In fact, McCain, now a senior, seems to shoot less each year. Instead of looking for his shot, he tries hard to keep all his teammates involved, doing whatever his team needs on a given night. He plays defense, hits the offensive board and hits the open man.

He's not lighting up the stat sheet the way everyone thought he would back when he was a middle school superstar - his highest point total of the season so far is 10 - but he has become a player who is much appreciated by his coaches and teammates.

"McCain's gonna come out there and give you 5-10 points and 5-10 rebounds a night," said Gurley. "The last four games he's played as well as anyone we have. Leadership drips off that kid's shoulders."

BIG FRANK:

Gurley is also pleased with the progress of 6-6 junior Frank Williams, who is showing increased aggressiveness.

"Every coach who has ever coached Frankie will tell you two things," said Gurley. "First that he's a great kid and they loved coaching him. Second, that they'd like for him to get a little meaner."

Williams actually showed a little nastiness Friday, much to the delight of Gurley. When Williams and A.L. Brown muscleman Nick Gill came down with a rebound simultaneously, Williams wrestled with Gill for the ball all the way to the floor - refusing to back down.

"Frank made a statement in this game," said Gurley after the Falcons beat A.L. Brown by 23. "He told everyone that he can play here."

NATURALLY WEIRD:

Gurley gets an obvious kick out of coaching Minter, Williams and 6-5 senior Antwan House, who give West a trio of quality big guys.

But he also admits that his tall timber can have some quirky moments.

"The big man walks a different road," explained Gurley. "The big man is kookie by nature. Hey, I was a big man. What else do you need to know?"

THEIR TROUBLES ARE OVER:

West Rowan's girls have apparently cured their much-publicized wardrobe woes with the addition of new drawstrings.

"No more flower power for us," said coach Angie Waddell, whose Falcons stayed well-dressed and looked well-drilled in Friday's easy win over A.L. Brown.

BALANCED ACT:

West's junior point guard Kari Schenk is obviously even better than last year, but the really impressive thing about the Falcon girls is their balance.

Six Falcons - Schenk, Kate Goodman, Shameeka Wansley, Sara Pieper, Emily Miller and Les-Lee Peeler - have already been in double figures after just five games.

Three additional Falcons - Kristin McNeely, Emily Langley and Jenny Sloop - have enjoyed eight-point games.

Even more telling, Goodman, Pieper and Miller have all led the Falcons in scoring in at least one game, which means a lot less pressure for Schenk.

SCOOTER'S TOUR:

After West star Scooter Sherrill scored only 13 points against A.L. Brown Friday - giving him "just" 25 points over his last two games - some were disappointed.

But don't count Gurley among them.

"A lot of people are saying Scooter's not on his game," said Gurley. "They're saying he's not doing what they expected. But I'm pleased with what he's doing. I know he led us in assists in our game at Northwest Cabarrus (he produced another big assist night against the Wonders) and I know all the good things he's doing for West Rowan.

"Scooter is suffering right now from Nick Maddox disease. Everyone the whole football season came after Maddox. Everyone wanted to show him up and stop him. But you know what, you can count on a dog's hand the number of times anyone stopped Maddox. It'll be the same way with Scooter."

NICK THE QUICK:

Speaking of Maddox, who will join Gill and East Rowan's Adam Horton in Saturday's Shrine Bowl football game, he impressed Gurley with his athleticism, although he scored just six points against the Falcons.

"There were times when he just went through our press like it wasn't there and got the ball inside," said Gurley.

On one occasion, Maddox took the ball all the way to the hoop only to have it emphatically rejected by House, who grinned at him gleefully. "We're close. I love Nick like a brother," said House, who along with Sherrill played AAU hoops with Maddox, "but that was a lot of fun."

When Maddox limped off after bruising his thigh in the fourth quarter, House embraced him as he walked by the West bench.

HIGH-WIRE ACT:

There may not be a better leaper in the area than A.L. Brown junior Tamin Benjamin, a recent transfer who has startling elevation. Benjamin scored 14 points in a matter of minutes last Tuesday against Central Cabarrus, and had a rocking reverse dunk in traffic against the Falcons.

CLUTCH HUTCH:

Things are coming along slowly for the A.L. Brown girls who have lost their first five games, but at least two of their freshmen began to hit their stride last week.

Elise Stanback had a double-double in a 52-38 loss to Central Cabarrus, while Joanna Hutchinson hit four 3-pointers against West - all in the second half.

Hutchinson had scored only two points in the Wonders' first four games.

NEAR MISS:

A.L. Brown's girls just missed a monumental upset Wednesday when they lost 39-37 to a strong Piedmont team, which is expected to battle West, East and Concord for the SPC title.