‘Possibilities’ Abound with LeMoyne-Owen Basketball

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure
Special to the Tri-State Defender

Although William Anderson is the men’s basketball coach of a small college team, he has large ambitions. He thinks that his team at The Lemoyne-Owen College could be a factor in the NCAA Division 2 Championship picture at season’s end.

Anderson’s team began the season by playing exhibition games against the University of Memphis Tigers and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, which are both Division 1 powerhouses. LeMoyne-Owen lost both games but gained confidence, visibility and experience. Anderson, who also serves as the college’s athletic director, was pleased with the substantial payments received from those games. “These dollars are really helpful to our program,” he said.

Last year, the men’s team won the S.I.A.C. conference tournament and Andersen is building upon that strong foundation. He points to sophomore forward DeAndre Gant, a scoring machine who heralds from Detroit, a favorite recruiting spot of LeMoyne-Owen coaching legend Jerry Johnson.

Anderson said the Magicians also will count on senior guards Maurice Mickens and LaDarius Johnson to be major contributors this year. Sophomore Calvin Stoudemire, the 6’6” brother of Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire, is expected to bring some needed front-court power to this year’s team.

Anderson beamed when speaking of Chris Noel, a 5’7” guard from Harlem, N.Y. “Noel is our Christmas gift. He plays like a New Yorker and he can be a really valuable member of our team.”

Memphis high school legend, Taurean “T-Head” Moy, returns to the team as a walk-on player this season. Moy was one of the most prolific scorers in Memphis prep basketball history. Anderson says that Moy, whose college career was sidetracked by legal issues, “has done everything we have asked of him. He has been a model citizen and he still has a beautiful shooting stroke.”

The Lady Magicians

The LeMoyne-Owen women’s team is also poised to have an exciting year. Anderson, who coached the women’s team from 2000-09, thinks the new Lady Magicians’ coach, Myquita Mackey, “is ready to build a solid program.” Mackey, a former LeMoyne-Owen star player, thinks she has “some of the “pieces in place to be competitive this year.”

Mackey is especially proud of 5’9” guard Shonice Sprouse, a Memphis native who transferred from McNeese State in Louisiana.

Jasmine Massey, a 5’5”junior guard from Memphis’ Booker T. Washington High School, should be another leader of this year’s Lady Magicians.

Coach Mackey also thinks that another McNeese State transfer, Ryen Hurd, will be a valuable addition. She expects solid contributions from former Southwest Tennessee Community College star Ashley Mason. Mackey, who played for Coach Andrea Martre at Southwest Community College before transferring to LeMoyne-Owen, hopes Mason is the first of many Southwest   players who will find their way to the LOC campus.

Anderson says this could be an exciting year for both the women and men basketball teams at LeMoyne-Owen.

“This is my dream job and I am excited by the possibilities we have here,” he says.

Basketball Seasons in the Making at Southwest Tennessee Community College

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure
Special to the Tri-State Defender

The men’s and women’s basketball coaches at Southwest Tennessee Community College face very different challenges as the new season begins.

For legendary men’s coach Vertis Sails Jr., his 31st season opens with no returning players from last year’s 27-3 team.

And for Andrea Martre, the women’s coach, the challenge is to mix her seven returning players with eight “very talented” new players.

The Lady Saluqis

While last year was disappointing, Martre’s Lady Saluqis were a combined 51-3 the two previous seasons. And during her 12-year tenure at Southwest, Martre’s teams have won 215 games while losing 135.

“I had to play all my freshmen last year because I only had a few returning players,” said Martre.

The team suffered from a lack of solid guard play.

“We recruited a number of outstanding guards for this year’s team,” Martre said. “We really beat the bushes and found some outstanding players.”

Martre points to Chandellear Smith, Latorya Simmons, Shantel Crout, Andrea Jones, Krystal Riley, and Decdrica Brooks – all freshman guards that she believes will make a big difference.

Martre also was able to recruit Cambriel Jeffries, a 6’3” center from West Memphis.

“Jeffries has height and that is something you can’t coach. She has real promise,” said Martre.

While the freshmen are important, Martre says the team’s success depends on sophomores such as Kiana James and Mariame Sylla providing leadership for the freshmen.

