6 The Hampton Roads Messenger
Hornets Select Anthony Davis Spartan Center O’Quinn Selected with First Pick in NBA Draft by Orlando in NBA Draft
Sports With the 1st pick BY MATT MICHALEC NORFOLK, Va. – Some three
months after helping Norfolk State play “Cinderella” in the NCAA Tournament, Spartan center Kyle O’Quinn had another chapter in his own Cinderella story written Thursday night when the Orlando Magic selected him in the second round of the NBA Draft.
O’Quinn, who was the 49th overall
pick in Thursday’s draft, is NSU’s first NBA draftee since Lee Johnson was taken in the third round of the 1988 draft by the Detroit Pistons. O’Quinn is also the first draftee from a MEAC school since Florida A&M center Jerome James was a second-round selection of the Sacramento Kings in 1998.
“This is the ultimate blessing that
I’ve been hoping for a long time would come,” O’Quinn said. “I want to thank my coaches at NSU for taking a chance on me and getting me to this point. I’m excited to be a member of the Magic.”
“We are extremely proud of Kyle
and what he accomplished at NSU,” Spartan head coach Anthony Evans said. “He’s worked hard to position himself for this day and we couldn’t be happier for him. We wish him nothing but the best in the next chapter of his basketball career.”
O’Quinn didn’t begin playing
organized basketball until his junior season at Campus Magnet High School in Cambria Heights, N.Y., and NSU was the only school to offer him a scholarship. After serving as a valuable reserve for the Spartans as a freshman in 2008-09, O’Quinn blossomed into an All-MEAC honoree in his final three seasons. He averaged 11.5 points and 8.7 rebounds as a sophomore in 2009-10, earning second-team All-MEAC accolades. As a junior in 2010-11, O’Quinn averaged 16.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game en route to an All-MEAC first team nod and MEAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The 2011-12 season was a fairy
tale year for O’Quinn and the Spartans. O’Quinn averaged 15.9 points, 10.3
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in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Hornets selected forward Anthony Davis from the University of Kentucky. Davis becomes the Hornets’ second top-overall selection
(Larry
Johnson, 1991), 12th Lottery pick and 24th first-round selection in the NBA Draft in franchise history.
“We’re thrilled Kyle O’Quinn
rebounds and 2.7 blocks while leading the Spartans to their first-ever MEAC title and an upset of No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA Tournament. O’Quinn became the first player in MEAC history to sweep league Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season while helping NSU to a 26-10 record, the school’s most victories since 1994-95. He was also named MEAC Tournament MVP and the Lou Henson Award winner at the nation’s top “mad-major” player.
O’Quinn started making a name
for himself nationally with a 26-point, 14-rebound effort in the win over Missouri in the Spartans’ first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in March. He went onto earn MVP honors at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in April before attending June’s NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.
O’Quinn leaves NSU as the school’s
all-time leader in blocks (283) and is No. 6 in rebounds (1,092) and 16th in scoring (1,607). He is the 14th Spartan to hear his name called in the NBA Draft, and first in the Division I era. Only three former Spartans have ever played in an NBA game: David Pope (Kansas City Kings, 1984-85; Seattle SuperSonics, 1985-86), Ray Epps (Golden State Warriors, 1978-79) and former NBA All-Star Bob Dandridge (Milwaukee Bucks, 1969-77 and 1981-82; Washington Bullets, 1977-81).
to welcome Anthony to the Hornets family,” said General Manager Dell Demps. “Anthony is an incredible person and very talented basketball player. We look forward to him being a part of the sustained success of our franchise on and off the court going forward.”
“I’m excited about having the
chance to work with Anthony,” said Hornets Head Coach Monty Williams. “We have added an incredibly talented, athletic big man with great length who is also a proven winner. In getting to know him, he’s also a high-character kid and someone I look forward to helping develop further.”
“The first thing I said after the
Lottery was ‘it would be great to win another championship in New Orleans.’ It’s a great city,’ said Davis.
Forward Anthony Davis Julio Cortez / AP “Monty is a great coach who has
played in the league and will tell you how it is. He has given me some great advice and I can’t wait to get out on the court with him.”
In his only collegiate season,
Davis (6-10, 220) won six of the seven major National Player of the Year awards, getting the nod from the AP, USBWA and Basketball Times, and capturing the Wooden, Adolph Rupp and Naismith awards. Additionally, the Chicago, Il. Native was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player after leading Kentucky to national title in New Orleans.
The 19-year-old led the nation in
blocks (4.65 bpg) as a freshman, while leading his team in scoring (14.2 ppg),
ANTHONY DAVIS PAGE 14
Suffolk Teen Drafted By Los Angeles Dodgers
BY CHRIS PARKS Last month, the Los Angeles
Dodgers selected Suffolk teen Josh Henderson in the 16th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. Josh attributes his success to God, and is very grateful for this blessing, though there have been a few challenges along the way. As a home-schooled student, Josh was not allowed to play for the Virginia High School League, but did not let that setback stop him. He held fast to his dream of going pro. “I’ve dreamed about playing Major League Baseball since I was a kid,” Josh said in a recent interview. “I played basketball when I was about 7 or 8, but ever since then I’ve loved baseball.
For Josh, the moment he realized
he had been picked by the Dodgers was surreal. “I was sitting at the computer,” Josh recalls, “looking at my mom’s laptop, and then I heard, ‘The Dodgers’ next pick,’ then they called out my ID number, [they] ‘Henderson, Josh. Joshua Henderson from Suffolk, Va.’ And I was like ‘Wow! I’ve been picked.’ My parents are downstairs. I went downstairs and I was like, ‘I got picked! By the Dodgers!’ And I was like, just, I mean, words can’t describe how it felt. It was amazing!”
The pick was not such a surprise for
Josh’s former coaches Orel Schleeper and Jeff Meyers. The coaches told of how the Dodgers called them on several occasions asking about Josh’s character, as well as sending scouts out to at least
Josh Henderson
six or seven of his games. Josh, a former First Baptist
Christian School Crusaders outfielder, now has to decide if he will take an offer from the Dodgers, or go to Liberty University this fall where he has already been signed for college baseball.
Josh was blessed with parents
that supported his dreams. “We’re very proud of him, very proud,” said Sonya Henderson, Josh’s mother. “This is something actually that he’s always dreamed of. So, you’re excited to see something come to pass that they always wanted to do.”
Josh Henderson’s story proves that
with hard work and dedication, anyone can follow their dreams.
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Volume 6 Number 11
July 2012
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