GAME SEVEN: DA CHAMPIONSHIP!

WHEATLEY WILDCATS (1970) vs. WILLOWRIDGE EAGLES (2001)

Head Coach: Jackie Carr

Starters

Wheatley Wildcats (39-0)

Clarence Johnson 6’1

Allen “Batman” Batro 6’2

Roy Fields 6’6

Lawrence “Spider” Johnson 6’7

Dwight “Big D” Jones 6’9

Head Coach: Ronnie Courtney

Willowridge Eagles (39-0)

Terrance “TJ” Ford 5’10

Daniel Ewing 6’3

Kenny Taylor 6’3

Andre Watson 6’7

Isaac “Tree” Rollins 6’9

Two teams with identical undefeated records from two different eras. This game was a classic showdown where the “Old School” meets “The New”. The afro meets retro. The Jackson 5 meets Jagged Edge. Wheatley sported a set of custom made canvas Chuck Taylors while Willowridge wore leather Kobe’s (adidas version). The picture has been painted for your reading pleasure, and the winner of this game would definitely have bragging rights to hold their right index finger upright in the most convincing fashion. Sit back, relax, and put aside as much as your biases as possible while we let you know exactly how it went down.

There was so much hype surrounding this game, it was moved to the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, yes the Astrodome, baby. Legend has it: the Dome rental was paid in full (cash) by a pair of guys affectionately known as “Candy” and “Pig”. These two individuals, along with local businessman Skipper Lee Frazier got together and promoted the event which pre-sold a record 19,000 of the 25,000 seats during the first three days.

A pair of popular photographers, Herbert Provost and Lloyd Wells conducted a special photo shoot with the teams while promoting the game to the masses. Julius Carter and the ‘Forward Times’ newspaper penned a front cover spread about the game. Legendary print king Pha Green printed posters and had them stapled on nearly every telephone pole located at red light intersections throughout Houston’s Historic 5th Ward.

Popular Houston radio sports personality Mickey Hobbs provided the play-by-play alongside Rick Godfrey. Godfrey (known as the Golden Voice) also crooned “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during the opening ceremonies. Press row was lined with many of Houston’s urban pioneers of media. Charles Porter Jr was there. Bud Johnson was present, and so was George McElroy. King Arthur Prayther was also in the house - seated next to Ralph Cooper and Jerry Woodley.

THE TIP OFF:

Willowridge’s high flying forward, Andre Watson beat Dwight “Big D” Jones to the tip, and the ball went right into the hands of TJ Ford. Wheatley opened in a “man” defense. Willowridge ran Kenny Taylor from one side of the court, down the baseline, to the other side. Watson set a mean pick which freed Taylor on the right side. Ford’s pass met him in the corner, as he caught, turned and fired away. Boom!

Wheatley had advanced the rock to half court before Willowridge could form their press. Clarence Johnson passed the rock to Lawrence “Spider” Johnson on the wing. He rushed the shot, which hit the front iron, and missed badly. The rebound was snagged by Isaac “Tree” Rollins (who started in place of Curtis Walker – a mild punishment for getting ejected in the previous game). “Tree” Rollins gave the ball to Ford who darted past three defenders, and whipped the rock to Taylor. He squared up and launched another long ball. Boom again! The crowd was active early as Willowridge jumped to a 6-0 lead only 15 seconds into the game.

Both teams went up and down the court as though a 24 shot clock was in full effect. The Eagles were hitting on all cylinders – especially from the outside where they nailed 5 treys in an impressive 33 point first quarter. On the flipside, Wheatley controlled the glass (including 6 offensive rebounds) which consequently gave them additional opportunities to score. Wheatley trailed 33-28 after this period.

The second quarter’s pace didn’t quite duplicate the bucket for bucket exchange of the opening period. After both teams failed to effectively press the other, Wheatley backed their press into a half court set. Meanwhile, Willowridge showed “Man” but trapped wherever the dribble was picked up (once the ball crossed mid court). After a quick turnover, Wheatley’s head coach Jackie Carr signaled for a time out, and diagrammed a remedy. Walker was subbed into the game for Willowridge. A couple minutes later, Willowridge reached their largest lead of the game (44-36) on a baseline dunk by Walker. With 2:00 left in the half, Ford picked up his 3rd foul, but Head Coach Ronnie Courtney gambled by leaving him on the court.

Back to back steals by Allan “Batman” Batro, combined with an ill-advised Willowridge field goal attempt, resulted in a 12-2 Wheatley run which gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 48-46. After a Willowridge time out, the bleeding didn’t stop. “Big D” Jones got the ball in the post and as time expired, he was fouled by “Tree” Rollins while knocking down a running hook shot. The Wheatley fans stood on their feet and expressed their joy. “Big D” Jones converted both free throws to give the Wildcats a 51-46 advantage at the half.