Sails’ Saluqis

In his 30 years at Southwest, Sails’ teams are 664-248 – good enough for 16 State Junior College Championships and appearances in 10 Regional and National Championships.

This year’s 2009-10 team has real talent, he said, noting that not one of his players has ever played “in a system like ours.” That means a fast-break offense and a full-court press on defense.

As usual, Sails’ offense will be an “equal opportunity system.” Last year’s team, which averaged more than 100 points a game, had seven players average double-digit scoring.

The Saluqis will look to former Memphis Hamilton High School star Deveon Hunter for leadership.

“Deveon will have to lead this team, if we are to be winners,” said Sails.

In addition, former Whitehaven standout Deandre Bynum (6’5”) is a talented scorer. And Sails said 6-foot, 8-inch Cortez Wilder, “Just might be the best big man I have ever coached, if he can stay injury free. Wilder is a solid rebounder.”

Also worth watching this season, he said, are former Kirby High School players Chris House and Mario Bass.

“I always try to play 11 to 12 players in every game. We might be better early in the season if we only played 5 or 6 players, but by playing 11 or 12 players we just might become an outstanding team by tournament time.”

Sails also believes that by playing so many, every player gets a chance to feel that he is a vital part of the team.

“I believe you take the talent you have, work with it and win with it,” he said.

Stylistics Turn The LeMoyne-Owen College Gala Into a Time-Travel Affair

While only two of the Stylistics’ original members remain, the group’s crowd-pleasing sound still was strong during a performance at Minglewood Hall last Saturday. (Photos by Earl Stanback) by Dr. Jesse F. McClure Special to the Tri-State Defender At Minglewood Hall in Midtown last Saturday night, the calendar seemed to have turned back to the early 1970’s. And the timekeepers were the Stylistics. The Philadelphia “doo wop” group brought many in the audience of more than 500 to the dance floor, with many others singing along as the group moved smoothly through an array of memorable songs during the 39th Annual Gala of The LeMoyne-Owen College. LOC President Johnnie B. Watson and his wife seemed right in their element as they danced to the sounds of one of Philadelphia’s famous soul groups. The Stylistics are celebrating their forty-first year as a group. While only two of the group’s original members remain, the sound seems unchanged. The Stylistics are known for tunes such as ”Betcha By Golly Wow,” “Stop Look Listen to Your Heart,” “Break Up to Make Up,” and their most popular recording, “You Make Me Feel Brand New.” ”The Stylistics have always been and will always be all about love songs,” Herbert Murrell, one of the original group members, told the audience. The Gala is part The LeMoyne-Owen College’s fund-raising effort on behalf of the United Negro College Fund. In addition to the evening’s entertainment, the program included two presentations of the college’s Beacon of Hope Award. The first went to Tennessee Rep. Lois Deberry, who is the Speaker Pro Tem of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Deberry, who is a LOC graduate, was recognized for tireless advocacy on behalf of African-American citizens in the state of Tennessee. The Tri-State Bank of Memphis was the other Beacon of Hope Award recipient. Two historic leaders of Memphis’ African-American community – Dr. J.E. Walker and his son, A. Maceo Walker – founded the bank in 1946. Tri-State Bank was honored for its pioneering efforts to provide home financing to African-American prospective homeowners. During the civil rights protests of the 1950’s and 1960’s, the bank provided bail money to activists who were arrested. In addition the bank was cited for its financing of African American churches and its commitment to help African-American farmers, historically black colleges and other community organizations.

No Hank Aaron, No Problem at Namesake Golf Tournament

By Tri-State Defender Newsroom | Published  08/27/2009 |   Bob Simpson, Lionel Hollins, Penny Hardaway and Roger Brown

