All The Pieces Must Fit

The 2009-2010 basketball season at Rocky Mount High soared to the pinnacle of success, a state championship. Despite the end result, not many had thoughts that a state championship was on the horizon.

There was talk of transfers coming into the program, but there was also a transfer who left and moved back to New York. The tallest on the team, the stud in the middle at six feet nine had gone. The Gryphons had Tashawn Mabry returning, but that hadn't proved to get us past the sectionals.

All you have to do is look to the college that plays in the house that brought the Gryphons their state title, Carolina and see that promises and hype don't add up to a gallon of gas.

A loss to 2-A Beddingfield rather early on the road would dampen any talk that this team had championship potential. Way back in 1983, N. C. State won a national championship but it didn't jell until Derrick Whittenburg went down with a broken foot. Six weeks without him and those off the bench stepped up and found roles on that team, including Rocky Mount's very own George McClain.

The same thing happened for the Gryphons. T.J. Walker's season-ending knee injury and Mabry's three-game absence gave players an opportunity to play bigger roles instead of watching from the sidelines or in the case most of the time on the court passing Tashawn the ball and being a spectator on the court.

In the rout of Northern Nash in Rocky Mount in mid-January, there was a sense that this team was coming together. Tevin Taylor, Darius McKnight and Billy Young were becoming a reliable point guard combination. Then there was the exam week, followed by snow that closed school for four days and it looked like big MO left and hid.

The second cycle in conference play the Gryphons were average, disgruntle players. A loss the first night back from the snow at Fike and then a tournament semifinal lost to Nash Central. This team will win their first game in the playoffs at home, but hit the road and then pack up the equipment until next year was the thought of many.

All the squabbles were mending and by the second-round playoff, the Gryphons caught a break. An upset and instead of hitting the road in the second round, it's another home game. Detrail Jenkins was becoming a double-double man every night. Kenyatta Bullock was dependable hitting big threes. Terrell Hilliard and Tecoby Hines were playing like starters from off the bench.

The tranformation took over Mabry. He became the greatest scorer in Gryphon history, but still hadn't won much in the playoffs. Tashawn found the level that people predicted back in the eighth grade. Mabry's career he had been a scorer but the last month he became a great player. In the regional and state championships, Tashawn averaged 29 points and 10 rebounds plus five blocks a game. All of the pieces fell in place.

When all was said and done, Mike Gainey became a state championship coach. This is probably the hardest year in his life and somehow, the most rewarding. All you have to do is look toward Roy Williams this year and see that you just don't put five on the court and say bring me a title. The captain of the U.S.S. Gryphon was Gainey and the captain maneuvered this ship through many mine fields.

I said this on the radio Saturday night. The Nash County area has some of the highest unemployment in the state. People are struggling to pay their light bills. This team put a little pep in everyone's step to make us proud.

The Rocky Mount Gryphons: STATE CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Great time to Be A Gryphon

If the Gryphons needed any help from the stands and support to help push them to a state basketball title, they got it and plenty more Saturday night.

I am saying 7,000 Gryphon fans were there but there is no way to know for sure. The pep band added so much to the excitement. Back in my high school days we had a pep band an I think next basketball season there should be consideration of having the band at every game.

I have never seen so many gold towels that the fans were waving. I think everyone who wears blue and gold can be proud of our team and the actions of our fans in representing the city of Rocky Mount and Nash County.

The 750 or so that greeted the team back at the gym after midnight just goes to prove one thing, bad things don't always happen on a Saturday night and you can have a good time without drugs and alcohol.

This is the fourth basketball title for Rocky Mount High. It is the eleventh title in all sports with baseball having garnered five titles and football two. Just maybe #12 can come in early June as baseball is looking good in the early baseball season.

Hope you had a chance to watch the basketball team on WHIG-TV last night on the "Stretchlon Sports Show". That was just some of the spoils that go with winning it all.

I need to take a day off. Got up too early Saturday morning considering Saturday night turned into Sunday morning real quick. Day light saving time killed an hour, even sunday night after we got back home from TV station Morgan down loaded her pictures on my blog as it was later than I wanted it to be hitting the hay last night.

There will be a pep rally in school today at 2.00pm for the CHAMPS!

