COUNTY YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, A-11
SPORTS LAUREL | COLLEGE PARK | HYATTSVILLE | LANDOVER | LANHAM www.gazette.net | Thursday, January 16, 2014 | Page A-10
HOW THEY RANK BOYS The 10 best boys’ basketball teams in Prince George’s County as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff:
Rank 1.
School
Record Pts
Riverdale Baptist 17-2 60
2.
DeMatha
13-1 54
3.
Largo
9-1 48
4.
Clinton Christian 9-2 41
5.
Henry A. Wise
6.
Eleanor Roosevelt 8-2 29
7.
Bowie
8.
Charles H. Flowers 8-3 16
9.
Potomac
10.
Capitol Christian 14-5 5
7-2 37
9-2 24 8-3 15
Others receiving votes:
NUMBERS INCREASE,
Central 1.
BEST BET
Suitland at Parkdale, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday: One team will take a
step forward in seeking County 4A League relevancy. Panthers (5-8, 4-4) coming off an overtime upset of Bowie. Suitland (5-4, 3-3) looking for a signature upset victory. They did beat DuVal on Dec. 17.
TOP SCORERS
Name, school M. Reed, Capitol Christian A. Bundu, Largo D. Taylor, Central D. Stockman, Pallotti J. Grimsley, Capitol Christian E. Hill, Surrattsville A. Fox, Eleanor Roosevelt G. Gray, Suitland R. Broddie, Potomac J. Gray, Bowie D. Wiley, Potomac J. Davis, Clinton Christian J. Harrington, Heritage Christ. F. Williams, Laurel M. Till, Henry A. Wise M. West, Friendly B. Better, Crossland
PPG 30.7 27.7 23.8 21.6 21.4 21.2 20.0 19.1 18.9 18.7 18.3 17.8 17.3 17.3 17.2 17.2 17.0
times drop n
F
irst-year Northwestern High School swimming coach Marcus Fitts only ended up in the sport as a matter of circumstance during his junior year at Bishop McNamara in 200506. Surgery to repair a torn medial collateral ligament during his sophomore season ended his football tenure so, at his physical therapist’s recommendation, he took to training in the water. “I took to [swimming] like a fish,” Fitts said. “I didn’t know if I would like it but there some-
The 10 best girls’ basketball teams in Prince George’s County as ranked by The Gazette’s sports staff:
Rank 1.
School
Riverdale Baptist 10-2 60
2.
Eleanor Roosevelt 11-0 54
3.
Elizabeth Seton 13-3 48
4.
Charles H. Flowers 7-1 39
5.
Capitol Christian
8-5 35
6.
Bowie
9-4 32
7.
Gwynn Park
10-2 26
8.
DuVal
8-1 16
9.
Largo
8-5 10
10.
McNamara
7-8 6
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Northwestern’s swim program has grown from six athletes to 22 in one season BY JENNIFER BEEKMAN STAFF WRITER
GIRLS
Danny Bernal-Fuentes of Northwestern High School swims in the 50-yard freestyle Saturday.
thing about it that just felt good and I really grew to love it.” For all the reasons Fitts became so passionate about swimming himself — an outlet to feed his competitiveness, the life skills such as dedication and patience it enforces, the opportunities it presents for college — he has made it his mission to spread awareness to the Northwestern community about all the benefits student-athletes can reap from giving the sport a try. “I think swimmers in general are a very special group of people, it’s a team sport but it’s also an individual sport so that factor of things like self-improvement,” Fitts said. “A lot of kids get excited just to see themselves and their
friends [drop time]. ... A lot of kids didn’t know we even had a swim team. I want to make it exciting, kids can work toward scholarships and other opportunities.” As an assistant coach largely in charge of recruitment the past two years, Fitts has helped the team grow from six athletes between both boys’ and girls’ sides a year ago to 22 participants this winter. After a winless 2012-13 season, the Northwestern boys have notched victories over Oxon Hill and Parkdale this winter. Though numbers prevent them from truly competing against most teams — each swim
See NUMBERS, Page A-11
Record Pts
Others receiving votes: St. Vin-
cent Pallotti 3; Crossland 1.