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure Special to the Tri-State Defender   When more than 140 players teed off at the annual Hank Aaron Celebrity Sports Weekend Golf Tournament at Quail Ridge Golf Course last Friday (Aug. 21), one person was notably absent – baseball great and tournament namesake Hank Aaron. Aaron lent his name to the tournament more than fifteen years ago to help raise funds for LeMoyne-Owen College and the United Negro College Fund. “Hank has usually been present but recently he has restricted his travel as a result of his age and busy schedule,” said Bob Simpson, tournament chairman and a State Farm Insurance agent. Simpson said that while Aaron was missed, a number of celebrities stepped in to pinch-hit for the Hall of Fame slugger. David Porter, the Grammy winning musician and song writing partner of the late Isaac Hayes, stood in for Aaron as the tournament’s host. Porter, who has been inducted into the National Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, is also a passionate golfer. The tournament’s all-star lineup included Memphis’ own NBA greats, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and Elliott Perry. Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins and former NFL standout Stanley Morgan were on hand, as was former Los Angeles Dodger and two-time National League batting champion Tommy Davis. The Hank Aaron Tournament has its roots in the Ad In Tennis Association of Memphis and the association’s commitment to give back to the Memphis community. More than 25 years ago, the association first sponsored an annual tennis tournament to raise funds for a number of Memphis area charitable organizations that served African Americans. “After a few years, the tennis club realized that we could raise a lot more money from a golf tournament than a tennis outing,” said Simpson. “There a lot more golfers in Memphis than tennis players. There are also a lot more golf courses than tennis facilities.” The association also decided to focus its efforts on supporting LeMoyne-Owen College because it was “such a vital resource to the Memphis community.” This year’s tournament was sponsored by Comcast, with Otha Brannon, one of its executives, taking care of all the logistics of the tournament. NIKE provided commemorative shirts and hats to all the participants. A team from Harrah’s Casinos won the tournament’s first flight, while a team from AT&T finished first in the second flight. Simpson closed out the awards luncheon with this quip: “ I know that the Memphis Grizzlies are going to have a winning season because I saw Coach Hollins play golf today and it is clear that he must be concentrating on basketball because his golf game needs a lot of help.”

Pioneering African American Policeman: A Beacon of Hope

Published  08/27/2009

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure Special to the Tri-State DefenderSeated at a table near the front at the 39th annual The LeMoyne-Owen College Gala Saturday night, retired Memphis Police captain Elmo Samuel Berkley suffered a massive heart attack just about the time guests were told that the buffet lines were open. Despite the valiant efforts of paramedics, the 83-year-old Berkley passed away. Retired Capt. Elmo Samuel Berkley was a Memphis Police Department pioneer. (Courtesy photo) With his death, a man who was a major part of Memphis history and the history of African Americans in the South moved on. Capt. Berkley, a veteran of the United States Navy, was a member of the second group of African Americans hired by the Memphis Police Department. The first African officers were hired in 1948. Starting with his appointment in 1951 and serving more than 41 years as a policeman, Berkley saw dramatic change in his city and in the MPD. In the early days of his service as a policeman, African-American officers were not allowed to arrest white people. All they could do was try to surround white suspects until a white policeman arrived to make the arrest. They called this stall technique, “the magic circle.” By the time he retired, Berkley had risen to the rank of captain and the city he had served was about to come under the direction of the first African American elected to serve as mayor. African Americans were able to serve at the highest levels of the MPD, including as director. Berkley will be buried with full honors from the Memphis Police Department. Roger Brown, director of special events at The LeMoyne Owen College, worked closely with the retired police captain for many years.  He called Berkley “Mr. LeMoyne-Owen” for the many years and many hours Berkley had given to raise funds for the historical college. “Despite his advanced age and illness, Captain Berkley had attended every weekly planning meeting for this year’s 39th Annual (The) LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) Gala for the past three months,” said Brown. That was to be expected since Berkley had supported every one of the previous 38 Gala fund-raisers. In addition, Brown said, “Captain Berkley supported the Baptist International Tea for 50 years,” which is another LOC fund-raising effort. Berkley himself had attended Henderson Business College. Berkley was also devoted to his church, the Greater White Stone Baptist Church. There he served as a deacon (emeritus) and as the church clerk (emeritus). He was seated at the Gala table sponsored by the church on Saturday. It is said that Berkley always got his church to buy its table early,  so that he could sit close to the stage. LOC President Johnnie B. Watson told a television interviewer that as a youngster growing up in Memphis, Berkley’s service with the police force showed him and his friends that more doors were opening up for African Americans in the city. For Watson and many other African Americans in Memphis, Captain Berkley was a “Beacon of Hope” – the name of the award the college bestows at the Gala each year. Capt. Berkley leaves his wife, Dorothy Biggs Berkley, and two sons, Steven W. Berkley and Lyndon Berkley.

