BTW 53, Memorial 47: Hornets deal pain
By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer
2/4/2004


Cruz Thompson's heroics in fourth put BTW over Memorial.

Cruz Thompson gingerly walked off the basketball court at Memorial High School on Tuesday night.



Memorial’s Kelvin Sango, driving past Booker T. Washington’s Jamar Louie, scored a team-high 20 points in the Chargers’ loss to the Hornets.


Booker T. Washington's junior point guard had a pain in his lower back and an assortment of bumps and bruises from the tough battle with Memorial. As much as Thompson hurt, the pain he dealt the Chargers was much worse.

Thompson had 13 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead three-point play with 2:53 remaining, to lift the Class 5A No. 4 Hornets past the 6A No. 7 Chargers 53-47.

"Cruz was just phenomenal in the fourth quarter for us," said Washington coach Nate Harris, whose team improved to 10-6 overall and gained sole possession of first place in the Green Country Conference at 7-2.

Thompson's value to the Hornets has increased in recent days. Senior forward and team leader
Quentin Chaney sustained an injury to his left shoulder last Saturday against Oklahoma City Douglass. Chaney, who has endured the nagging shoulder injury for the past two years, will have season-ending surgery next week.

Harris thrust some of the leadership responsibilities onto Thompson's shoulders, and the junior carried the Hornets past the stingy Chargers (11-7, 6-4 conference).

"Q is a big part of our team, and we have to play that much harder without him now," Thompson said. "This was real big."

The 6-foot junior was big in the final quarter. Every time Kelvin Sango, Brandon Colbert or Punchie Boyd delivered a big play for Memorial, Thompson seemed to always have a response for BTW.

Boyd's three-point play with 4:04 gave Memorial its last lead of the game at 40-38. Thompson countered with a pull-up jumper in the lane 16 seconds later to knot the game at 40-all.

After BTW's Jamar Louie and Memorial's Sango swapped free throws to keep the game tied at 41, the BTW point guard put the Hornets ahead for good.

Thompson drove the baseline past Sango and put a shot up on the glass. Sango was called for goaltending and a foul and Thompson sank the free throw for a 44-41 lead.

"He was the difference in the fourth quarter," said Memorial coach Eric Savage. "We didn't have an answer for him."

Memorial pulled within 45-43 on a Colbert layup with 55 seconds left. But Jarez Howard found Marcus Peel for an open layup with 43 seconds to play, and BTW made 6-of-8 free throws in the last 26 seconds.

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON 53, MEMORIAL 47
Washington 5 12 14 22 -- 53
Memorial 12 9 13 13 -- 47

Washington: Thompson 24, Norman 10, Peel 7, Louie 5, Berry 3, Wilson 2, Howard 2.
Memorial: Sango 20, Colbert 12, P.Boyd 8, Rivers 5, West 2.

-----------------------------
No wonder you`re all mixed up. You got a white man`s 1st name, a Spanish man`s 2nd name and a black man`s 3rd name.


-- Mickey Rivers to Reginald (Reggie) Martinez Jackson

Central 79, BTW 68: Richardson thwarts Hornets
By GLENN HIBDON World Sports Writer
2/7/2004


Nolan Richardson IV put on a scoring display with 39 points and the fifth-ranked Central Braves rolled to a 79-68 Green Country Conference victory at No. 4 Booker T. Washington in Class 5A basketball on Friday night.

Richardson hit 13-of-24 from the floor and 10-of 12 from the foul line in pacing the Braves (11-4, 6-3), who made 27-of-54 field goals.

"It's not very often we come over here and come out the winner," said Braves coach Terry Scott, whose team lost at home to Washington in December. "After losing a kid like (Quentin) Chaney, it shows what kind of job he (Hornets coach Nate Harris) has done with his kids."

Richardson made 8-of-9 throws in the final quarter. Khorey Davis, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, added 11 points and put on a dunking exhibition, collecting three of his team's five dunks in the second half. Leon Hughes added 10 points off the bench.

Justin Fuselier and Cruz Thompson topped the Hornets (10-7, 7-3) with 19 points each.
But this was Richardson's show.

"I couldn't hit my first couple of threes, but then when I finally hit one, I felt it," said Richardson, called Bo by his grandfather for having bowlegs. "As a team we played well and this was one of my good nights. They beat us at our place and it's a big thing for Central to beat them. I wanted to beat them . . . I wanted to pay them back."

Richardson poured in 22 first-half points and the Braves shot 50 percent in taking a 42-35 lead.

The Hornets' last lead (19-18) came early in the second quarter when Jamar Louie banked home a 18-footer.

