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.

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…

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…

50 years ago Carr drives Mackin over DeMatha
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50 years ago Carr drives Mackin over DeMatha

But 50 years ago this week, Mackin was finally able to knock DeMatha from the top of the league standings and the top of the local high school basketball rankings.
In the first week of March in 1967, Mackin had at least two of the three factors in their favor. Star guard Autin Carr scored 21 points (including the 2,000th of his pep career) as Mackin downed DeMatha, 54-48, on the night of March 3, 1967.

Brey has Irish Eyes Smiling
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Brey has Irish Eyes Smiling

Don’t look now, but Mike Brey’s Notre Dame basketball team sits atop what may be the best conference in college basketball. Nobody should be surprised by this. It’s the sort of thing the former DeMatha point guard/assistant coach has been doing for a decade and half, ever since he took over the basketball fortunes of…

DeMatha’s Fultz a fabulous freshman
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DeMatha’s Fultz a fabulous freshman

One of the few certainties in this still-young season is this: Upper Marlboro native and DeMatha grad Markelle Fultz is playing as well as any freshman in the country. Through the first five games of his college career at the University of Washington, Fultz is averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.