Moss Climbing Up Carolina Wins list.

URGENT--------URGENT--------URGENT--------URGENT------URGENT
The Big East basketball Tournament is taking drastic action due to the impending bad weather moving in Monday night.  Rocky Mount High will host a double header Monday night starting at 5pm.  The Gryphon girls seeded 4th will host 5th seeded Nash Central at 5pm and the boys 3rd  will host  6th seeded Nash Central.  At the same time Southern Nash will travel to Fike where they will play a double header at Fike.  In case there is no school Tuesday at least the games through Tuesday will be in.

UNC senior pitcher Benton Moss former Gryphon pitched five innings in the first game of a UNC double header Saturday recording 9 strike outs and gave up two runs as North Carolina has opened their 2015 baseball season winning three times this weekend.  Moss won his 20th career game pitching for the Tar Heels.  There have been rumors floating around that Moss might be the first pitcher out of the bullpen on Friday ACC  games.  Hard to imagine not putting a pitcher on the hill in conference play who will winning at nearly a 75  winning  percentage.

Friday night I ran into Mike Gainey doing his athletic directors work before the girls game with Northern Nash and I ask him a question.  " Are you or Pam close to another milestone game in the wins column?"  He replied" I have no idea".  My response " Who would have that info where I can look it up.?"  Without thinking " Charles Alston".

There is no doubt that when he was alive Charles Alston was Mr. Gryphon Sports information director for Rocky Mount.  Gainey's response tells for all of us it is hard to believe that Charles  has been gone from us three years. 

Monday night the Rocky Mount Gryphons seeded number three in the Big East Tournament play for the first time since and the only person to know the answer would be Charles Alston.  They play a Monday game instead of being first or second and getting a bye.  If they are to win the Big East Tournament they must win three times this week.

The Gryphons 5-5 12-7 seeded third start the action Monday 6pm at Fike against the team that faltered down the stretch Nash Central  3-7 13-11 who will be the sixth seed.  The night cap Monday will feature the home team Fike 5-5 15-7 the four seed against Southern Nash 4-6 12-11 at around 7:30.

The RM/NC winner will play Northern Nash the two seed 6-4 9-12.  The F/SN winner gets the top seed Hunt 7-3 15-8 in the other semi.  I think what times for the games on Wednesday will depend whether Fike is still alive.  If there has ever been a chance for one of the Monday teams to win the tournament this year is it.

I misspoke about the Lady Gryphons beating Fike twice during the regular season which they split and the tie breaker was who had the best record  against the top two teams and Fike victory over Hunt Friday gives Fike the three seed and Rocky Mount the four.

Tuesday Fike 5-5 10-12 will take on Southern Nash 0-10 and 0-23.  The night cap will be Rocky Mount 5-5 10-9 the four seed against  Nash Central 3-7 12-12 the five seed.  The F/SN winner gets Hunt the two seed 7-3 17-6 Thursday night in the semis.  The RM/NC winner get undefeated Northern Nash 10-0 21-0.

The Carolina Classic North Carolina all star team has been announce and no player for the Big East made it. I think it is strange that no one from Northern  Nash Kiana Thomas the leader of the unbeaten Northern Nash Knights was left off.  No Big East boy is on it either.

Great When It Was Needed

Northern Nash's girls basketball team looked squarely into the eyes of their first loss of the season with 3:44 to go.  Rocky Mount gave the supreme effort on the year.  Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn except for one player Shelby Meeks.  Her 7th three of the night gave Rocky Mount a 37-34 lead and then Northern's defense took over.  Rocky Mount only got one shot the rest of the game and that took place with four second left.  Four straight turnovers and a 25 second spell when Kiana Thomas said follow me.  Thomas hit two  rebound put backs at 1:47 and 1:27 plus a key rebound at 1:07 and a foul shot to give Northern a 42-37 lead and an undefeated season as they beat the feisty Lady Gryphons 44-37.  Northern finishes 21-0 heading to the Big East Tournament in Wilson next week.