Lionel Hollins’ Big Chance

By Jesse F. McClure | Published  02/26/2009 | Sports | Rating:

‘My chance to prove what I can do’   Head Coach Lionel Hollins signals in a play during the Grizzlies recent game against Sacramento, a losing effort that left Hollins far from satisfied. (Photos by Warren Roseborough)     An 18-month contract as the Memphis Grizzlies’ headman is very short by NBA standards, an observation that new head coach Lionel Hollins brushes aside with ease. “Look at Terry Porter the former coach of the Phoenix Suns. He had a three-year contract but was just fired long before he finished his first season,” says Hollins. “Even Mark Iavaroni, the man I am replacing had more than a year and a half left on his three year contract.”   At 55, Hollins has almost twenty years experience as an assistant coach. Along the way, he’s watched many younger coaches with less experience become NBA head coaches. “I have interviewed for several head coaching jobs before without success. It only takes one person to choose you and this time Michael Heisley (the Grizzlies’ owner) picked me.” Coach Hollins’ ability to whistle often comes in handy.   Coach Hollins gives his team instructions after a time out. Young teams have to learn to win, he says.   Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach Lionel Hollins (left) attended the Staxtacular event Saturday (Feb. 21) along with his wife, Angie, and his son, Anthony.   This, he said, “is my chance to prove what I can do.” For Hollins, the journey to NBA head coach has not been a straight shot. As a guard in high school in Las Vegas, Hollins was a solid player.  Most college coaches, however, thought he was too small to play at the collegiate level. “I thought that the best thing I could do was to get a job at one of the Las Vegas casinos when I finished high school,” he says. Hollins’ high school coach challenged him to take a chance, attend a junior college in Utah, and see if he could succeed at both basketball and academics. Hollins enrolled at Dixie Junior College in Saint George Utah in 1971. In the predominantly white, Mormon community where African Americans such as Hollins were virtually non-existent, he found in Dixie Junior College Coach Doug Allred a “surrogate father” with whom he still enjoys a very special relationship. While he experienced “some racial heckling, the community as a whole was very supportive” says Hollins, who counts the experience in Utah and his upbringing in a multi-cultural environment in Las Vegas as preparation for learning how to respect people regardless of their backgrounds. The lesson learned has helped him in the all-important arena of relating effectively to different players. His task with the Grizzlies, involves coaching coach players not only from the United States, but also from Spain, Serbia, and Iran. After two years of success at Dixie Junior College both on and off the court, Hollins was recruited by a number of colleges that only two years before had ignored him. He’d led Dixie College team to a league championship, netting junior college All- American honors in 1973. Armed with choices, Hollins passed over his hometown college, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and accepted a basketball scholarship at Arizona State University (ASU). Why? It was not very far from Las Vegas but it was far enough away so that his grandmother would not be able to ask him to do chores at home, he says. Coached by the late Ned Wulk, an ASU legend, Hollins became a West Coast college basketball star. He led his team to a conference championship in 1975 and Sporting News named him to its 1975 All-American first team. His play was so outstanding that Hollins was the sixth overall pick in the 1975 NBA draft, going to Portland’s Trailblazers. In his second year with the team, legendary NBA coach, Dr. Jack Ramsey, took over.  The year was a magic one as Hollins along with Bill Walton, Dave Twardzik, Maurice Lucas and others won the 1976-77 NBA championship beating Dr. J (Julius Erving) and the Philadelphia 76’ers in the finals. Soft spoken and heady as player, Hollins enjoyed a ten-year career in the NBA, returning to ASU in 1985, where he completed his bachelor’s degree. “I would have stayed at ASU and gotten my master’s degree, but they didn’t offer the major I wanted,” he says. Instead, Hollins accepted an assistant coaching position with Cotton Fitzsimmons and the NBA’s Phoenix Suns in 1987. In addition to his time with the Suns, Hollins coaching resume includes stays with the Bandits of the International Basketball League, the St. Louis Sky Hawks of the U.S. Basketball League, the Harlem Globetrotters and the Grizzlies. He was the Griz interim coach for sixty games during the team’s 1999-2000 season in Vancouver and later for four games in the 2004-05 season. When the Grizzlies hired Mark Iavaroni as the coach for the 2007-08 season, Hollins found himself on the outside of basketball coaching for the first time in years. At the beginning of the 2008-09 season, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Hollins as an assistant coach and that’s where he was when the Griz gave him a call. Hollins had kept his home in the Memphis area because he did not want to uproot his family. He and his wife, Angie, have a son, Austin, who is junior at Germantown High School, where he’s developing his own reputation as “a very good basketball player.” Daughter Jacqueline is a student at Miami University of Ohio, while son Anthony is finishing his M.D. degree at the University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine and plans to become an orthopedist. Hollins’ eldest son, Christopher, lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. As head coach, meeting the challenge of proving what he can do includes making sure his players are giving maximum effort, even when things are not going well. “I can live with losing a game, but I can’t live with not playing hard,” he says. “We are a young team with a lot of talent; my job is to help them learn how to win. A lot of talented teams and talented players never quite figure out how to win.”

