Darts and laurels: Hoop dreams restored in Granite Quarry

Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 2, 2016

Call it good timing, but laurels must go to the Student Government Association at Granite Quarry Elementary School. As college basketball’s March Madness gave way to this weekend’s Final Four, the Granite Quarry SGA raised $1,500 and spent a recent Saturday restoring the school’s basketball courts.

The courts needed some attention. Rims were missing from two of the backboards, which also had big chunks broken off of them. Where rims were in place, the nets were missing. Poles were rusty, and grass and weeds were growing through the spider webs of cracks in the asphalt court.

The funds raised went toward paint, blacktop sealant and new rims, backboards and nets. It’s the kind of  project most schools give a low priority in addressing, so it takes students, their parents and administrators to combine talents to get the job done. It was a slam dunk.

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Call this the reverse psychology University of North Carolina fans are famous for, but a dart should go to the UNC basketball team for the always potential agony the players and Coach Roy Williams most likely will put Tar Heel Nation through tonight in the Final Four game in Houston.

UNC fans never feel safe — a lead is never too big, Williams doesn’t call enough timeouts, the team can’t defend 3-point shooters, the intensity isn’t there. UNC fans anticipate and complain about the worse — it’s in their DNA — in hopes it will lead to the best, which in tonight’s case would be a victory against Syracuse and a trip to Monday night’s championship game.

Reverse psychology? Come on, Tar Heels fans, try positive thinking this time.

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And finally, call it sour grapes, but a dart must be aimed at Justin Dionne, managing artistic director of Lee Street theatre, for having the audacity to leave Salisbury for educational and career opportunities elsewhere.

Dionne was the driving force behind the creation of Lee Street theatre, which has been a tremendous addition to Salisbury’s arts scene. His enthusiasm and talent as an actor will be missed, and he can leave Salisbury knowing he made a significant impact.

Dionne will be attending graduate school at Florida State University because he has bigger ambitions in theater management. It’s good to know Salisbury has been good enough to serve as a stepping stone, but if it were possible, we’d use one of Roy Williams’ stockpiled timeouts to talk with Dionne — and urge him to stay.