Thomas led Northern with 18 points and 13 rebounds.  Alexia Hines started out scoring seven points in the first quarter but was saddled with two fouls at the end of the first finished with 12.  Rocky Mount out rebounded the taller Knights 32-26 were lead by Meek's 21 points.  In the let one get away column Rocky Mount was 9-24 at the foul line while Northern couldn't write home how great they were either only 8-18.  Rocky Mount had 26 turnovers for the game but had a shot at victory until the last four.  Northern only had ten in the game including none in the fourth quarter.

Rocky Mount drops to 5-5 and after Fike upset Hunt 47-43 are in a tie for third with Rocky Mount but the Gryphons get the third seed in next weeks Big East Tournament having beat Fike in both conference matchups.

The boys matchup found Rocky Mount still twitching about the buzzer beater Northern applied to them three weeks ago and just maybe with a chance to win the top seed and it has been a  while since Northern has been in that position they were nervous looking in the beginning and Rocky Mount showed no mercy.  Rocky Mount clinches out right third while Northern will settle for the two seed after a Rocky Mount pasting of Northern 89-55.  Hunt who had to beat Fike to draw first had little trouble beating Fike 72-49.

Rocky Mount had five turnovers in the first quarter but other wise they  could have had a larger than 18-11 first quarter lead.  Isaiah Alston went to work in the second quarter scoring 18 first half points just two shy of the Knight half time total.  Northern had eight second quarter TO's to go with five in the first and the Gryphons led 38-20 at the half.

Kenaz Cooper took control for Rocky Mount in the second half finishing with 15 points and Northern could do no better than losing the third quarter 22-20.  The Gryphons were not finished  even when the benches were cleared the Gryphon bench scored 12 points in the last two minutes and put a hurting on Northern.

Isaiah Alston led the Gryphons with 22, Kenaz Cooper 15, Broderick Caudle 13 and Sherrod Green added 12.  Lemonte Johnson was the only Knight to hit double figures scoring 14.  The final totals on turnovers Northern had 20 while Rocky Mount had 12 for the game throwing the ball away only seven time after the first quarter and even with the lead from 16-20 points  the Gryphons push up court on every procession as if the 35 second clock only had three seconds to go. 

The Gryphons out rebounded the Knights 43-25 and they had five rebounders with at least five boards.  Sherrod Greene and Artavious Richardson lead the way with seven, Thomas Cooper 6, Kenaz Cooper 6, and Isaiah Alston five.

The Big East tournament starts Monday at Fike.  Southern Nash got back on the plus side in the win column with a 77-63 victory over Nash Central

Northern Nash Girls and Hunt get byes in the girls Tournament next week while Rocky Mount will face Southern Nash and Fike will faceoff with Nash Central.  The RockyMount/Southern winner will draw Hunt in the semis while Northern awaits the Fike/ Nash Central winner

Hunt gets a bye for first and Northern Nash second while Rocky Mount will play Nash Central and Fike meets Southern Nash.  The F/SN winner will get Hunt in the semis while Northern Nash rest waiting for either RM/NC

Lady Gryphons Stand In The Way

Tonight five Northern Nash girls basketball players will play their last regular season game in high school.  None of the five played every game as a freshman in fact some were on the JV team but these five will have to go down in the history of Northern Nash girls basketball for their part in the best four years in Northern Girls history despite having a state championship team in the 90's.

Mary Evans, Susie Sykes, Alexia Hines, Kiana Thomas and Jarnese Flowers are part of a basketball program that in the last four years has won 88 games and lost but 8 times.   That 22 wins a season  and only two losses per.

Their worse of the four years was  the freshman year of 2012 when they managed only 20 wins.  It is also the year that their most hated rival, beat them four times which were the only losses they suffered the entire season.  Just a review Northern beat Rocky Mount in the Christmas Tournament in 2011 but Rocky Mount gave Northern their first loss of the season in January. Then the last games of the season, the next Friday of the conference tournament and the sectional finals on  three straight  Fridays all went the Gryphons way.

Now sophomore years the Lady Knights run the table and go undefeated in the regular season and they beat those Gryphons three times.  Northern will lose their first game of the year in the conference finals in overtime once again to Rocky Mount.  Now memory lane Northern and Rocky Mount  both win opening sectional games and are scheduled to play each other on a Wednesday at Northern Nash.  The Rocky Mount boys have a Wednesday second round game start in Rocky Mount at six and after a victory load up to  travel to Northern where the Lady Gryphons do it to the Knights again. 22 wins  and 2 losses.  Two losses and Rocky Mount wins for a total of all six Northern Nash losses in two years.

