2011 Big East Basketball Standings - Jan. 28

BOYS

Con. All

Wilson Hunt       5-1 10-6

Nash Central     4-1 11-5

Rocky Mount     3-2 13-6
Southern Nash  3-3   5-8
Northern Nash   1-4  10-5
Wilson Fike       0-5  1-15

GIRLS

Con. All

Rocky Mount      5-0 17-2
Northern Nash   4-1 12-2
Wilson Fike       4-1 10-6
Wilson Hunt       2-4  6-10
Nash Central     1-4  3-12
Southern Nash   0-6  2-11



Friday scores

BOYS

Nash Central 66, Rocky Mount 65, OT

Wilson Hunt 61, Northern Nash 51

Southern Nash 50, WIlson Fike 42

GIRLS

Rocky Mount 46, Nash Central 24

Northern Nash 54, Wilson Hunt 45

Wilson Fike 45, Southern Nash 32

Rocky Mount girls ranked No. 5 in state; It's Rocky Mount-Northern Nash night!

HAMPTONVILLE - In the latest NCPreps.com HS/Media Basketball 3-A Polls released Monday evening, Rocky Mount's girls team is ranked No. 5, up three spots from No. 8 last week.

The Gryphon girls will take their 15-2 record to Red Oak tonight for a matchup with Northern Nash, which is 10-1 and ranked in the honorable mention.category. I am one of 17 voters in the weekly poll and I had the Lady Knights ranked No. 10 on my ballot, but they didn't receive as much love from my fellow voters this week.

An upset by Northern tonight (a rare Tuesday meeting) might garner it more attention statewide.

As for the boys, Rocky Mount will be looking for a bit of payback when it visits the Knights. Thanks to Michael Brackett's 12-footer, Northern beat RMHS in the Nash County Christmas Tournament. Both teams have dropped a Big East contest already (RM to Wilson Hunt, NN to Southern Nash), so both will be fighting to stay a half-game behind Wilson Hunt in the win column in league play.

NCPreps.com HS/Media 3A Girls Basketball Poll

1. North Iredell 12-1 (13) - 164
2. Forestview 11-3 (2) - 117
3. South Point 14-1 (2) - 109
4. Asheboro 15-2 - 97
5. Rocky Mount 15-2 - 90
6. South Central 10-4 - 63
7. Union Pines 15-2 - 61

8. Parkwood 15-2 - 53

9. Williams 13-1 - 40

10. Eastern Guilford 14-2 - 33

Honorable Mention: Erwin (14-3) - 29; Hickory (15-2) - 23; RS Central (12-4) - 12; Freedom (13-6) - 5; Ledford (11-3) - 5; West Carteret (12-3) - 4; Tuscola (12-4) - 4; Northern Nash (10-1) - 3; Carson (11-4) - 1; Northern Guilford (15-3) - 1

Deloach's path to NBA goes through Poland

Former Northern Nasn and Norfolk State guard Michael Deloach

TARNOBREZG, POLAND - The road to the NBA isn't an easy one. But former Northern Nash and Norfolk State basketball star Michael Deloach was willing to take that road - even if it meant playing in Europe.

But playing professional basketball in Poland definitely wasn't on his radar after completing a 116-game college career that saw him score 1,796 points and finishing just ahead of NSU's most celebrated hoop alum - four-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion Bob Dandridge (Milwaukee, 1971; Washington, 1978).

However, a sudden mid-August phone call from his agent urging him to hop a plane to Poland put him on track to realize his dream. He was headed to Tarnobrezg, Poland - via a flight to Chicago and then a nine-hour, 7,000-mile non-stop ride to Europe's sixth largest country to begin his professional career.

"I had to drop everything. I had only two days to get there," said Deloach via a telephone interview via the Internet from his two-bedroom apartment provided by his team, Siarka Tarnobrezg. "There was so little time to say goodbye to my family and friends. It came as a shock, really."

The team had him on the floor playing the very day he arrived. Talk about earning his pay.

Siarka Tarnobrezg is a member of the Polish League that plays only 22 regular season games. It's a far cry from the NBA's grinding 82-game schedule.

"We only play one game a week, either Saturday or Sunday," said Deloach, who is one of five Americans on the team's 15-man roster. "If it's a TV game, it's on Sunday. We practice every day we don't play. Our coach does not speak English, so he has to use an interpreter to communicate to the Americans on the team."