But Richardson's driving layup 27 seconds later put Central ahead for good and BTW never came closer than five points in the second half.

CENTRAL 79, B.T. WASHINGTON 68
Central 18 24 16 21--79
B.T. Washington 17 18 14 19--68
Central: Richardson 39, Davis 11, Hughes 10, Shaw 9, Walker 8, Williams 2.
BTW: Fuselier 19, Thompson 19, Peel 11, Howard 7, Norman 6, Louie 2, Berry 2, Harris 2.

-----------------------------
No wonder you`re all mixed up. You got a white man`s 1st name, a Spanish man`s 2nd name and a black man`s 3rd name.


-- Mickey Rivers to Reginald (Reggie) Martinez Jackson

I haven't been posting for a while but for those outside of Okieville, BTW lost in the first round of the b.ball state tourney to Ardmore and the girl's lost in the finals to Claremore I think. The boy's team faded after one of their key players went out w/ an injury, forgot his name...

Here's an article quoting Wayman Tisdale:
Players head for NBA faster than they used to
By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer
3/31/2004

View in Print (PDF) Format


If Wayman Tisdale came around about 15 or 20 years later, he would have had a few options regarding his budding basketball career.

When he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1982, Tisdale was regarded as one of the top high school basketball players in America along with Billy Thompson of Camden, N.J., and Benoit Benjamin of Monroe, La. That spring, Tisdale joined Thompson, Benjamin and other standout players in the country such as Johnny Dawkins, Brad Daugherty and Kenny Walker for the McDonald's All-American Game outside of Chicago.

The talk amongst these star-studded players then was where they would play in college. There were some, but not many, discussions about potential life in professional basketball.

"Nowadays, it's a lot different and a lot better when you have the chance to go get paid to play (right out of high school)," Tisdale said.

Such a decision is becoming more fashionable

and frequent for top-notch high school players today. When the McDonald's All-American Game takes place Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, there is a chance up to nine of the 24 boys players will declare for this June's NBA draft.

"The game of basketball has grown and evolved so much in the last 20 years to allow this to happen," Tisdale said. "I think it's great."

Back in his day, Tisdale took the normal player development route. He spent three years at Oklahoma -- earning All-America honors each season -- before declaring for the NBA draft. The Tulsa native was the second overall pick of the Indiana Pacers in the 1985 draft.

However, the development plan has added a new twist in the last decade.

Since 1995, there have been 17 players selected in the first round who entered the draft following their senior years of high school. Some -- LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGrady -- have become superstars. Others have not lived up to the hype and produced little.

Due to their extraordinary talents, decision day is nearing for Atlanta's Dwight Howard, Shaun Livingston of Peoria, Ill.; Sebastian Telfair of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Al Jefferson of Prentiss, Miss. Do they take their skills to the big-time life in the NBA? Or will they be better served by honing their abilities and maturing as young men on a college campus for the next few years?

"I think the percentages are getting lower and lower each day that some of those guys will go to college," said Ron Briscoe, who operates a recruiting service in Louisiana and is a seven-year member of the McDonald's All-American Game selection committee. "There are 40 NBA scouts here at the workouts watching these kids. All of these great players coming out of high school -- the difference makers -- are going straight to the pros. That's why you see college basketball leveling out these days."

Howard, a 6-foot-10 center, is projected as the top overall pick in this June's NBA draft. While he has not officially declared his intentions, Howard is not afraid to reveal his dream.

For months, Howard has envisioned NBA commissioner David Stern calling his name as some team's selection.

"I've worked myself up to where I'm at the 5-yard line and David Stern is waving his hands saying, 'Come on in for a touchdown.' So I don't want to drop the ball," he said.

Jefferson, a 6-10 power forward, signed with Arkansas last November. Jefferson is viewed as a major piece in coach Stan Heath's rebuilding of the Razorbacks program.

But Jefferson said he is considering putting his name in this year's draft. The Prentiss, Miss., player is viewed as a late first-round pick. If he's not guaranteed of being selected in the first round, he said he'd remove his name from the draft and attend Arkansas.

Livingston and Telfair are trying to break the mold of players who have jumped from high school to the pros. Both are point guards. The vast majority of players who have made this leap are power forwards or centers.

Livingston is a smooth 6-7 lead guard who has signed with Duke. Telfair is a jet quick 6-foot player who signed with Louisville. Both, though, are projected as top-15 picks.

The "will you go pro?" question is something both Livingston and Telfair have dealt with throughout their senior years of high school.

"It's an opportunity, but it's also a hard decision," Livingston said. "Four years ago, I never would have dreamt that I would have this kind of decision facing me."