BEST BET
Good Counsel at Seton 7 p.m., Tuesday: Seton defeated Good
Counsel 62-57 when the WCAC teams met in December.
TOP SCORERS
Name, school M. Fletcher, Potomac D. Boykin, Charles H. Flowers C. Jackson, Riverdale Baptist I. Yates, Potomac C. Lee, Henry A. Wise K. Charles, Eleanor Roosevelt C. Tyler, Suitland K. Conteh, Parkdale C. Musgrave, Elizabeth Seton Tak. Ellis, Gwynn Park A. Long, Largo C. Ray, Riverdale Baptist Tas. Ellis, Gwynn Park L. Jing, Laurel M. Sisco, Friendly J. Harris, Crossland B. Hughey, Capitol Christian D. McQueen, DuVal
PPG 23.6 22.3 21.2 19.0 18.8 18.6 18.3 17.7 17.4 17.2 17.0 17.0 16.9 16.6 16.4 16.1 16.0 15.8
Oxon Hill grad becomes ‘the guy’ at Bowie State Gatling leads the Bulldogs in points per game this winter n
BY
KENT ZAKOUR STAFF WRITER
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Central High School’s Davon Taylor, one of the county’s leading scorers, scores against Gwynn Park on Tuesday.
Big changes in scoring Lack of quality post players, new hand-check rules take their toll on the scoreboard n
BY
TRAVIS MEWHIRTER STAFF WRITER
One hand. That’s all Cedric Holbrook claims it takes to be able to count the amount of “quality, quality big men” in the Prince George’s County public school boys’ basketball ranks this season or any in recent memory. The private schools scoop them up, leaving the publics with an abundance of fast guards. A butterfly effect has ensued, and tangible evidence can be found in one place in gyms
across the county most Tuesdays and Fridays: the scoreboard. Scoring has always been relatively high in Prince George’s County, given the amount of talent and athleticism that routinely feeds into the system. This year has been exceptionally so, due in part to a variety of factors, but two in particular that several coaches pointed to — the guards, and offensive systems now being catered to them. The collective mindset, with a few exceptions, goes something like this: Guards are built to run, running leads to quick shots or layups, quick shots or layups lead to an increase in possessions, an increase in possessions leads to more op
See SCORING, Page A-11
Ray Gatling knew he wasn’t going to miss. Just moments after he dribbled left, drove towards the basket and was fouled, the Bowie State University senior guard stepped to the free throw line with a chance to win the game. The Bulldogs trailed by one point with 1.7 seconds and Gatling took a deep breath before proceeding to convert the ensuing two free throws to send his team to a thrilling comeback victory. “At the end of game it’s going to be in his hands to create,” Bowie State coach Darrell Brooks said. “He’s our guy. I almost messed up everything by calling a timeout when he was going to the rim, but he was able to execute.” A possession earlier, Gatling missed a critical free throw that would have tied Saturday’s game against Shaw University. “I knew I was going to make them after letting my teammates down,” Gatling said. “So I looked to drive to the basket again and draw contact. We work on free throws at least 30 minutes a day in practice to be prepared for situations like that.” Gatling, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer (18.0 points per game), transferred from Palm Beach State College before last season and has re-tooled his game this winter. In high school at Oxon Hill, Gatling was a pure scorer, averaging 25.2 points per game during his senior year en route to earning 2010 All-Gazette first team honors. But in college last winter, Brooks asked Gatling to become more of a distributing, pass-first guard and he obliged,
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Bowie State University’s Ray Gatling goes up for a layup against Shaw University on Saturday.
averaging just nine points per game and 3.5 assists. Now, this winter, his scoring is up and his assists (2.6) are slightly down, and Brooks is adamant that his pupil is a better all-around basketball player. Gatling also leads the Bull
See BOWIE, Page A-11