The ChampionSHIP & The Celebration

ChampionSHIP Belongs In Gryphon Land

Rocky Mount High school rode all the way to the Hill to bring home the state 3-A championship back to the MOUNT.

The Grypons jumped on the Spiders early and raced to a 22-12 lead late in the first quarter and all of a sudden Tashawn Mabry comes up gimpy and Rocky Mount lost all the MO they had going. Before the half ended Concord had trimmed the Gryphon lead to two.

Some where early in the third quarter Mabry decided pain or not it was time to go and the Gryphons went, building as much as a twelve point lead until a scrappy bunch from Concord did everything they could muster from JacQuise Moore who took game high scoring honors with 28.

Mabry who had six at the half collected 20 in the second half and 26 for the game earning the MVP of the Championship game. Mabry gathered ten rebounds and had a double double but he was joined in the double-double game by Detrail Jenkins with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Darius McKnight who earned the Eastern Champion award as the best player poured in 14 points and he was joined in double digits by Billy Young with 12.

You can not win a championship without unsung hero's and Marcus Jones, Kenyatta Bullock and Terrell Hilliard all gave us performances that we could not have won without them.

Concord wanted to make a living off the full court pressure but one of the keys stats of the game was the Gryphons committed only 15 turnovers. The smaller Spiders out rebounded the Gryphons in the first half 25-22, but it was all Gryphons in the second half winning the boards 25-12. Gryphons are State 3-A Champions 84-79 over Concord.

It is hard to tell how many folks were there tonight from Rocky Mount but my guess is 7,000. About 750 of those fans were in the gym at midnight to welcome the champs home. The NCHSAA will not allow any team to cut down the nets after their championship because there were four games there and they would have had to replace the nets at the end of every game. So the Gryphons cut down the nets at Rocky Mount High school at around 12.30am.

The clock said 12.58am when we arrived home. It is day light saving spring forward so it was actually 1.58am. I have to be at church at 8.00am so there will be no pictures tonight. Sunday afternoon we will display the Pictures Morgan took for the yearbook.

WAY TO GO GRYPHONS!!!!!!!!!! STATE CHAMPS

It's Time For The "SHIP"

I should have known. I normally rise every work day at 5.15am. I awake most mornings between 4.30 and 5.00 so I really don't need an alarm to get up. My Saturday's are the days to sleep late which might keep me in bed to 6.30 or so. But not this morning.

I'm ready to head to Chapel Hill right now, with a few side stops along the way. The Pack's ACC tournament victory near midnight last night made sleep almost impossible before 1 am. I was awake at 4.30 or so right on schedule. Breakfast is done shower is out of the way, all I need now is the car load from my house to get jumping. I have already changed out clocks so that problem will be out of the way when we get home after midnight tonight.

Win or lose tonight the team schedule is for them to get back to the gym around midnight. It would be nice if a caravan followed them home hopefully honking a victory honk. Like baseball there needs to be a crowd waiting at the gym win or lose.

Jammin 99.3 coverage will begin at 6.30 pm. Wes has a pregame chat with Mike Gainey already done that will be part of our pregame. If you are stuck somewhere in this world not in the coverage area WZAX they will be live streaming over the internet.

Time Warner will be taping the game but since the 4-A championship is going on live at the same time as ours I don't know which game will be live. More than likely the 4-A game. Some time tonight and Sunday you can go on line@ www.news14.com and see the Gryphons play.

They look a whole lot better live and in person in the Dean Dome. They need your help. If you were not planning on going, get an impulse, a spur of the moment thing. It is only 80 miles and $10. These moments only happen it seems every 28 years for basketball. If it is 28 years before they return to the big dance how old will you be then?

I will blog as soon as I get home. 1.00 am or so

Go GRYPHONS!!!!!!!

Twenty-four Hours To Go

Rocky Mount goes after its fourth basketball state championship Saturday night in Chapel Hill.

This is their first visit to the Big Dance since 1982. Concord, its opponent, just won it all in 2006 for its only title.

This game will hinge on whether we are as quick as they are. The Spiders have seven players who score nine points or more and will press all over the court. If we reasonable match up on speed team-wise, we will be all right. They don't have any height to match Mabry and Jenkins inside. Bottom line is we must protect the ball.