Telfair said it's a unique situation that he and some his fellow McDonald's All-Americans have in front of them.

"It's special that the doors are now open to a lot more guys," Telfair said. "Everyone is trying to make the best decision for themselves. I don't think every year will have eight or so guys trying to go to the NBA. You're happy to see all the hard work you've done to put yourself in this position finally get some attention."

Marcus Peel,Wayman Tisdale, Richard Dumas three of a kind, Bar-None from Fred Jones class of 82 B-Ball I might know a lil something about this one.....

Huh? Quite a few years between Peel and Dumas. What about Etan Thomas and Ryan Humphrey?

A bit late but BTW's baseball team had a decent season. They almost got into the state tourney but lost in the regional finals to McAlester at McAlester. I was planning to go watch them but couldn't make it. They had three guys make all-conference...

Kelley won state in their class (5A) and Owasso won again in 6A. Not sure who the coach is at Booker T but hopefully he'll be able to get some players from all over Tulsa in order to make BTW one of the best teams around.

BTW's girl's soccer qualified for state but I don't remember how they did. Kelly won their class (5A?) at the state tourney and is a powerhouse. Jenks is as well in 6A.

Anyway, I can't wait til football season starts up.

also to be noted, the btw girls track team took state this year in 5A. great job lady hornets!

& as for jenks, i'm pretty sure the jenks boys took state in 6A state track. bobby d, you're the baseball fan. i've always been partial to track. i'm slow as molasses but i can appreciate speed in others!

Hey now, this isn't a Jenks alumni forum!

I appreciate track too, esp. those athletes who aren't on the juice. I actually went to the 3A/2A state track meet (at East Central) a few weeks ago b'c a college roommate's niece was running in the relays.

BTW, someone said you were always fast when it came to get lunch. I think it was Lee Rowe... JK, I'm surprised (and honored) you remember me...

now that's interesting! i was at the state meet at east central also, but it was 3A/4A. i teach at star spencer & we're 4A in track. as for jenks, you're the one that brought them up! anyway, i love this site. i've been prompted to pull out ye ole yearbook several times to put faces w/names. keep on keeping us posted!

Oh, I mean duh... I did (mention Jenks), didn't I? And you're gonna jimmy jam me flat busted like Oran "Juice" Jones on that 3A/4A meet too. I've been away a long time as you can guess b'c we couldn't count up to 6A back in the day, matter of fact the largest class when we were in school was 4A, yeah?

Anyway you should have hollered at me. JK! Where were you sitting on Saturday? I was down on the front row at the very right w/ the Watonga crowd but cheering for my birth city, Idabel.

Bobby D-
Don't take it personally. I don't find Robin Copeland trying to bust somebody up surprising at all. She always has been a bit contentious. What I would love to be is a fly on the wall of her classroom, as she challenges all those little children to be sweet, because "Ms. Copeland" likes sweet children. Only if they could have seen "Ms. Copeland" back in the day!

Oh! Hey Robin, how are you? Luv ya!

Shawn Atkinson

quote:

---

Bobby D-
Don't take it personally. I don't find Robin Copeland trying to bust somebody up surprising at all. She always has been a bit contentious.

---

For real? I had these images of her back in the day of being somewhat angelic and earlier Lee's telling me Janice Cooper used to beat y'all up to get some lunch money. I think I missed all the fun the whole time I was at BTW.

moi "contentious"? surely not! & i see i need to check these postings more often.... looking forward to seeing you people & shawn, you should pray for my poor students. they really just don't know!

oh, & mr dozier, i don't think ANYONE has EVER considered me to be angelic! lol!

That thought must've come from all the propaganda and all the awards you won!

Good article on a BTW alum ('82) Terry Tumey who now works for the San Fran 49ers in today's Tulsa World (7.28).

When opportunity arises
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer


Former Tulsan Terry Tumey (center), pictured with John Starks (left), is the assistant director of football administration for the San Francisco 49ers. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World


Ex-BTW star Tumey preaches education to campers

Some eyes are glazed over, perhaps thinking about lunch. Some are looking down, maybe reliving that 3-pointer from a few minutes earlier.

Some wander elsewhere, to the banners overhead, or following a young woman passing through the gym.

But some eyes -- most, in fact -- are fixed on the man with the microphone, captured and enthralled by his message of determination, of success, and, ultimately, of hope.

Terry Tumey, a Tulsa kid who learned life's lessons on North Main Street and went to school at Frost Elementary, Carver Middle and Booker T. Washington High, stood before a few dozen inner city boys at the Washington Field House on Tuesday morning and delivered a message that he said he hopes will make a difference.