Enough is enough.  Northern starts the opening game of 2013 losing to Southern Wayne.  They would not lose again until the playoffs  and that would include beating Rocky Mount four times.  They would go unbeaten in conference, conference Tournament and sectionals and make it to Fayetteville where they would run into a West Craven team with a major division one recruit and finish 26-2.

Heading into tonight's game Northern has beaten Rocky Mount twice and stand at 20-0.  They have  beaten Rocky Mount six straight times.  Six of the eight losses the Knights have suffered in the last four years have come from those Gryphons.

The Lady Knights have lost three regular season games in the last four years.  They have lost three in the State Playoffs and twice in the conference tournament.  This team has gotten better each year and there seems to be only one team in the east that might stop them from heading to Raleigh and the state championship. Eastern wayne is the only other unbeaten in Eastern North Carolina. Tonight their biggest nemisis once again stands in their way for an unbeaten season. Can Rocky Mount give Northern their first loss of the season for the third time in four years??   Will the Lady Knights Stand undefeated in their arch rivals gym??  Game time is 6pm at Rocky Mount.

Northern Goes For Both basketball Regular Season Titles

It has been many moons since Northern Nash High school won both the boys and girls basketball titles the same year.  It will happen if the Northern boys can come to Rocky Mount and do one simple thing and that is beat Rocky Mount in Rocky Mount which has not happened since 2009.  If you go back and look it up I was telling you here on this blog  in December that Northern's boys were better than record.

The completion of the Christmas Tournament I predicted that Nash Central didn't handle the ball well enough and thought they would finish last.  They had a spurt just like everyone has had and for a while looked like the surprise team in the league but the second time around they have struggled.  Southern Nash at one point looked like the best team in the league.  Ball handling too has seen their season crumble.  Rocky Mount has athletes like they always have but are not very tall.  This 22 point comeback at Southern in the fourth quarter just may be what the Gryphons need to get them jump started.

Hunt by far is the best looking team in the league when they have all players playing as a team.  They dominate everyone except Northern.  Fike has looked great at times but now hopes to finish no better than third.  Northern looks like everyone else, they have athletes, and jumpers but no height.  What they have is a bunch of seniors that they have pull almost every game out of the fire because of confidence.  Henry Drake is probably the coach of the year leading the Knight's turn a round.

We have come down to the final night of the regular where just two weeks ago last could still finish first and first could still finish last.  There are  only two teams that can win the top seed and as they say Northern Nash is theirs to win.  They beat the Gryphons and they are the top seed.  Hunt can still take the top spot but only with a Northern loss and a Hunt victory over Fike.  I am sure in Rocky Mount and Hunt the gyms will overflow Friday night.

Northern Nash 6-3  9-11 @ Rocky Mount 4-5  11-7:  Northern wins they win regular season.  If Hunt loses Northern  still gets top seed win or lose.  Sure sits better if they win going forth in next week's tournament or getting first losing to Rocky Mount and Hunt losing to Fike. .  Rocky Mount can still pull a third seed out in this one.  The first of the week they weren't sure they would even make the playoffs

Southern Nash 3-6  11-11 @ Nash Central 3-6:  What happened to Southern Nash?  They were 3-2 during the first round but have lost all four games so far in the second time around.  NC has a couple of outstanding players that are just as good as anybody else in the league but this game the loser may not make the playoffs.

There is still of course the chance if Fike beats Hunt, Rocky Mount beats Northern of a three way tie for the top and the way this season has been.  It is possible.

Northern Nash 9-0 20-0 girls go for an undefeated season regular season against Rocky Mount 5-4 10-8.  Wonder now that Fike at least stayed close if everyone will now try to hold the ball on Northern?

Southern Nash 0-9 0-22 have only two more chances to win a game this year.  Nash Central 2-7 11-12 which will be their best chance.  Next week in conference tournament at Fike they will get the three seed Rocky Mount who has beaten them three time by at least 17 each game.  Nash Central is Southern's shot to win one now.