In the third quarter, both teams came out with fire in their bellies. Wheatley’s Roy Fields went baseline and was met at the rim by Watson (who got both hands on the ball) for the blocked dunk attempt. Ford came down and found Taylor standing on one of his sweet spots. As he squared up, he saw “Spider” Johnson coming in for a clean block. Taylor, then forwarded the rock to Ewing in the short corner. He drilled a three pointer that went right through the nets with perfect rotation. The Wildcats inbounded the rock to Clarence Johnson who made the mistake of picking up his dribble just as he crossed half court. Within a blink of an eye, both Ford and Taylor had trapped Johnson which resulted in a five second violation. On the next possession, Donta Yates high arched an 8-footer which was rebounded by Roland Parsons for a put back slam. Wheatley countered with back to back jumpers by Cecil Dutton. Willowridge subbed in Walker for Yates, and went right inside to him. Walker somewhat forced a 15 footer which was hauled in by “Big D” Jones for his 10th rebound. Over the final three minutes, Wheatley outscored Willowridge 15-11 to take a 70-62 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The lead reached double digits after Dutton drilled another jumper. With 5:12 remaining, Ford hit his first field goal of the second half. Jones countered by splitting a pair of free throws and Wheatley held onto a 76-67 cushion with 4:45 left. Ewing drove to the rack and scooped in a reverse lay up. Afterwards, the Eagles went back into their full court press which caught the Wildcats off guard. “Spider” Johnson was ripped by Ewing. Then, Ford knocked down a 12 foot jumper, and Wheatley countered with a bank shot by Willie Thornton. Jones picked up his 4th foul while attempting to block a jump hook by Watson. He missed both free throws, and Fields grabbed the rebound. Only 2:15 remained, and Wheatley held a seven point lead. “Spider” Johnson had the rock on the left side. Jones was guarded by Walker on the block. Fields set a pick for Dutton who cut towards the basket. “Spider” Johnson hit him right in the hands with a pass. However, just as Dutton attempted to take one dribble in effort to gain momentum for a possible dunk, the defensive minded Ford had reached in and swiped the ball away. While in transition, Ford neared the rim, and Watson trailed from the right side. Ewing was on the left. Wheatley’s “Batman” Batro braced himself to take a charge in front of the basket. Ford motioned towards the right, and “Batman” Batro bit to defend what he thought would be a pass to Ewing. Then with his right hand, Ford took the ball behind his back, and into the hands of an airborne Watson for a crowd erupting slam dunk. As the Eagles were high-fiving, “Spider” Johnson fired the inbounds pass down the court to Fields to fed “Big D” Jones for a strong basket on the right post. Wheatley’s Coach Carr signaled for a time out, and the Wildcat Stage Band grooved the crowd to their rendition of James Brown’s hit song “Call Me Super Bad”.

Willowridge’s Taylor missed a three from the top of the key. Jones hauled in the rebound, and immediately Watson fouled to stop the clock. “Big D” Jones sank one of the two attempts to extend the margin to 82-74 with only :50 on the clock. Another missed trey by Taylor produced a long rebound which went right into the hands of Ewing. He drove towards the basket and scored on a short bank shot. Once again, the Eagles had to foul to preserve the precious time. Fields went to the line, and missed the front end of the one plus one opportunity. Walker tipped the ball out to Ewing. He fired the rock to Ford near mid court, who dribbled towards the goal, and went up to shoot the 8 footer. Then, he managed to shift his body to flip a pass which caught the trailing Walker in stride for a lay-in which rolled around the rim before going in. Count the basket, and more importantly was the 5th foul on “Big D” Jones. Walker converted the three point play, and the score was now 82-79. Wheatley called their final time out. Coach Carr whipped out a stick of chalk and began scribbling on the gym floor, right in front of the bench. Thirty two seconds remained, and all Wheatley had to do was execute three things that were easier said than done – 1. Inbound the Ball 2. Protect the ball 3. Make free throws. With “Big D” Jones on the bench as a result of fouling out, the momentum had swung in Willowridge’s favor. This was definitely crunch time for Wheatley.

On the inbounds play, Willowridge aggressively tried to deny the pass. However, Fields barely escaped a five second count, and delivered the ball to “Spider” Johnson, the team’s best free throw shooter. Walker immediately fouled him, and since it was Willowridge’s 10th team foul, that meant every trip to the free throw line would yield a pair of attempts for Wheatley. “Spider” Johnson calmly made both free throws to give the Wildcats a five point lead.

Wheatley pulled their press back to half court, and had “Batman” Batro playing the role of a free safety towards Taylor. Ewing took the open shot, but it rimmed out. Walker managed to tip the ball over to Taylor who fired up an 18 foot jumper for two. Immediately, Ford used Willowridge’s final timeout. With :12 left, they trailed by three points. Fields got the ball into “Batman” Batro who was quickly fouled. Thousands of Eagles fans stomped the bleachers, and made as much noise as they could to distract the shooter. Still, that didn’t faze “Batman” Batro one bit as he knocked down the first one. In unison, a group of Wheatley students and fans mimicked the Eagle fans’ antagonizing chant, “Whoosh Beach, Beach, Beach”. On cue, the police officers who were working the event assumed their positions to make their presence felt. He swished home the second freebie, and Willowridge’s snowball’s chance of winning this game had just melted. All five Wheatley players got out of the way as Ford went in for an uncontested layup. Instead of inbounding the ball, Wheatley purposely let the clock run out. Final score: Wheatley 86 Willowridge 83.

Jones was named MVP after scoring 25p to go with 16r. “Batman” Batro contributed 17, “Spider” Johnson scored 14, Fields 13 & Dutton added 12. Willowridge was paced by Ewing with 21p, Taylor had 16, Walker 14p 9r, Watson 13, and Ford 9p 12a.