One local product staying put, one moving on, another makes history
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One local product staying put, one moving on, another makes history

During the past week, one local basketball product will be staying put, another will be moving on and yet another made a bit of history. At Notre Dame University, Mike Brey (Bethesda/DeMatha), the winningest coach the program’s history, has signed a contract extension through the 2024-25 season. The new deal was in recognition of his…

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.

50 years ago, Northwestern’s Fox played a game to remember
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50 years ago, Northwestern’s Fox played a game to remember

Was it the greatest single-game performance in the history of D.C. area high school basketball? It just might be. Fifty years ago this week, Harold Fox, a 6-foot-1 guard at Northwestern High School, pumped in 64 points in a wild 103-87 victory over Oxon Hill. Fox, a senior, connected on 29 of 44 shots, pouring…

Gary Mays, Armstong High’s one-armed wonder, dead at 82
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Gary Mays, Armstong High’s one-armed wonder, dead at 82

When you hear the stories about Gary Mays, a multisport star at the long-closed Armstrong High School, it’s easy to dismiss what you’ve heard. There’s couldn’t really have been a one-armed high school basketball player who was also the best catcher in the city. It’s got to be an urban legend. Mays was a legend,…

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…

Mike Brey at the ACC Tournament in Feb 2017 (Source: Grant Halverson/Getty Images North America
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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…

Grant Hill: Reston’s Hometown Hero
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Grant Hill: Reston’s Hometown Hero

More than a quarter-century later, with a distinguished professional career behind him and unimaginable riches to his name, Hill is an A-List basketball celebrity by any measure. But his days at South Lakes still represent something special to him. That’s why he came back for the ceremony; that’s also why he hosted a private question-and-answer session with the current varsity players afterward. To the people of Reston and the community at South Lakes, Grant Hill is a hometown hero – in every sense of the word.