Armstrong: Basketball passion can be found in Hope Mills
North Carolina is famous for its passion for basketball. That passion filters down from the college programs to the high school teams and to the recreation leagues. Youth league players and their parents dream of some day playing for the Tar Heels, Blue Devils or Wolfpack.
The popularity of basketball is reflected by the large numbers of teams playing in the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation program. Forty-four teams competed in five age groups, and league champions were crowned last week in the pee wee, midget and junior age groups.
The 12 pee wee (ages 9-10) teams were divided into two leagues. The pee wee Tarheels coached by Andrew Stewart were champions of Division I. Their roster included Jordan Gaines, Jarrin Marshburn, Cade Smith, Warren Bell, Joshua Brewington, Sherina Combs, Kaiozmun Cox, Miranda McKoy, Eddie McMillan and Timothy Reid.
The pee wee Division II champion was the Rams coached by Christopher Kennard. The Rams roster featured Kristen Schauer, Jerald Butler III, Christian Cockett, Tyquearious Felming, Christopher Kennard Jr., Aubree Short, Tykee Torrey and Tamarcus Williams.
In the pee wee championship game the Tarheels defeated the Rams 35-27. The leading scorers were Kaiozmun Cox with 18 points for the Tarheels and Chris Kennard Jr. with 11 points for the Rams.
The 11-12 year old midget program also had two divisions. The Division I champion was the Bobcats coached by Frank Brown. Team members were Bryce Allen, DeCarlos Brown, Marcus Burton, Joseph Jones IV, Wade Sessoms, Xavier Burke, Britton Crum Jr., Khalil Humphrey, Jibril Myers and Isaiah Robinson.
The Division II midget champs were the Tigers coached by Blaine Harris. The squad consisted of Zach Bagley, Dwayne Evens, Seth Hanrick, Logan Harris, Nijad Morgan, Daniel Owens, Tony Bandy, Titis Grant, Diondre Hicks and Alexi McPherson.
In the midget championship game the Tigers defeated the Bobcats 36-13. Tony Bandy led the Tigers with 11 points and Daniel Owens had six points. Bryce Allen led the Bobcats with four points.
In the junior 13-14 age group, the Hornets won the championship game 44-38 over the Deacons. Xavier Robinson led the Hornets, scoring with 22 points while Logan Hales was the Deacon's leading scorer with 18 points. The champion Hornets were coached by Clinton Robinson and the runner-up Deacons by Billy Bentley. Other members of the champion Hornets were Jeffrey Stanton, Garrison Gibson, Garrett Cross, Fritz Richardson, Logan Taylor, Alex Edge, Isiah Vinson, Tre Hales and Taylor Dorian.
Congratulations to all the players and coaches.
See you at the games.
Bruce Armstrong is a lawyer who lives in Hope Mills. He can be reached at LawyerArmstrong@aol.com.