The Federal Reserve Bank and Memphis

Martha Perrine-Beard

Most people think the Federal Reserve Bank’s major purpose is to decide whether interest rates will rise or fall. More recently, the Federal Reserve Bank  has been actively involved in trying to address the nation’s economic collapse

For people in Memphis, the Federal Reserve Bank (the FED) is a major player in trying to educate people about the financial problems they face. In Memphis, the FED is especially concerned about people losing their homes in foreclosure.

This educational role is in addition to the Bank’s responsibility for providing for the cash needs of banks in the region, monitoring banks in the region, and analyzing economic activity in the region. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks in the nation. The St. Louis Bank has branches in Louisville, Little Rock, and Memphis.

Led by   Martha Perrine Beard, the Memphis Branch of the Federal Bank of St. Louis actively supports a number of community organizations and causes.

Perrine- Beard, who has been the Senior Branch Executive of the of the Memphis Branch of the  Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 1997, is responsible for the 150 Federal Reserve Bank employees in Memphis. She says that a major part of the FED’s role in community like Memphis, is to help educate low and moderate-income citizens about ways to improve their financial lives.

With growing numbers of people, losing their homes the FED is active in identifying areas of the community with high numbers of sub-prime mortgagees and mortgage delinquencies. Working with community organizations and coalitions the Memphis FED is attempting to help average citizens find ways to keep their homes.

Perrine-Beard says,” that a combination of bad choices by homeowners and in some cases misleading claims by lenders” have caused many people to lose their homes. She also feels that during the housing boom, “many first time home buyers tried to buy the largest and most expensive home for which they could get a loan often with no money down.” With home values falling and higher monthly payments for adjustable rate mortgages, too many people simply can no longer afford their house payments.

In addition to the current housing crisis, the Memphis area has a history of high numbers of people filing for bankruptcy each year. Perrine-Beard says that some of her efforts” are aimed at helping young people learn to handle their finances”.  The savings rate of people throughout the nation is so low that when people face unexpected bills they have no resources to tide them over. Perrine-Beard says that the FED has a consumer website (www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov) which can answer questions people have.

As the face of the Federal Reserve Bank in Memphis, Perrine –Beard is an active volunteer for a number of community agencies. She is on the boards of directors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Memphis Regional Chamber, the United Way of the Mid South, the Baptist College of Health Sciences, the RISE Foundation, the Mid South Minority Business Council, the Better Business Bureau, the Leadership Academy, and United Housing Inc. While she admits that her volunteer activities are many, she says her “peers on the boards are also great resources if I need information regarding a certain segment of the Memphis economy”. She also says that all the boards she serves on are well organized and well run.

Regina Walker, the Senior Vice President for Community Impact at the United Way of the Mid South, says, “Martha-Perrine Beard is a phenomenal leader. She is remarkable in how she uses her time as both a community leader and an executive with the Federal Board. “Walker says that Perrine-Beard has helped “the United Way become more responsive to community needs and to become more efficient and effective in addressing those needs.”

Perrine-Beard received her bachelor’s degree in business from what is now Clark-Atlanta University and a master’s degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis. She joined the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis after completing her master’s degree. Perrine –Beard is married and the mother of three children.