"I haven't lived here for 20 years," said Tumey, a 1982 Tulsa World All-State football player, "but this is still my community, and I still
feel some responsibility here."

Tumey, 38, is now assistant director of football administration for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, one of a three-person team that studies the NFL's $80.6 million salary cap and makes decisions about personnel, contracts and bonuses. Tumey doesn't sign the checks, but he helps determine who gets them.

Tumey on Tuesday spoke to more than 300 kids enrolled in the 2004 John Starks Inner City Basketball Camp at Washington, Central and TSST. Among Tumey's gifts was a 49ers helmet signed by members of the team.

Starks, the former NBA All-Star who also grew up in Tulsa and attended Central, has become a fixture of Tulsa's urban youth scene, donating everything from time to scholarship money to sports memorabilia through his foundation. Tumey said he felt "so touched when John asked me to do this. For someone to say, 'You might have a contribution that could help somebody,' that's important."

Said Starks, "It's amazing that a young man can come from here and become an executive of a National Football League organization. . . . To have him come back and show them where this sport has taken him, it's amazing for these kids."

Tumey said, "I can't say for sure that I knew I would be an NFL executive," but a passion for football, combined with an insistence by parents James and Shirley that he devote himself to his schoolwork, led him down the path.

"He had the ambition, and he was always sharp," said James Tumey, now 10 years retired after more than two decades in the Tulsa World composing room. "But it's having the opportunity that sometimes is the problem. And he did all this on a football scholarship. I sure couldn't have imagined it."

Anyone who believes sports is a waste of time needs to hear Terry Tumey's story.

"He definitely came from humble beginnings," his father said.

Recruited out of Tulsa by longtime UCLA coach Terry Donohue, Tumey became a three-time All-Pac-10 defensive end and earned a degree in business administration. When it became clear that he was too small for professional football, Tumey -- cut once, by the New England Patriots -- went into the business world.

Working in California's booming real estate industry, he decided to pursue a master's degree at UCLA. Back in Westwood, Tumey joined Do nohue's staff as a graduate assistant in 1992 and later became full-time defensive line coach. Once he "caught the coaching bug," he said, he was back in the game for good. Five years at UCLA was followed by two seasons coaching the defensive line with the Denver Broncos.

But the business end of the game always called him.

"I really wanted to kind of get on the other side of football, away from the playing field, and have an opportunity to understand the front office," he said.

Donohue became the 49ers general manager in 2001 and made Tumey one of his first hires. Tumey spent two years working with the team's personnel and scouting departments, then put his MBA to work as a "capologist."

"I really wasn't sure that was a word," James Tumey says, "until I saw it on 'Jeopardy' one day."

As such, Tumey's days are spent trying to determine whether this player should get a three- or four-year contract, and whether it should be front-loaded with signing bonus that weighs more against this year's salary cap or back-loaded with incentives that can be figured in down the road.

"Our league is driven by the cap," he said. "Knowing personnel and cap management, you have to make the right investment. That's what it is, an investment."

Tumey's parents, now married 47 years, were among a small audience who watched their son speak. The whole scene, James Tumey said, "makes us more than proud."

"We're just happy he has the opportunity to come back and help the kids," Shirley Tumey said, "and let them know that they can do it, too."

Tumey's message was clear: work hard and study hard, and you'll be prepared when opportunity arises.

"Education lets you make the most of all opportunities," he said. "Education allows you to recognize when there is an opportunity and when to take it."

BTW opens up its football season this year on Saturday vs TSST, formerly known as McLain, and is pre-season ranked at #4 in 5A. MWC Carl Abert is #1, then East Central, who beat Booker T in the All-City last weekend, 21-9, then Lawton MacArthur.

Here's the sked if anyone is interested:

9.4 TSST at SE Williams
9.10 @ Muskogee
9.17 East Central @ SEW
9.24 Durant @ SEW
10.1 @ Bixby
10.8 @ Coweta
10.21 @ Edison
10.29 Rogers @ SEW
11.5 Hale @ East Side Sports Complex

Class of '79's Joe Fuselier's son, Justin is the starting QB!

BTW 35, TSST 7: Hornet backs sting Titans in Northside Classic

By GLENN HIBDON World Sports Writer
9/4/2004

BTW's Felix Jones and Michael Harris run all over TSST, together piling up 201 yards and five touchdowns.

Class 5A No. 4 Booker T. Washington unleashed a two-pronged running back attack to turn the Northside Classic into a rout Friday night at S.E. Williams Stadium.

