Schools Out Wednesday So Is Basketball

There always has to be a plan and if school had of been in session Wednesday which it is not the Fike/ Rocky Mount double header which was planned Monday and Tuesday which never came off because of the weather will not happen Wednesday either.  If it could have happened and games had of been played then the Hunt  boys and the Northern girls would have hosted Thursday's semis but of course that is off.

Every Big East team now stands on their regular season record for Saturday's NCHSAA bracket seeding.  The Boys Hunt will be the number one seed from Big East and Northern Nash will be the Number two.  Rocky Mount by winning both their games last week moves up to capture the three seed.  Everyone else is at the mercy of their overall record which should give Fike a spot.  Southern Nash and Nash Central now play the waiting game to see if their season is good enough to make the top 32 in the east.

Northern Nash girls are safe they will either be seeded one or two in the east depending on the draw with Eastern Wayne as the only unbeaten teams.  Should they get through to the Regional they should be in a bracket to play the regional final if both make it that far.  Hunt girls will be safe finishing second.  The big question of the seeding for both Fike and Rocky Mount will be in the eyes of the state who gets 3rd over the other.  Nash Central will be the team wondering if they have played their last game of the season or not.  The Lady Firebirds already know now they will not win a game this season.

I mention the other day talking about how The late Charles Alston knew every record in every sport for Rocky Mount.  Mike Gainey provided me with some dates of both Pam Gainey's 300th coaching victory and his 200th.  Tuesday sitting watching the white on the ground outside I used this blog  to look up both their records.  Since Feb 3rd 2009 Mike Gainey's Gryphons have won two state titles and a total of 129 wins and only 36 losses.  Pam is 85-34 since recording number 300 on 12-3-2010.

Knowing that this could be a magical year for Grover Battle and the Lady Knights  of Northern Nash I asked Patricia Haggerty last week if she knew Grovers over all record.  Do you know how hard it is to keep up with such records if your school doesn't have a Charles Alston doing it.

Big East Tournament Has About Had It

So we know for sure that there is no school on Tuesday and another day of the basketball ball is sunk.      I doubt there is any school on Wednesday and if that occurs  forget the Tournament for this year.  If and the way this ice looks that is a big if they get into school Wednesday about the only way to save the tournament would be play two sites both days Wednesday and Thursday.  Hold the finals Friday at Fike.  The problem of course who plays where on Thursday to could be a problem.  So the 2015 Big East Tournament is hanging on a finger nail.

NC State's win at Louisville gets the Pack on the inside  of the 68 trying to get in the NCAA tournament.  The Pack needs to keep winning if they are going to stay on the Northside of the in crowd.  Clemson, Pitt, State, Miami all have similar conference records so if any of the four get hot down the stretch they can work themselves in while any team wins one lose one rest of the way will work themselves to NIT or worse.

Duke and Carolina seems safe for the NCAA  but Carolina just two weeks ago was playing like a final  four  team but now like a team with a flat tire.  Anybody noticed Duke hasn't lost since they cut the player loose from the team.

I like Virginia a lot.  They play good defense but here is what I hate about them.  I call it the Dave Odom Disease.  When Odom had Tim Duncan and Randolph Childress at Wake Forest the Deacs should have scored 90 points per game but instead he coached close to the vest in fact I heard him say once is all a coach should ask for is to keep the games close and have a chance to win the game in the end.

That also means you have a chance to lose.  Virginia likes to keep the games in the fifties and sixties which means any good team like Duke will be in the game in the end and as it turned out Duke scored three straight trips down court and won the game at Virginia.   Virginia should be trying to score more points and blow people out.  I truly see Virginia  and Notre Dame as the ACC's hope for final four and Duke as an outside shot.

 I don't really like Kentucky all that much, Louisville can't shoot outside, you had better watch out for Gonzaga.  I have a feeling this NCAA tournament is wide open.

Doing All They Can

Whenever school gets out early because of weather any after school activities are cancelled  so that eliminates any Big East Basketball tournament for tonight.  If there is any chance school takes in tomorrow on a delay they may try the two games at Rocky Mount and Fike like they were shooting for tonight.  If we get anywhere near the type weather they are calling for tonight and know the temperature is only going to be 35 once this week and a couple of nights this week in the single digits what ever falls today will be with us for a while I doubt this tournament goes off this week.  Hoping it does!!!!!


Hope you have already heard that the Big East is doing everything possible to get the basketball tournament in this week.  Two locations Rocky Mount High and Fike High will try to get two days worth of Tournament in tonight.

It is really sweet that all four games of both Monday and Tuesday are teams that both the boys and girls  play each other.  Tonight since Rocky Mount boys play Nash Central on Monday and Rocky Mount girls play Nash Central Tuesday they are now trying to play both games Monday at the higher seed which in this case is Rocky Mount in both games.  Same thing is happening at Fike where they are not only suppose to be the tournament host but they are seeded higher than Southern Nash and they play tonight at Fike.  Both locations the girls start at five and the boys right after.

The closer we get to Monday afternoon the worse the forecast is for this wintery weather may start Monday afternoon so despite trying all they can there is no guarantee there will be any games tonight.   So what happens if school is missed for at least a couple of days this week. The Tournament  might get cancelled all together?  Remember the state playoff seedings will be announced sometime Saturday afternoon so the way this season has unfolded for the boys a Southern Nash, a Rocky Mount all think they can win this tournament so if they don't get the tournament in they all will rely on their regular season record to get an at large bid.

Should they just get games in tonight and none rest of the week a six seed like Nash Central could if they upset Rocky Mount improve their at large bid while Rocky Mount would hurt their seeding.  If we do get four to six inches of anything over night there is a good chance there might not be any school for the rest of the week.

Former Gryphon Collins Cuthrell was the Peach Belt player of the week last week after ripping apart opposing pitching.  Cuthrell who transferred from Barton to UNC Pembroke batted 11-19.  Had three doubles, five home runs, 16 rbi,12 runs scored and also walked 5 times.  Those are the kind of numbers most players have for the entire season much less one week.  UNCP swept a doubleheader from 8th rank Columbus State on Saturday to run the Braves record to 9-0.  Cuthrell in the double header was 7-9 three doubles and a homer.  Opposing pitchers are throwing beach balls to him right now.

Rocky Mount Gryphon sophomore Wilson Smith has won his second straight eastern regional 126 pound wrestling title.  He has qualified to wrestle next week in the state finals.  Three other Gryphons made the top four to qualify.  Sedrak Sheppard 3rd at 170, Alexander Henderson 4th at 160 and Kenard Johnson 4th at 182.

Southern Nash has two wrestlers who both lost regional championship matches Saturday.  Ryan Ashley 220 and Clinton Walker 145.  Northern Nash will be sending Jamie Williams  to the states after finishing 3rd in the heavyweight division.

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.