By Ronnie Gallagher
Salisbury Post
Notes ‘n’ quotes …
Should we just go ahead and give next year’s boys basketball Player of the Year award to K.J. Sherrill now?
We’ll hold off on that but the 6-foot-7 West Rowan junior will enter next season as the player with the most hyped and recognizable initials in Rowan County.
K.J. led a group of role players to a 21-win season in 2008 and was recently invited to Dave Telep’s Carolina Challenge.
Telep, a recruiting analyst, brought the state’s top underclassmen to Cary for a showcase. Sherrill was one of 99 prospects.
“There were a lot of good players there,” said Sherrill, who has also participated in a camp put on by Bob Gibbons. “There were a lot of tall dudes there. I was looking up at most of them. But I played well. I just came to show what I had and to get my name out there.”
OK, maybe we won’t guarantee Sherrill the Player of the Year award just yet, but we can guarantee he’ll be on the preseason basketball cover.
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The Wake Forest spring football game is scheduled for next Saturday at 1 p.m. on the campus field.
Former West Rowan star Tristan Dorty will be showcasing his talent at a new position.
Due to a logjam at linebacker, Dorty, a redshirt freshman, has been moved to defensive end.
West coach Scott Young said the move made him happy. Dorty can now eyeball at the quarterback from a standing position.
“It’s a more natural position,” Young said. “They can turn him loose to rush the passer. He was excited.”
Even more exciting is that Dorty is running with the second-string defense.
Dorty’s weight is up to 245 pounds on his 6-3 frame.
“He looks good,” Young said.
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Another former local star made an impact in spring practice. Salisbury’s Gordy (that’s right, it’s now Gordy, not Gordon) Witte impressed his coaches at Appalachian State.
Defensive line coach Mark Spier told the Winston-Salem Journal, “This was a big spring for him and he had a great spring. He did a lot to establish himself.”
Like Dorty, the 6-6, 285-pound Witte is a redshirt freshman.
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The L.A. Times writes, “Andy Roddick didn’t endear himself to many local fans at the Davis Cup in Winston-Salem.”
Asked why tennis was not as popular as football and NASCAR, he replied: “It’s a little disappointing that we’re behind a sport that you turn left for four hours.”
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Both Salisbury natives on the Boston College basketball team may be gone next season.
Shamari Spears has already decided to transfer. Reports have him going to Bobby Lutz and Charlotte.
Now, rumors are circulating that Tyrese Rice may go pro.
However, the Salisbury connection will continue now that West Rowan shortstop Philip Miclat has committed to BC and East Rowan outfielder Micah Jarrett visited this past weekend.
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Still moping over North Carolina’s collapse to Kansas in the national semifinals? Want to feel better?
Just find a copy of UNC’s national title win over Illinois in 2005 and watch it a couple of times. It will cheer you up.
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Another L.A. Times report said Kansas canceled classes the day following Kansas’ 75-68 title win over Memphis. Thousands of hungover students might not have shown up anyway.
The Daily Kansan reported that dozens of bars along Massachusetts Street filled up hours before tipoff and some sold out of beer.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen will send an order of Rendezvous ribs, a Memphis specialty, to Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as payment of a friendly wager they made on the game.
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Nick Bowton wrote a story during March Madness about Purdue coach Matt Painter and how he coached under Pfeiffer coach Dave Davis while the two were at Barton.
But as Davis points out, Painter is one in a long list of his former assistants who went on Division I program.
He ripped off 10 names, including Michael Longabardi, who went on to be an assistant with the Boston Celtics, Rob Moxley, who went from an assistant at Maryland to being named the associate head coach at Charlotte, and Benny Moss, the head man at UNC Wilmington.
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Greg Richardson is a head coach again.
When Arrington Jones resigned at Virginia Union recently for personal reasons, the school promoted Richardson, the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
Richardson who never hid the fact he loved living in Salisbury, coached Livingstone from 1999 to 2001.
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Speaking of Livingstone, the Blue Bears have released their 2008 football schedule.
Livingstone starts on the road for two weeks, comes home for two weeks, then goes on the road again for three straight games.
The season begins Aug. 30 in Greenville, S.C. against Concordia.
The first home game is Sept. 13 against neighbor Catawba.
Homecoming is Oct. 18 against Saint Augustine’s. It is also Hall of Fame Weekend.
On Oct. 25, Shaw visits, and one of its assistants, Robert Massey, will return to Salisbury for the first time since being let go two years ago by the Blue Bears.
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Betcha Didn’t Know: When Salisbury defeated North Rowan in a track meet last week, it was the first time the Hornets had defeated North in 20 years.
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And finally …Newsday reports that reader Axel Kyster e-mailed to say he would be betting against a certain Mr. Woods at the Masters this weekend after Detroit started 0-7 in baseball and Memphis lost the NCAA national championship game.
“I don’t think it’s a very good week to be a Tiger,” he wrote.
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.