Black Golfers Swing Against Sickle Cell Anemia

During the summer in the Memphis, TN area, there are hundreds of charity golf tournaments. Few however, have been around as long as the Walter Evans Memorial Sickle Cell Golf Tournament that occurs the weekend before Labor Day. The late Walter Evans founded the two-day tournament in 1973 as a way to raise money for and educate about sickle cell anemia. This year’s tournament was the 36^th annual event to support sickle cell anemia treatment and education.

After Evans died in 1984, the tournament continued and is now hosted by the Pro Duffers South, a predominantly African American golfers’ group. Proceeds from the tournament support the Diggs-Kraus Sickle Cell Anemia Advocacy Council. The advocacy council is a part of the Diggs-Kraus Sickle Cell Center at the Regional Medical Center (The MED). There is no recognized cure for sickle cell anemia but institutions such as the Diggs-Kraus Center can help those afflicted by the disease live with the disease.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease that disproportionately affects African Americans. According to the National Institutes of Health 1 in 500 African Americans in the United States has sickle cell anemia. The same study reports that 1 in 12 African Americans has the sickle cell anemia trait which means that they can possibly pass on the disease to any children they might have. With the large population of African Americans in the Memphis area, there is a continued need for both resources and education.

The Pro Duffers South group is part of a national organization of predominantly African American golfers. This year’s tournament at North Creek Golf Club, hosted nearly 90 golfers who paid $175 each to participate. Golfers came from Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Puerto Rico. In addition, a number of corporate sponsors supported the tournament.

Leon Griffin, Sr. who helped Walter Evans in the very beginning of the event was the oldest player in the field and showed many of the younger players that he can still compete at a high level. Griffin said he is “proud to see the tournament continue for so many years. It is our chance to help others who are afflicted by this terrible disease.”

At a luncheon following the end of play, Carl Herring, the president of the Pro Duffers South, announced the winners. The first award was one the no golfer wants to win because it represents the person with the worst score over the two days of play. This year’s “winner” was Duke Herenton, the son of Memphis Mayor Dr. W.W. Herenton. Herenton received the “Ball Beater” award for his score of 245 over the two days. He announced to the field that he will “work to improve my game so I will not win this award in next year’s tournament”.

The tournament was divided into five groups or flights based on the age and skill levels of the players. The winners were:

Senior Flight - John Brown – Memphis, TN

Third Fight - Joseph Sudduth – Memphis, TN

Second Flight - Kelvin Massey –San Juan, Puerto Rico

First Flight - Abdullah Hasan – Memphis, TN

Championship Flight- Kevin Jennings -Memphis, TN

Leon Griffin Sr. Prepares to Tee Off

New Memphis City Schools A.D. says ‘It’s all about the kids’

By Dr. Jesse F. McClure | Published 07/30/2008

David “Smokey” Gaines is the new Athletic Director for the Memphis City Schools. For Gaines, his new position is but the latest stop in a journey that has taken him all over the world.

For the past three years, Gaines – a former Harlem Globetrotter – served as men’s basketball coach and athletic director at LeMoyne-Owen College. While he enjoyed his time at his alma mater, Gaines said, “I am really excited about working with youngsters who attend Memphis City Schools and having the opportunity to improve their lives. It is all about the kids.”

Gaines is replacing long time city schools’ athletic director, Wayne Weedon. Gaines’ assistant will be Northside High School athletic director and girls’ basketball coach Donald Holmes. Both men declined to comment on any of the past controversies surrounding athletic programs in the city schools.

“I am only looking forward and not backwards,” Gaines said, referring to Memphis City Schools.

Gaines, however, does look back to trace the connection between education and athletics in his life. “All of the successes I have had in my life are a result of my education and my education has come because of my involvement with athletics,” he said.

He wants students to succeed both in their schoolwork and in their sports.

“Too many athletes are not succeeding in school and do not have options after they finish playing. I had options and I want all our student athletes to have options.”

Gaines earned his Bachelor of Science degree at LeMoyne-Owen and a Master of Arts degree at Eastern Michigan University.

Parents can expect to hear from Gaines whosaid he will try to get them more involved with the school system’s athletic programs. And while Gaines said it is too early for him to get specific about program changes, he’s looking forward to working with the Memphis Redbirds in supporting baseball and softball programs.

Gaines and Holmes are both avid golfers and would like to get younger students learning to play. Gaines says they will explore opportunities to work with the First Tee program in Memphis.