The team is a local darling, despite not sporting a winning record (3-10 at this writing). The city, with about 30,000 people, pack their local 1,400-seat arena to see every home game.

At Norfolk State, the 2010 Intermediate Studies graduate was a prolific scorer playing the No. 2 guard and was a speed demon making drives to the basket. But at 6-foot and 175 pounds, NBA scouts had problems with his stature playing the No. 2 spot and passed on him in last summer's NBA Draft.

Now in Poland, he's trying to make the transition to point guard - his best option to possibly make an NBA team's roster. He's currently learning the point guard ropes from second-year starter Stanley Pringle, who played his college ball at Penn State. Deloach is getting around 16 minutes of playing time a game while averaging seven points a contest. He is one of the team's top shooters - canning nearly 54 percent of his field goals.

The Polish League only allows three Americans from a team on the court at any one time - one of the many quirky rules he's had to face. And fouls calls come hard - literally.

"You about have to tackle someone before a foul is whistled," said the two-time All-MEAC selection, who had a career-high 15 points in the second game of the season. "You can block the ball off the rim (a goal-tending call in the States), they are much stricter on calling traveling and you rarely see a charging call."

The League also uses the infamous red, white and blue ball (ABA devotees will remember it), which Deloach detests.

"I'll lose it at least 10-12 times even in practice," he said. "It's so slick and slippery. I hate it!"

But he has had to make adjustments to his everyday life off the court, too.

Along with the apartment and a comfortable five-figure salary, the team provides him with a car. Luckily for Deloach, unlike most of Europe, Poles drive on the right side of the road.

The Internet is a God-send for Deloach. Using programs like Skype, he's able to stay in touch with his family and friends from halfway around the world. And sites like ESPN.com and Yahoo.com keep him in touch with what's going on in the sports world in the U.S. He can even log onto a site like WHIG.com to check out tape-delayed broadcasts of the Twin County sports scene and his beloved Knights.

"I love it," Deloach said of cruising the Internet. "I don't know what I'd do without my computer."

Unlike in bigger cities like Warsaw and Krakow, there are no McDonald's or Burger Kings in Tarnobrezg. He relies on his limited cooking skills to get him by. The local fare is not quite to his liking.

"Most of the time I cook pasta and chicken and eat fruits and vegetables," Deloach said. "But I miss the food in the States. I could really go for a steak right now!"

League play will wind up in late March when he'll get to head back home to get ready for try-out camps and summer league ball.

"I really miss my family and friends being so far away, but getting to the NBA is my ultimate goal," he said. "I know this is the path I have to take to get there."

Four area teams ranked in first NCPreps.com High School Basketball Polls

HAMPTONVILLE - The first edition of the 2011 NCPreps.com High School Basketball Polls was released Monday evening and four area teams are represented in its tally.

Rocky Mount's boys team, now 11-4 on the season and 1-0 in Big East play, is the only area 3-A boys squad ranked. The Gryphons, defending state champions, are No. 9 in the poll of media throughout the state.

Ironically, the team that the Gryphons beat in the state title game last March is in the No. 1 spot - Concord (13-1).

Rocky Mount's girls, who sport the best cage record in the area at 13-2 (both losses to South Central), are ranked eighth in the 3-A girls poll.

The 1-A boys poll sports two area squads. North Edgecombe (6-1) is ranked No. 6, while the Jaguars of Rocky Mount Prep (10-5) are in the No. 7 spot.

3A BOYS

1. Concord (5) 13-1 - 117
2. Asheville Erwin (5) 13-0 - 110
3. Hunter Huss (1) 13-2 - 91
4. North Buncombe (1) 13-1 - 76
5. Weddington (2) 15-1 - 71
6. Burns 10-2 - 56
7. Westover 12-2 - 55
8. NE Guilford 11-3 - 44
9. Rocky Mount 11-4 - 33
10. Southern Lee 11-3 - 30

HONORABLE MENTION: Hickory (11-2) - 21; Waddell (12-5) - 19; Southern Wayne (9-2) - 12; Forestview (8-1) - 11; Chapel Hill (8-2) - 10; Ashbrook (10-3) - 7; Parkwood (7-2) - 7; Northern Guilford (N/A) - 5; Triton (9-2) - 2; Freedom (7-3) - 2

