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Title still rings true for Northern players

Thursday, May 28, 2009

(Updated 7:08 pm)

By Robert Bell
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Officially, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association stripped Northern Guilford of its 3-A state boys basketball title.

Unofficially, the oversized, Super Bowlesque ring Michael Neal flashed Wednesday night indicated otherwise.

“State Champs,” it read. “First In History.”

“It feels good,” said the sophomore point guard, holding his right hand just so to let the light catch all the encrusted gems. “Looks good, too.”

Lost in all the allegations, investigations, name-calling, finger-pointing and legal threats that have arisen over Northern Guilford’s basketball team is the not-so-insignificant fact that a group of boys won 30 games and a state championship before a Guilford County Schools investigation erased it all.

Players, parents and fans gathered at the Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport hotel Wednesday night to celebrate those accomplishments at the team’s annual awards ceremony.

Coach Stan Kowalewski, whose contract is not being renewed for next season, said the ceremony and rings were not an act of defiance — the state athletic association is not recognizing any school as its 3-A winner — but rather a way to celebrate the players’ accomplishments.

“They’ve gone through a lot in the past month,” said Kowalewski, who paid for the rings. “If this night can put a smile on their faces and it stays awhile, then mission accomplished.”

There were plenty of smiles throughout the evening — as when a video showed former principal Joe Yeager wearing a deflated basketball on his head at a game during the season.

There was plenty of applause, too — as when Kowalewski presented rings to former Athletics Director Derrell Force and former head custodian Louis Lawson. Both were in attendance.

Force, Yeager and Lawson resigned from Northern on April 10, the same day Guilford County Schools officials went public with their investigation into allegations of ineligible players. Lawson later rescinded his resignation, only to be fired.

A Guilford County Schools investigation that is ongoing has determined that five students in four sports were living outside the school’s attendance zone. Those infractions cost the Nighthawks their basketball title and also forced the baseball, wrestling and junior varsity softball teams to forfeit competitions in which those students participated.

But none of that seemed to matter to Kowalewski and his players Wednesday night. Kowalewski praised the players, saying their work ethic and dedication were to be admired.

“That is what the kids are guilty of,” he said. “They worked harder than anyone else.”

Sophomore forward Jacob Lawson, Louis Lawson’s son, said it was nice to spend an evening talking about basketball and only basketball.

“It’s been very stressful for us,” he said. “All the other students ask us what we did wrong and if I’m coming back. I still don’t know what we did wrong, and I’m definitely coming back.”

Neal couldn’t take his eyes off his ring.

“I’m going to have this forever,” he said. “They definitely can’t take this away.”

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Joseph Rodriguez (News & Record)

Photo Caption: Players received a ring and a plaque during the off-campus awards ceremony at the Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport for Northern Guilford High School.

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baseball4ever

May 28, 2009 - 1:20 pm EDT

Cheater are losers. Not winners. Basketball is a team sport. If one player cheats, then they all lose. No moral victory here. I think it's rediculous to hear adults proudly state how "they worked hard". "They cannot take away the hard work". It's a team sport. They cheated and will always be remembered as the team that used ineligible players to win. One player ineligible means you cheated. I don't care how hard everyone worked in practice.

orangepony

May 28, 2009 - 1:40 pm EDT

This entire contraversy goes back to the lack of morals of the parents today. You can blame the school administration all day but if the parents had decent morals and not all caught up in "star" potential of their children instead of concentrating on their children getting an education first and winning at sports second, this would never happen. However, it does happen every where and not just in sports. Look at all of the child prodigies out there and you will most likely find a pushy parent hoping to ride their child's coat tails to fame and fortune. Nothern just got caught doing what has been done for many, many years. I am deeply saddened by the lack of good character of the parents of my generation. What are we teaching our children - what will they be like as adults?

maryfrancis

May 28, 2009 - 2:32 pm EDT

OMG…shut up!! What Coach K did last night was an amazing gesture and completely honorable. Leave it at that!! This team has suffered enough under the microscope let them enjoy something.

barbati

May 28, 2009 - 2:58 pm EDT

It would be honorable if they also gave a banquet and presented rings to the teams that might have won the title if not for the violations. Someone needs to recognize those victims.

orangepony

May 28, 2009 - 3:17 pm EDT

Excuse me? I'm not bashing Coach K or the team or what they did last night. I'm not even bashing the School Administration. I"m saying that we as parents are responsible for things like this happening. If a coach comes to you and asks that you send your son or daughter to his or her school to play sports to better their program it is up to you to decide what is the right thing to do. Regardless of what happened here it is not the kids fault, it is not Coach K or the School Administration - it is the parents ultimate decision to do what is right or wrong. Honestly I hope all of the teams that got striped this year come back and prove they can do it again next year. I will be there to cheer them on -and I do live in the Northern District legally!

maryfrancis

May 28, 2009 - 4:08 pm EDT

I apologize if my previous post offended…it was not directed to anyone in particular. Except perhaps the “volley posters” who find it necessary to argue back and forth on here to absolutely no avail. I just wanted everyone to take a moment and consider that the team most likely reads this crap and I thought we should give them some peace and let them enjoy what was presented to them last night.