A native of Detroit, Gaines first came to Memphis in 1959 to attend LeMoyne -Owen and play basketball for legendary coach Jerry C. Johnson. After leaving LeMoyne-Owen, Gaines became a world traveler, playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. He was the Globetrotters’ “dribbling whiz” before “Curly” Neal.

After almost four years with the Globetrotters, Gaines played in the old American Basketball Association (ABA) for a season. He returned to Memphis when his playing days ended and spent a year as an assistant coach at LeMoyne-Owen. Later, he served as an elementary teacher, high school teacher and as an athletic director for a Job Corps program.

Gaines big break came in 1973 when he joined then University of Detroit head basketball coach and current ESPN basketball analyst, Dick Vitale. After serving four years as Vitale’s assistant, Gaines became head coach at Detroit in 1977. He had two successful seasons in Detroit and joined the ranks of John Thompson, Fred Snowden and George Raveling as one of the few African-American head coaches at Division 1 colleges.

In 1979, Gaines left Detroit to become head basketball coach at San Diego State University. He broke the hearts of many Memphis Tiger fans when he successfully recruited West Memphis high school basketball star,Michael Cage. At the time, most observers thought Cage would take the short trip across the river to play for the Tigers.

“When Michael saw the San Diego State campus, the ocean and students sun bathing, I knew he would be playing for me,” said Gaines.

Cage became a star at San Diego State followed by a long and successful career in the NBA.

In 1987, Gaines left coaching to become an assistant athletic director at San Diego State. Two years later, he joined the NBA’s Denver Nuggets as a professional scout. He left the Nuggets in 1994 and until moving to Memphis in 2005, headed a number of business ventures in San Diego and Las Vegas.

“All of my experiences will help me in my new position with the Memphis City Schools,” Gaines said.

David

Kids emerge as victors in ‘bout’ between mayor, superintendent

By Jesse F. McClure | Published 07/24/2008

Memphis Mayor Dr.W. W. Herenton and new Memphis City School Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash met last Friday at Ridgeway High School in what was billed as an event “settling their differences on the court.”

They met before more than four hundred youngsters attending the Shelby Metro Sports and Awareness Basketball Clinic and more than one hundred spectators. The face off on the basketball court between Dr. Herenton and Dr. Cash was happening at the same time lawyers for the city and lawyers for the school system were in Chancery Court fighting over a proposed cut in the city’s funding for schools.

While the lawyers were arguing in court, Dr. Cash and Dr. Herenton engaged in a good-natured competition – first with boxing gloves and then with basketballs. Both men said the purpose was to show students and the community that they will work well together.

Ninth District U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen was an interested spectator as was City Council member Janice Fullilove.

Besides the mayor and the superintendent, the person who drew the most attention was former University of Memphis basketball star and head coach Larry Finch. Finch, who was disabled by a stroke several years ago, was greeted warmly by many of those in attendance.

Leonard Draper, one of Finch’s closest friends, said, “Sometimes Larry does not like to go out in public, but he was really excited about seeing the youngsters play ball here.”

The “competition” between Dr. Herenton and Dr. Cash was limited to each shooting a few free throws and demonstrating shooting skills.

Dr. Cash first showed some pretty good ball handling and to the delight of the boys and girls, hit several three-point shots. Not to be outdone, Dr. Herenton wowed the crowd with several strong drives to the basket and then hit several long jump shots.

The on-court session ended with the two men showing team work by demonstrating give-and-go plays for each other. Northside High School, athletic director and coach, Donald Homes, declared the competition a tie.

Both men then gave short “pep talks” to the boys and girls attending the basketball clinic.

Dr. Herenton shared familiar words of his grandmother who told him “get something in your head. Get a good education.” He reminded the youngsters that “no one can ever take your education away from you.”

Stay in school and stay away from gangs and drugs, said Dr. Herenton, who also expressed his support for Dr. Cash as the new head of the Memphis City Schools.

Dr. Cash said he is excited to be in Memphis and that he looks forward to working with Mayor Herenton. In his talk to the boys and girls, Dr. Cash stressed behavior. He urged the students to take their schoolwork seriously, but to also take their behavior seriously.

“What you do is what you are,” he said.