3A GIRLS

1. North Iredell (6) 11-1 - 122
2. Asheboro (3) 13-1 - 100
3. Parkwood (1) 12-1 - 86
4. South Central (1) 9-3 - 74
5. Forestview (2) 10-3 - 68
6. South Point 13-1 - 63
7. Erwin 11-2 - 51
8. Rocky Mount 13-2 - 40
9. Williams 9-1 - 30
10. Eastern Guilford 11-2 - 30

HONORABLE MENTION: - Union Pines (13-2) - 26; Hickory (11-2) - 26; Freedom (12-4) - 18; RS Central (10-4) - 14; Harding (10-4) - 9; Ledford (10-3) - 3; Northern Guilford (8-3) - 2; West Carteret (10-2) - 2; Marvin Ridge (9-4) - 1; Tuscola (8-4) - 1; JM Robinson (10-3) - 1

1A BOYS

1. East Surry (8) 11-0 - 129
2. Cherryville (3) 11-2 - 116
3. Princeton (3) 13-0 - 111
4. Murphy 7-1 - 72
5. Riverside-Martin 11-3 - 48
6. North Edgecombe 6-1 - 45
7. Rocky Mount Prep 10-5 - 40
8. North Rowan 9-3 - 37
9. Lejeune 11-3 - 36
10. Hendersonville 7-3 - 34

HONORABLE MENTION: Camden (110-2) - 31; Perquimans (9-3) - 26; Pender (6-4) - 13; Rosewood (7-2) - 10; Albemarle (4-1) - 6; Plymouth (6-3) - 5; North Wilkes (8-5) - 4; Highland Tech (10-3) - 4; Monroe (6-4) - 3

2010-11 Big East Conference Basketball Standings - Jan. 11

BOYS

                            Con.        All

Wilson Hunt        2-0           7-5

Rocky Mount      1-0          11-4         
Southern Nash   1-1           3-6
Northern Nash    0-1           7-2
Nash Central      0-1           6-5
Wilson Fike        0-1           1-10

GIRLS

                            Con.        All

Rocky Mount     1-0           13-2

Northern Nash   1-0            8-1

Wilson Fike       1-0            6-5

Wilson Hunt      1-1            5-7
Nash Central     0-1            4-7
Southern Nash  0-2            2-7


Tuesday scores

BOYS

Wilson Beddingfield 66, Wilson Hunt 55

GIRLS

Wilson Beddingfield 44, Wilson Hunt 30


Friday scores

BOYS

Rocky Mount 71, Nash Central 60
Wilson Hunt 58, Northern Nash 56
Southern Nash 62, Wilson Fike 52

GIRLS

Rocky Mount 79, Nash Central 44
Northern Nash 54, Wilson Hunt 41
Wilson Fike 48, Southern Nash 36

Allow Me To Introduce Myself: My Name is Michael Deloach

Siarka Tarnobrezg guard Michael Deloatch

Check out an article on former Northern Nash and Norfolk State guard Michael Deloatch by clicking on this link.

Deloatch is playing professional basketball in Poland. This is a Q and A with Bounce Magazine.

Included in the article is a link to a You Tube video of Deloatch showing off his wares!

I hope to talk to Deloatch in the coming days to catch up with 6-foot scoring guard. He gets paid a good salary, only plays one game a week and has plenty of free time.

But there are limitations to his play in Tarnobrezg, a city about the size of Wilson in southeast Poland. For example, only three American players can be on the floor at one time. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?

But he longs to play on the big stage - the NBA.

Look out for an article on a young man who is very proud to call Rocky Mount, N.C. home right here in the very near future. 

UNC outfielder Brian Goodwin to transfer

By Aaron Taube 
The Daily Tar Heel

CHAPEL HILL - After being suspended for this coming season due to academic reasons, North Carolina sophomore outfielder Brian Goodwin has decided to transfer to Miami Dade College, a community college in Miami, Fla., team spokesman Dave Schmidt confirmed Monday.

Though Goodwin would have had to wait until after his junior season at UNC to be eligible for the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, community college players can be drafted at any time. This means Goodwin would be eligible for the 2011 draft in June.

Click here to read this entire article!