Senior Felix Jones rushed for 101 yards and three touchdowns and sophomore Michael Harris added another 100 and two scores, helping the Hornets to a 35-7 victory over the Tulsa School for Science and Technology Titans.

Washington used nine running backs to gain 282 yards rushing and 312 yards overall.

The Hornets limited TSST to 135 yards total offense and Ronald Shaw's 95-yard kickoff return.

Washington covered 79 yards in 10 plays to make it 28-0 just four seconds into the final period. Harris carried six times for 52 yards and scored on a 3-yard run.

On the ensuing kickoff, Shaw darted 95 yards to score, diving into the end zone. Following an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Anthony Jackson booted the long point-after for TSST.

The Hornets scored for the final time after a fumble by Titan quarterback Marcus Wilson.

Jones ran for three touchdowns and 92 yards as Washington broke to a 21-0 halftime lead. On second-and-13 from the Hornets 48, Jones bolted 52 yards to score with 13 seconds left in the half.

With 9:17 left in the second quarter, Jones capped an 11-play, 56-yard drive with a 4-yard plunge. Runs of 13 and 11 yards from Jones, plus a 14-yard carry by Brandon Swain, set up the score.

Jones got Booker T. on the board initially after TSST punter Daniel Jones fumbled for a 29-yard loss to the Titans' 25. On the first play, Jones sliced through the heart of FROM B-3 TSST's defense and shook off a tackle attempt by Sheldon Washington at the goal line.

TSST's best chance to score came when Daniel Jones faked a punt and ran 22 yards to the Hornet 49, then scrambled for four yards to the 39 on another punting situation. Three plays lost seven yards and Jones' third kicking attempt in the series resulted in the fumble and 29-yard loss.

WASHINGTON 35, TSST 7
TSST 0 0 0 7--7
Washington 7 14 7 14--35
W: F. Jones 25 run (Saunders kick).
W: F. Jones 4 run (Saunders kick).
W: F. Jones 52 run (Saunders kick).
W: Harris 3 run (Saunders kick).
T: Shaw 95 kickoff return (A. Jackson kick).
W: Harris 7 run (Saunders kick).

TSST WASH
First Downs 8 16
Rushes-Yards 44-146 42-282
Passing Yards -11 30
Comp-Att-Int 1-9-1 2-8-0
Return Yards 6 85
Punts-Avg. 3-29.3 1-35.0
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 5-2
Penalties-Yards 4-24 7-62

BTW 34, Muskogee 27: Last-second TD spoils comeback

By Staff Reports
9/11/2004

BTW's Jones scores three times, provides spark for final drive.

MUSKOGEE -- Kevin Carvy caught a 27-yard deflected pass (pretty amazing catch!) in the end zone in the final 15 seconds to give Class 5A No. 4 Booker T. Washington a 34-27 victory over 6A No. 8 Muskogee on Friday night at the Indian Bowl.

Carvy dragged down the ball, which was being bobbled by him and Muskogee's Robert Kershaw. The catch spoiled a comeback by the Roughers, who had tied the game at 27 on Kershaw's 10-yard fumble return with 6:40 left in the game.

The touchdown also came after Muskogee's Zac Ross missed a 27-yard field goal try with 1:24 remaining.

Felix Jones started the final 80-yard drive for Washington with a 33-yard run.

Jones had 45-yard, four-yard and 37-yard touchdown runs on the night. He left the game with leg cramps after the 33-yard run.

Muskogee running back Pete Richardson was knocked out of the game late in the first quarter with a concussion,
after rushing for 341 yards and four scores last week. Richardson had three carries for 17 yards against BTW. He fumbled on his last carry. Washington recovered, which led to Jones' 45-yard run for the opening score.

B.T. WASHINGTON 34, MUSKOGEE 27
BTW 7 14 0 13--34
Muskogee 0 7 12 8--27
W: Jones 45 run (Saunders kick)
M: Ross 1 run (Ross kick)
W: Garrett 5 pass from Fuselier (Saunders kick)
W: Jones 4 run (Saunders kick)
M: Franklin 3 run (kick failed)
M: Franklin 3 run (run failed)
W: Jones 37 run (pass failed)
M: Kershaw 10 fumble recovery (McNac run)
W: Carvy 27 pass from Fuselier (Saunders kick)
B.T.WASHINGTON MUSKOGEE
First Downs 15 11
Rushes-Yards 50-278 40-194
Passing Yards 30 20
Comp-Att-Int 5-8-0 2-9-0
Punts-Avg. 4-35.2 5-39.2
Fumbles-Lost 4-4 2-2
Penalties-Yards 7-55 5-45