Fike 4-5 9-12 @ Hunt 7-2 17-5:  Fike has fourth for next week and Hunt has second so the only thing being played for Friday is, it is Fike and Hunt "nough" said.

Playoff Projections Holy Smoke

These days with computers computing team ratings and how they are expected to finish rest of the season the early returns are in and Highschoolot.com is projecting all six boys basketball teams from the Big East will make the state playoffs.  How can they even consider that and the answer has to be everyone in the league has an overall winning  record.  Right now the only team not over 500 on the year is Northern Nash and they  very well just might win the regular season title.  The projections show Hunt as the four seed, Fike 11th,Northern Nash 21st, Nash Central 24th, Southern Nash 26th and Rocky Mount 28th.  So tonight's action could shift some of those seeding around but as long as a team doesn't go rest of the season without a win everyone has a chance to make the playoffs.

The magic continues for the red hot Knights of Northern Nash.  Northern held a three point half time lead gave it away to trail 50-44 after three quarters.  Like they have done the last three weeks Northern's confidence down the stretch they think they are going to win and they have gone to Fike and scored with less than five second left to beat Fike 64-63.  Northern if they beat Rocky Mount  Friday will win the top seed in the Big East Tournament since they have beaten Hunt both times they played this season.

Hunt had their mid season discipline issues which they seemed to have clear up and tonight you could not convince Nash Central that Hunt has any issues Hunt swamps Nash Central 64-44 setting up their game Friday night with Fike that if Hunt wins they might get the top seed pending Northern Nash's outcome with Rocky Mount.

Rocky Mount still has a shot at third in the Big East standings after beating Southern Nash 78-73.  Rocky Mount needs to beat Northern and hope Hunt beats Fike and they could secure third having beaten Fike in both games during the season.  Southern loses their fourth conference game in a row and   drop down to a tie for fifth with Nash Central so they meet Friday playing for last place after each was just tied for first three games back.

Five of the six girls teams look secure.  Northern Nash is going to be either first or second along with Eastern Wayne who is also undefeated.  Hunt will be seeded 12th, Rocky Mount 20th, Nash Central 27th and Fike gets in at 31 so they are on the edge of falling out so let's see who improved their seeding and who is a bubble team now.

You had to expect to finally find somebody that was going to try to hold the ball on Northern Nash.  The have beaten everyone in conference by an average of 23 points so tonight Fike takes their time when attacking on offense and at the end of the first quarter Northern only led 5-2.  It was 12-6 at the half  and by games end Fike has been as close as anybody but still no cigar as Northern Nash wins number 20 without a defeat as they  beat Fike at Fike 35-27.  It is the lowest scoring output of the season for Northern but it's a win. 

Hunt if they can keep winning are looking  at a home game in the first round and they get'er done beating Nash Central  49-35.  Both Fike and Nash Central even though the computers are showing them in right now they need a win Friday or a win next week in the conference tournament.

Rocky Mount girls clinched third beating Southern Nash 64-47.  Rocky Mount best Fike in both matches this year so if they both finish 5-5 Rocky Mount get the third seed.

Nash Central Names Their Man

Having not won a football game in over two seasons  Nash Central  has taken their time in order to pick the right man for the job to bring Bulldog football back to respectability.  Their pick is a BW Holt protege  from the era when Holt at Rocky Mount.  Today Nash Central has named Chris Lee as the new head football coach of the Bulldogs.

Lee spent six years on the staff of BW Holt and served as head JV football coach.  He ran the offense while now  Gryphon Baseball coach Kent Cox ran the defense.  Their six years together under the Holt regime the JV team at Rocky Mount won 54 games while losing but 5.

Any coach worth his salt and hoping one day to be a head coach has to make decisions.  Lee having applied at Louisburg High  thinking that Holt would never leave Rocky Mount took the job and has spent six years at Louisburg posting a 36-35 record.  Little did he know that in less than six months Holt would leave Rocky Mount and if still at Rocky Mount a real possibility  that he would have been the leading candidate. Lee still attends church in Red Oak and has many friends and family in the area.