WZAX Jammin 99.3's coverage begins at 6.30 p.m. We will have a one-hour pregame show and will stay on through the interview process in the media room. Our thanks goes out to all those people who stepped forward to help us bring the game to you live.

We will have the team on WHIG-TV Sunday night at 8 p.m. We will show some of the game while we talk with them.

The baseball team went to the No. 3 starter today at home against Webb High School and the results were good. Jeremy Trevathan pitched five inning and got the win. Spencer Bell pitched the final two inning as the Gryphons went to 4-1 with a 10-1 victory over Webb.

All I can report to you tonight is heartbreak for the girls softball team. Leading 18-7, Tarboro scored 12 runs in the bottom of the seventh to win 19-18.

I don't know whether I will blog Saturday morning or not. It kind of depends on how fast my day starts. We have a soccer game to go to, to watch our granddaughter Madison play in Garner. Carolina plays baseball at 2 p.m and we will be in Durham to watch Brian Goodwin and Carolina play at Duke. I hope he didn't use all his hits up for the weekend tonight.

Just before I started blogging, Carolina was ahead in the bottom of the ninth 22-9. Brian was 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBI. I hope he has some hits left for me tomorrow.

I will be in the Dean Dome about 5. If I don't blog first thing Saturday, it will be after we return after midnight Saturday. I hope we will be at the gym waiting on the state champs . Midnight is their scheduled time to return to the gym. Be there, win or lose.

Morgan, who is the official Hi-Noc-Ar yearbook photographer for the state championship game, will be taking pictures and we will post them Sunday afternoon.

GOOD LUCK GRYPHONS!!!!!!!!!

Plans, Plans and More Plans

If you don't have a plan in life, you may find yourself going nowhere. WZAX Jammin 99.3 FM will be broadcasting the 3-A State Championship Saturday night from Chapel Hill. This week, after the Gryphon victory last Saturday in the East regional, at least 11 sponsors have stepped forward which will allow us (Wes Bradshaw and myself) to bring you the game from the Dean Dome.

This will be my second basketball broadcast of a state championship game from Blue Heaven. I was there in 2005 when SouthWest Edgecombe girls won the 2-A title. I have done a couple of football state title games and in baseball, a couple of state title Babe Ruth games and I have been privileged to do two Babe Ruth World Series title games in which Nash County has been involved. I don't care how many Super Bowls you do, every one of them is special and for me and Wes, doing these games are big moments in our broadcast careers.

WHIG-TV has met every requirement that TimeWarnerCable has required of them except one. They want the tape to record the Rocky Mount game in their hands at 10.a.m Saturday. Part of the problem is there will be four games for them Saturday and once they start their live feed to their Time Warner customers across the state, they don't want me banging on the the door of their truck with a tape for them to record on at 7.30 p.m. We are still working on that problem.

Mike Gainey, his coaches and players have agreed to be on the Stretchlon Sports Show Sunday night live at 8 p.m. - win or lose Saturday. Mike also told me today that they have two buses full of Gryphons heading to Chapel Hill. By the way, Rocky Mount will be the visitor in this game and will wear navy blue, so I think they want all Gryphons fans to wear navy blue Saturday night.

Those who attended the Eastern regionals, whether it was a boys game at ECU or a girls game at Rose High, know that Greenville is a really good venue for the regional. It's not too big, but just about the right size for the regional. However, there is a real possibility that Greenville will no longer host the regional.

University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, which has been the title sponsor for the last 10 years, from what I hear is pulling out as sponsor. That's too bad. Probably the best thing to happened to eastern North Carolina in the past 30 years was ECU getting the medical school.

University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina has branches out all over eastern North Carolina and it now owns many of the little hospitals around the East that feed into Pitt Memorial. What a better way to advertise that to sponsor something that connects the entire eastern North Carolina together. Last week, teams from Weldon, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Kinston and Pender County were just some of the teams that played in the regional.

If it doesn't stay in Greenville, it may very well go to Fayetteville and then. whenever we play in the regional, we will be making the long trips instead of heading just down the road as it is now. Sometimes you don't miss something until it is gone.