LeMoyne-Owen Brings Down Stillman

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

The Stillman College men’s basketball team was leading the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) with five wins and no losses when players and coaches arrived at historic Bruce Hall in Memphis to play The LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) Magicians on Tuesday evening.

The team from Tuscaloosa, Ala., was ranked in the top 25 among Division 2 NCAA schools. By the time the game was over, Stillman had suffered its first conference loss  (93-80) and the Magicians had demonstrated its potential as a force to be reckoned with in the SIAC.

Five LeMoyne-Owen players scored in double figures. Ladarius Johnson led the Magicians with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Maurice Mickens added 18 points; DeAndre Gant had 15; Taurean Moy scored 13; and Jeremy Anderson added 10 to the LOC cause.

In the first half, the score seesawed back and forth until the Stillman Tigers took a one point halftime lead, 46-45. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first half. In the second half, LeMoyne-Owen’s defense got stingier and held the visitors to 40.7 percent, while the Magicians improved their shooting percentage to 54.5 percent.

Foul trouble plagued Stillman’s leading scorer and rebounder, Gerard Devaughn. The six-foot eight-inch, senior center and team captain from Fairburn, Ga., played only 19 minutes of the 40-minute game. Devaughn, who entered the game averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds, had but 8 points and 5 rebounds against the Magicians.

Stillman was led in scoring by Omari Murray and Marquell Jones, who each had 16 points. Stillman’s floor leader, Skyler Williams, scored 15 points, but with 14:06 left to play in the game injured his arm during a failed, uncontested dunk. He did not return until 3:08 was left to play and the Magicians had taken a significant lead.

During Williams’ absence, LOC’s  Mickens helped seal the victory down the stretch with his quickness and ball handling.

LeMoyne-Owen Coach William Anderson praised his team for “stepping it up in the second half. We played better defense and made our free throws down the stretch.”

Lady Magicians Tough in Second Half

The Lady Magicians of The LeMoyne-Owen College had a one point lead, 36-35, at the end of the first half of their game against Stillman’s Lady Tigers at Bruce Hall Tuesday night.

Then came the second half. The Lady Magicians outscored the visitors by ten points, grabbing a 76-65 victory with a display of some long-range shooting and solid defense.

“When we play good defense it makes all the difference,” said LeMoyne-Owen Lady Magicians’ Coach Myquita Mackey. “This was a tough win.”

Shonice Sprouse led LOC with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Amber Johnson added 18 points and some dazzling ball handling. Ryan Herd added 15 points and Karen Barr contributed 11 to the  Lady Magicians’ cause.

Stillman’s Lady Tigers were led by sophomore Phyllice Eubanks with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Alicia Young with 17 points and 6 rebounds, and Jasmon Hazley with 15 points.