Many in our area today are in mourning, with the loss of former UNC basketball coach Dean Smith.  Many of the ways to play the game of basketball are on display every time you watch a game can be attributed to Dean Smith. 

Team huddles at the foul before foul shots, diving on the floor going for loose balls, pointing at the passer after you made a basket from an assist from your teammate.  The main one was the college time clock.  Yes the famed four corners which Rocky Mount's Phil Ford ran to perfection can be see coming from Coach Smith.  Not because they just stood and held the ball because the Tar Heels scored so easily from it. During the height of the four corners North Carolina always lead the nation in scoring and today with a time clock scoring is way down to those four corner days.

Throughout my career I interviewed many famous coaches but Dean Smith was not one of them and I only met him once in my life.  I use to work for a gentleman that when you enter the Smith Center has his name is on that plaque where donors who gave money to build the Smith Center.

He had eight ticket on the eighth row across from the Carolina bench. Those eight seats stretched from the midcourt to the foul line  He also gave me his parking pass which at the Smith Center there are not many parking spots close to the entrance. His pass was on the left side on the hill beside the Smith Center.  As  we unloaded  my mini-van about an hour an a half before a game with Clemson we were trying to figure out how  to get down the hill and a gentleman who had parked two spaces beyond where we were standing goes by and it is Dean Smith.  We spoke and as we walked down the hill together, he was wearing a Carolina warm up suit had idle chit chat about the weather.  I didn't want to lay on him an interview as we walked and hour and half before a game.

We went toward the main entrance and he went in a side door but as we were walking in I said to my wife Pat that he didn't have his own private parking space  either in the building or right beside a private door.  I have always thought since that day maybe 25 years ago Dean Smith didn't consider himself special.

He just thought of himself as a teacher and coach.

The Finish Line Is Clearer

There was that outrageous possibility that after Friday night's action the boys Big East basketball could have been heading into the last week with a six way tie for first or last depending on your view at all teams 4-4.

Some normalcy resulted in Friday's action as all the 4-3 teams beat the 3-4 teams so as we head to the final week  of the regular season for the first time this year we know that Rocky Mount, Nash Central and Southern Nash cannot win first.  How do we know that?  Three teams are tied at 5-3 and Tuesday Northern Nash Fike play each other and then on Friday Fike and Hunt play.  Somewhere along the way at least one team has to be 6-4 or better eliminating RM, NC and SN from first.  We head this week for the first time knowing that teams when they line up this week will be playing for position for the tournament and just maybe for any playoff hope.

Rocky Mount  3-5 10-7 @ Southern Nash 3-5 11-10:  Rocky Mount at one point was 2-1 in the league but has lost four of last five.  Southern was 3-2 and just 10 days ago looked like best team in the league.  There is a very good chance the loser of this game fails to make the playoffs.  Would it be right to say this will be a dog fight?

Northern Nash 5-3 8-11 @ Fike 5-3 15-5:  This  is the Tuesday game for first place.  One of these two will be no worse than a tie for first depending on the Hunt outcome.  Northern has won 5 of 6 and is this week lead team as being the best team in the league. Fike has the league's best over all record.  This game still leaves the loser in jeopardy of falling back into the second division.

Hunt 5-3 13-8 @ Nash Central 3-5 12-9:  Hunt seems to get the easy game of the night as they watch
Northern Nash and Fike fight it out at Fike.  A victory by Hunt and they for sure play for the top seed Friday pending the Fike /Northern Nash outcome.

Rocky Mount girls 4-4 9-8 @ Southern Nash 0-8 0-21.  Facing Northern Nash Friday this is the game the Lady Gryphons can clinch 3rd in league play if they can count on help from Northern Nash.  Southern playing Rocky Mount and Nash Central  this week is last hope for a victory during regular season.

Northern Nash 8-0 19-0 @ Fike  4-4 9-12:  an undefeated regular season will have to happen will have to happen with the final two games of the season on the road and it starts at Fike.  Northern gets both the 4-4 teams battling for playoff position.

Hunt 6-2 16-5 @ Nash Central 2-6 11-9:  Don't look now but one of the best women's basketball teams besides those named Eastern Wayne and Northern Nash is Hunt.  Right now Nash Central is a bubble team at best standing fifth in the league.