Click here to read about Miami Dade College's baseball program and here to see its 2011 spring schedule!

Gryphons start Big East Conference play this week

Rocky Mount's basketball teams had a very busy start to the season - playing 13 games before the Christmas break. That's at least five more games than any of the other three schools in the county.

Sadly, that means those other county schools will still be playing as many as three games a week in January. Northern Nash's deep run into the football playoffs means playing quite a few makeup games with several teams - including Tarboro, which really put off a lot of hoop contests after repeating as 2-A state football champion.

The Gryphons will host Hertford County Wednesday (6 p.m., 7:30 p.m.) to end its non-conference slate and then open Big East Conference play Friday by hosting Nash Central.

The varsity boys are 10-3, while the varsity girls are 11-2. The girls have even won two tournament titles (Triangle Tip-off Tournament, Nash County Christmas Basketball Tournament).

Here is a listing of statistical leaders for the boys and girls with more than half the season in the rear view mirror.

BOYS

Scoring

1. Exzavier Cooper, 13.6

2. Tecoby Hines, 11.8
3. Dante Battle, 7.9

Rebounding

1. Dante Battle, 6.1
2. Tecoby Hines, 5.4
3. Exzavier Cooper, 4.8

Assists

1. Bruce Applewhite Jr., 3.4
2. Lavon Brutus, 1.2
3. Kenyatta Bullock, 1.0

GIRLS

Scoring

1 Tia Hudgins, 16.5

2. J'Kyra Brown, 12.1

3. Timisha Walker, 11.0

Rebounding

1. Timisha Walker, 7.3

2. Tia Hudgins, 5.6

3. J'Kyra Brown, 5.2

Assists

1. J'Kyra Brown, 3.5

2. T'yais Cooper, 2.5

3. Marquita Hines, 2.1

(Photos/David Hahula)

Gryphons unveil 2011 varsity baseball schedule



Rocky Mount head coach Kent Cox



Here is the 2011 varsity baseball schedule for Rocky Mount High School.

Later in February, look for preview capsules on all six Big East Conference varsity baseball teams, including the four-time defending champion Gryphons, right here on the Grapevine!.

2011 ROCKY MOUNT HIGH SCHOOL

VARSITY BASEBALL SCHEDULE

Feb. 22     ROANOKE RAPIDS - SCRIMMAGE, 4 p.m.

Feb. 25     @ Bunn - Scrimmage, 4 p.m.

Mar. 1       @ J.H. Rose, 4 p.m.

Mar. 3        LOUISBURG, 4 p.m.

Mar. 4        SOUTHWEST EDGECOMBE, 4:30 p.m.

Mar. 8        @ Southern Wayne, 5 p.m.

Mar. 10      @ Louisburg, 4 p.m.

Mar. 12      @ Impact Showcase, @ Cary HS, TBA

Mar. 15      @ SouthWest Edgecombe, 4:30 p.m.

Mar. 16      DURHAM RIVERSIDE (E), 4 p.m.

Mar. 17     J.H. ROSE, 4 p.m.

Mar. 23     SOUTHERN WAYNE, 5 p.m.

Mar. 26     BUNN, 1 p.m.

Mar. 29     NASH CENTRAL, 7 p.m.

Mar. 31     WILSON HUNT, 7 p.m.

Apr. 1        WILSON FIKE, 7 p.m.

Apr. 5        @ Wilson Hunt, 7 p.m.

Apr. 7        SOUTHERN NASH, 7 p.m.

Apr. 12      @ Northern Nash, 7 p.m.

Apr. 14      @ Nash Central, 7 p.m.

Apr. 16      @ South Johnston Easter Tournament, Four Oaks, TBA

Apr. 18      @ South Johnston Easter Tournament, Four Oaks, TBA

Apr. 19      @ South Johnston Easter Tournament, Four Oaks, TBA

May 3        @ Southern Nash, 7 p.m.

May 5        NORTHERN NASH, 7 p.m.

May 7        @ Wilson Hunt, 7 p.m.

May 13      NCHSAA 3-A playoff openers

Home games in bold

Tuesday Football Quiz Answers

1. What season did the Gryphons play that Tuesday game?

2000

2 . What team did the Gryphons play?

Tarboro

3. What was the final score?

RMHS wins 29-28