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Shaw rises to the top
LUT WILLIAMS 
Coming from someone other than Hopkins, that might have been considered a tall order. Shaw, after all, one of the founding members of the CIAA in 1912, has never won a CIAA tournament title since the confab was started in 1946 and has made it to the tournament final only once (1971). But for the former North Carolina Central player such a claim was to be expected. In eight years, he had guided tiny Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N. C., into the national high school spotlight, producing among others, Tracy McGrady, star of the NBA's Orlando Magic, who went from Mt. Zion directly to the NBA. Cory Hightower, another talented player he attracted to Mt. Zion, was a second round draft choice of the Los Angeles Lakers last year after leading Indian Hills Community College to the national junior college title. Hightower is now playing in the CBA. Rodney White, a 2002 first round pick of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, played for Hopkins at Mt. Zion before moving on to Newport Prep. He declared for the draft after one year at UNC-Charlotte. Two years ago Hopkins left Mt. Zion after a falling out with the school's principal and had a hand in putting together a team at Emmanuel Christian Academy. The school was started by a friend and coached by his former assistant, Mike White, another NC Central grad. Hopkins helped attract former Mt. Zion players and others to the school which operated out of the basement of a church in Durham. The school's entire enrollment was made up of the basketball team, which some say, had five of the best high school players in the nation. Emmanuel put together an ambitious schedule which had the team, or school, playing all over the nation against some of the best high school programs and in the most prestigious tournaments. But it didn't work. The team never played a game. The whole fiasco ended up last year on the pages of ESPN The Magazine in a feature story about sneaker and recruiting wars in modern high school basketball. Hopkins, who had also been featured on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumble, was prominently mentioned. So when he took over at Shaw prior to last season, big things were expected. Last year he fielded a talented team that finished 15-10 and was bounced in the CIAA tournament quarterfinals. The nucleus of that team was high-scoring 6-4 guard Ronald Murray, a Philadelphia product who should have won last year's CIAA player of the year award, and 6-9 center Steve Bynes from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. This year Hopkins has added two Div. I transfers to the mix, former Mt. Zion standout guard Gerald "JR" Raymond and 6-7 forward Jarrett Kearse. Raymond, from Gastonia, N.C., was the leading scorer and starting point guard for Oklahoma last year before he was dismissed from the team. Kearse, a product of Philadelphia's famed Simon Gratz High School, transferred after two years at West Virginia. Six-nine forward Kenyon Booker, three-point specialist Van Williams, another Mt. Zion product, and 6-6 swingman Cedric Lusk, are sparkplugs off the bench. The Bears are off to a 13-1 start, and on the road to meeting Hopkins' goal. They sit atop the BCSP Top Ten. Shaw's record includes wins over nationally ranked West Georgia and the University of Tampa, who were 15th and third in the nation respectively. But before they can claim any national honors, Hopkins knows his team has to take care of business in the always-tough CIAA. In the East Division, his likely competition will come from Bowie State, who battled the Bears at home last week before losing by nine (86-77). Winston-Salem State, the current W. Div. leader, plays at Shaw on Thursday. Defending CIAA champ Johnson C. Smith, crosstown rival St. Augustine's and Fayetteville State are also contenders. © 2001 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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