Forty years ago this week, DeMatha came up with the perfect ending
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Forty years ago this week, DeMatha came up with the perfect ending

Forty years ago this week, DeMatha’s basketball team made history. By that time, Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten had been at the school 20 years and had turned it into the premier high school basketball program in the Washington area, if not the country. But the Stags had never finished a season unbeaten. That…

Happy 62nd birthday to DeMatha great Adrian Dantley
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Happy 62nd birthday to DeMatha great Adrian Dantley

It was a cold winter morning in December of 1969. Schools were on break, with teachers and coaches like DeMatha’s Morgan Wootten happy for a respite from their responsibilities. This particular morning, Wootten heard a knock on the door of his Hyattsville home. He went to answer it and discovered ninth-grader Adrian Dantley standing on…

Local product Palmer finds winter in Nebraska to his liking
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Local product Palmer finds winter in Nebraska to his liking

It’s rare that someone would prefer winter in Lincoln, Nebraska to winter in Miami.
But it worked out for James Palmer, Jr. Palmer, who played at Henry Wise and St. John’s, is one of the main reasons Nebraska is battling for an NCAA Tournament bid as March approaches.

In January of ’68, nobody was hotter than Jim O’Brien
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In January of ’68, nobody was hotter than Jim O’Brien

Fifty years ago this week, Washington’s sports pages were full of stories on the Green Bay Packers’ recent Super Bowl II victory over the Oakland Raiders. In sports news closer to home, local basketball fans were starting to notice a kid named Jim O’Brien, who kept showing up in the Stuart High School boxscores with…

Brey now winningest coach in Notre Dame history
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Brey now winningest coach in Notre Dame history

For years, a string of Notre Dame football coaches has tried to duplicate the sustained success of the program’s  glory days.   Notre Dame’s basketball program, meanwhile, doesn’t have that problem. Mike Brey has seen to that. The Bethesda native and former DeMatha point guard, now in his 18th season as head coach of the…

Turnovers a big problem for Terrapins
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Turnovers a big problem for Terrapins

Much of the talk after University of Maryland’s 80-65 victory Saturday over New Mexico centered on the Terrapins’ ability to bounce back from a tough loss. “I’m really proud of how my team responded,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “It was a short turn around but we came out with a lot of energy.” The victory came less…

Memories of ex-DeMatha star Sid Catlett
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Memories of ex-DeMatha star Sid Catlett

Catlett was a key figure in DeMatha’s biggest win ever, its upset of Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Power Memorial in 1965. That DeMatha victory ended the New York City school’s 71-game winning streak in front of 12,500 at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House.

Williams and Ferry inducted into Washington Metro Hall of Fame
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Williams and Ferry inducted into Washington Metro Hall of Fame

Prince George’s County was well-represented at the Wooden Leadership in Coaching awards dinner Thursday night at the Watergate Hotel in downtown Washington. Walt Williams (Temple Hills, MD) and Danny Ferry (Bowie, MD) were inducted into the Washington Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame. Both were high school standouts, with Williams playing on Crossland HS team that…