Maku1da

May 28, 2009 - 4:14 pm EDT

maryfrancis, I AGREE, Them KIDS DESERVE EVERYTHING THEY GOT!!!

Panacea

May 28, 2009 - 6:11 pm EDT

maryfrancis. . . this is what blogging is about.

It does get heated, in lots of threads, on lots of subjects. But people here, including me, have every right to have our say.

Bballmom11

May 28, 2009 - 2:29 pm EDT

I am begining to wonder if all these kids and parents have been drinking the funny tasting kool aid? This all sounds cult like. Coach K is their GOD. I guess his pockets must be very deep for everyone to throw any common sense they ever had out the window, I am sure his "sermon" was very moving last night when he gave the boys their rings and even handed one to the janitor. The more he opens his mouth in the papers and on the news makes me wonder what the heck is wrong with these people. He is as slick as they come.He has recruited at EVERY school he has ever been at. This isn't new news to anyone. There has to be one parent in that group that questions this display as the wrong message. His demise was long over due. I could have won a championship with their Gater all star team too. The "star" parents gravy train has been derailed, of course they are freaking out.

justlooking

May 28, 2009 - 3:46 pm EDT

To recognize and reward the kids for their hard work is fine. But to award them rings claiming a state championship is simply ignorant of the facts that they cheated to get there, would not have won the tournament without illegal players, and are not recognized as champions by any organization. To say they still deserve the championship because they "worked hard" is an insult to all of the legal teams that worked just as hard. Even if it's only a coach or a couple of players who are responsible, it's still hypocritical to celebrate something that you would not have accomplished otherwise. It's not a matter of "punishing" the innocent kids, it's simply a matter of accepting that you do not become state champions by virtue of cheating.

lhbbmb

May 28, 2009 - 3:58 pm EDT

WOW!! Lots of hate for those kids. Lots of comments from adults. We have the haters calling the kids cheaters. We have the know it alls claiming they kids all knew. By the way if your neighbor cheats on his test I think it should not effect you from making the honor roll since you did not cheat on yours. Just like if your coworked steals it does not mean you knew they where doing it just because you ate lunch with them.
Unless you are dealing with these kids on a one on one bases you have no clue what they are feeling. Keep being haters because it all comes back in the end.

GCS Parent

May 28, 2009 - 4:40 pm EDT

What?? Since when is honor roll a team sport? How is that comparable? And, if your co-worker steals and happens to take down the whole company by doing so (yes that happens), you will be innocently harmed. It will stink, and you would not have deserved it, but you would still suffer greatly from their "cheating"! No amount of crying "but I didn't know, I still should have a job" will matter. That's the REAL world. Not basketball.

whyus

May 28, 2009 - 5:00 pm EDT

These rings should mean no more to the recipients that if they bought one at a pawn shop. They were not earned in a just manner and if they are made of gold (most likely fools gold) they should be taken and melted down.

Maku1da

May 28, 2009 - 5:46 pm EDT

whyus, YOU ARE A HATER!!!! They might NOT mean nothing to YOU, but they sure LOOK good on a CHAMPIONS finger.. Its a SHAME you would say they should be taken and melted down.. Them kids (Northern) got everything they DESERVE!!! Sorry you and child could'nt be a part of it.. YOU ARE SUCH A SORE LOSER!!!!

Panacea

May 28, 2009 - 6:15 pm EDT

Personally whyus, I can't understand why these kids would want to wear them. I would die of embarrassment if I was on a sports team stripped of a title because our team cheated.

Someone here said it was equivalent to resume padding. Hope they're not stupid enough to actually put this stripped title on a college application.

bball fan

May 28, 2009 - 11:02 pm EDT

How do you think the kids they played against feel? All of these kids know each other. They know where they went to middle school, and they know where they were supposed to go for high school. Then all of a sudden, they all show up at Northern..

I am a basketball coach; don't give me that spill about hard work; my kids work as hard as any group in the city..but we were not as good as Northern. Northern has 4 or 5 kids who may get a chance to play in college. My team has 1, maybe 2. Most of the Northern kids play for the Gaters; none of my players play for the Gaters. Again, we work as hard as the next team;

I find it hard to believe that some of you think that Mr. Green made a mistake, like he's incompetant or something...The office conducted an investigation, and based on the investigation, 2 players were found ineligible...Is that a mistake? How can you question the decision of an investigation?

I really feel bad for the kids; but sometimes I feel bad when i have to punish my own kids...but I feel better after I realize that I am teaching them that there are rules that you have to follow, and that no matter how much money or power you have, you have to answer to someone, and you are not above the law..

ForTheKids

May 29, 2009 - 8:29 am EDT

We can question the decision of the investigation because handling of it was faulty to begin with. With Mo's own admittance he should have done alot of things differently. So if he made a mistake once, what makes you think he cant/wont do it again. The facts that will come out soon, is that the kids lived in the district. Simple. Anything beyond that I will not speak of until the families do. That is why it is being questioned. With good reason.