Honors for a Legend

By Dr. Jesse F. McClure | Published 06/12/2008 | Sports | Unrated

Legendary LeMoyne-Owen College basketball coach Jerry C. Johnson said he takes the greatest pride in seeing the youngsters who played for him “grow and develop into contributing members of their communities.” (Photo by Wiley Henry)     The college basketball coach with the most victories and direct ties to Memphis is on this list: Gene Bartow, John Calipari, Larry Finch, Jerry C. Johnson and Vertis Sails Jr. If you selected Johnson, the legendary coach of the LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians, you’re on your game.   On June 20, the Memphis Chapter of the LeMoyne-Owen College Alumni Association will host a citywide toast of Johnson and a celebration of the coach’s 90th birthday. The special evening at the Holiday Inn Select on Democrat Road will also launch the Jerry C. Johnson Scholarship Program at the college. Johnson is one of only 10 college basketball coaches in history to win more than 800 games. During his 46-year coaching career at LeMoyne-Owen, Johnson won 821 games, a national championship, 10 conference championships, and made several N.C.A.A. tournament appearances. Three years ago, Johnson retired from coaching. Since then he has received numerous honors for his outstanding career. He was inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (S.I.A.C.) Hall of Fame, the Fayetteville State University Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. The coach of the year award for the S.I.A.C. is now The Jerry C. Johnson Coach of the Year Award. And in 1991, LeMoyne-Owen College awarded Johnson an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. With all his victories and awards, Johnson said he takes the greatest pride in seeing the youngsters who played for him “grow and develop into contributing members of their communities.” Memphis Mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton is among the most recognized of Johnson’s former players. “Herenton had not played much basketball before joining my team. Over time (he) became a good rebounder and valuable member of the team,” said Johnson, who chuckled as he recalled that Herenton, a champion boxer, was a real asset sometimes in the small Southern towns where a team from Memphis was not welcomed with open arms. David “Smokey” Gaines is another of Johnson’s high profile former players. After LeMoyne-Owen, Gaines played for the Harlem Globetrotters and the Kentucky Colonels of the old A.B.A. Later, Gaines was one of the pioneering African American coaches at so-called majority institutions when he became the head coach at the University of Detroit and at San Diego State. “Johnson was so successful that he almost didn’t have to recruit players because so many wanted to play at LeMoyne-Owen,” said Gaines. That observation draws a smile from Johnson. “Gaines must have a bad memory because recruiting was always one of my strengths,” he said. Several of Johnson’s former players have become outstanding basketball coaches. That list includes Vertis Sails, the legendary coach at Southwest Tennessee Community College. Robert Newman, the leading scorer on Johnson’s national championship, heads the successful girls basketball program at Melrose High School. Coach Johnson also had a hand in the development of Tony Johnson (no relation), who is considered one of the best athletes to attend LeMoyne-Owen. Tony Johnson earned All American honors in basketball and baseball, and played major league baseball for the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays. LeMoyne-Owen board chairman Robert Lipscomb did not play basketball at LeMoyne-Owen, but he was a member of the cross-country team that Johnson coached. Lipscomb now runs the Memphis Housing Authority and the Division of Housing and Community Development for the City of Memphis. Johnson said he landed in Memphis and LeMoyne-Owen almost by accident. While a student at Fayetteville State University, Johnson met John McClendon, the renowned African-American basketball coach who was then at North Carolina Central College. McClendon, who learned his basketball from Dr. James Naismith, the recognized inventor of the game, took Johnson under his wing. McClendon – the first African American to coach a professional basketball team – left North Carolina to take the head coaching position at Tennessee State University in Nashville in the late 1950’s. Johnson planned to follow McClendon to Nashville, but McClendon learned the LeMoyne-Owen coaching position was open and almost demanded that Johnson accept the job. During his early years at LeMoyne-Owen, Johnson’s teams played all comers, including several that now would be considered Division 1 schools. That prepared his teams for the smaller colleges in LeMoyne-Owen’s conference. Johnson’s 1974-75 team won a national championship, and as he recalled they “had a pretty easy time winning because we were battle tested.” With so many good teams during his 46-year tenure, Johnson said he is not sure which was the best. One of the better teams, he said, was the 1999-2000 team that won the S.I.A.C. championship and made the NCAA Tournament. That year, Johnson coached against the current University of Tennessee Coach, Bruce Pearl. Pearl was then the coach of the University of Southern Indiana. LeMoyne-Owen lost narrowly after center Wade Evans fouled out just after the second half began. Johnson had opportunities to coach elsewhere, including at a Big 10 Conference offer that he and his family vetoed because they loved Memphis. Family is a big deal to Johnson. For 53 years, he was married to the late Vaster Johnson, an elementary school teacher for over 50 years. The couple had three children, Wandra Johnson Haywood, a nurse with the Veterans Administration in Florida, Dr. Jerry Johnson Jr., a physician in Philadelphia, and Oliver Johnson, a computer professional who lives in Atlanta. Mayor Herenton will headline next week’s event in recognition of Johnson. Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, Tennessee House Speaker Pro Tempore Lois Deberry, U of M Coach John Calipari, and Southwest Tennessee Coach Vertis Sails Jr. will be among the many dignitaries paying tribute to Johnson. Many of Johnson’s National Championship team members will attend, along with dozens of former players from other years. “The celebration on June 20 will not only recognize Coach Johnson’s lifetime of achievement, but will insure that his legacy will continue forever,” said Jeffrey Higgs, the executive director of the Lemoyne-Owen College Community Development Corporation. The scholarships named for Coach Johnson will help future student athletes pursue both their athletic and educational goals. copyright Tri-State Defender 2008