To paraphrase a popular C&W song, Boys ain't they something?
Yea, we're talking about the Wellsville High School's boys basketball team. Even though I'm not much of a roundball fan I'm picking up a buz for this year's team. Last week-end they took the 13th Annual Potter Holiday Classic championship to improve their record to an undefeated 10 - 0 so far on the season. They knocked off Oak Glen last Friday with a three pointer by Zane Carter at the buzzer. Then Saturday night they took the championship from the Potters with a 39 - 33 win on the Potter's home court. They did this while the Carter brothers were warming the bench for awhile after getting into early foul trouble. That just shows you they got some depth with the talent on that team.
Coach Dave "Bug" Thompson has been doing a tremendous job the last couple of years and it appears to me he has got this team believing in themselves. No doubt one of his biggest jobs is going to be keeping his men down to earth. Being undefeated they are going to be a target for their opponents in their last nine games of the regular season. I don't want to jinx them but it ain't going to get easy in the next month. Everybody they will be playing will crank it up a notch and be gunning to be the ones to knock the Tigers out of the undefeated ranks. I'm sure the coach and his assistants will keep this in the Tiger's minds. There won't be any easy wins but from what I read it won't be a problem for this year's team.
The Tigers return to action tomorrow night against Toronto at home. Congratulations Tigers on your season so far and good luck with the remaining games. The picture above came from the WHS web site.
Yea, I haven't seen a buz around town for a basketball team since back in the Bobby Dawson's days. The Tigers have gotten people talking and impressed with their workmanship. Lord willing they can keep it going. There's a lot of us pulling and praying for 'em.
Go Tigers....
ole nib
29 comments:
Nib,
Ahh, the Dawson era. Now that some time to grow up in. But you have forgotten about the teams Bob Flint coached in the early 80's. Granted he didn't coach as long but he did have a team that will always be remembered and talked about.
The team now is good and have the talent to get the job done, but if you would look further back to the freshman and middle school teams the talent is there and they put on a show. Should check them out at their next home game Wed. against Western Reserve. 7th grade (5-0) starts at 5 and the 8th (4-1)grade right after.
Hey Prince - I did overlook Flint. Could you fill us in on what team you're talking about?
I mentioned Dawson because that was back when some supporting fans came up with the Big Orange Machine that followed Dawson's teams where ever they went. There were many nights when the only thing left was SRO if you wanted to get into the game. There were folks lining the wall on both ends of the court.
ole nib
Wellsville has always been a basketball town. Go Tigers (and I'm a Beaver Local resident)!
Nib- I believe Prince is talking about the 1984 team that was ranked #1 in the state. Tom Wilson, Greg Pullie were the team leaders. The supporting cast was pretty good too.
I am talking about the 82-83, 83-84teams. I know that doesn't sound like much but to some it ment alot. It was the years of Tom Wilson, Greg and Rob Pullie, The Elliott twins, Skringjar, Beech and so on. As I remember the 84 class were all above the 6ft mark and all had a combined gpa that in the 90% range, maybe higher. The 83-84 season was the year they went undefeated, beating Big Red not once but twice. There is more but why go on.
Dawson ran a tight ship and didn't like slackers. Quinny Carter and Bug Thompson are examples of that. What they learned from Dawson is what they taugh and teaching the kids today. If you diodn't run you didn't play. Plain and simple.
As I said before the kids that are coming up now are going to be the future of Tiger basketball and they are exciting to watching. The 8th grade team are tall and fast and they have a kid who can handle the rock really good, he just needs to slow down and not get overly excited. But they are a good team.
The 7th grade, they are small but growing. But like the 8th grade they are exciting to watch too.
To me it look as though Wellsville Tiger basketball will be alive and well for years to come.
It must be that "earlyheimer" stuff my better half accuses me of suffering from. How could I forget the 83-84 season? Like E.O. Cheerleader said the ville has always been a basketball town. Remember a fellow named Bevo Francis? He played back in the 50s and I think his NCAA single game scoring record achieved while he was playing for Rio Grande still stands. Although he lives in Southern Local territory he is a Wellsville legend. There was no Southern Local when Bevo was playing.
ole nib
Hey NIb. the Tigers Did it again. Beat Toronto tonight.. By the way, we are still putting the game videos online.. www.wkmxlive.com
Been experimenting with a few new things. Like wide screen video and higher quality. I am also using Ustgream media to broadcast audio and video now so that people can see the games sooner. The better quality ones are still availabel the next day. ALthough we are only doing the home games for basketball, The guys are doing a great job and we wish them good luck TUesday at Lowellville..
TBrown
Bevo's story is very interesting. Some believe that he could have been a very good player in the NBA. His granddaughter went to the college he attended, Rio Grande College, the same college that Jasmine Richardson is now attending.
Southern did have a school back when Bevo but the school was called Salineville High School.
I can remember when I was in school we had a kid that was one hell of a outside shooter. He transfered from East Liverpool and I really don't know the reason why he did. All I know is East Liverpool let go a pure streak shooter, and his name was Rich Kohler, Wellsville Class of 78. We didn't have the 3 point line back then, but if there was there would be no doubt that he would have the record.
Come on Wellsville and surrounding area, give up some of your memories of wellsville Basketball.
Ahead of his time...
When I was about 11 yrs old. My Dad brought home big boxes of little pieces of paper. When you get an envelope in the mail and it has a window in it where the address is located. The piece that was punched out to make the opening is what he brought home. He also brought a box of rubber bands and all of us kids sat around the living room and bundled up these rectangular pieces of paper. We were making confetti. It was tournament time and my Mom and Dad were in full swing. House decorated, megaphones made, they would even decorate our neighbors houses. Anyway, after making hundreds of these bundles and bagging them up we headed for the Arena in Steubenville. We passed them out to everybody from Wellsville. They were perfect! When you threw a bundle in the air, they would spin in a big cloud and float to the ground. There were clouds all around the arena that night. We got a big kick out of that. Until the next day when my sister was called to Mr. Menough's office and caught hell because the arena people called and said they were STILL cleaning up the mess. It seems those little pieces of paper stick to a floor with pop spilled on it. If you happen to go to the arena today, you'll see signs that say NO CONFETTI! But if you watch ANY sporting event today, you'll see the after game celebration features confetti that is the same rectangular size & shape as the stuff we made 35 years ago. If only I had that kind of energy.
Bevo is still a giant of a man and one of the nicest you could meet. At nearly 7 feet tall he would have made a very commanding presence in the NBA in his playing days. Back then if a guy was 6 feet in height he was considered tall.
How about "Pic" Rolley? I remember being told he could shoot the eyes out of a basket in his high school days. Pic retired as WHS Superintendent a few years ago.
Here's a trivia question. Can anyone tell me who was the only WHS student athlete to make honorable mention in the USA Today? Hint: it happened around 13 years ago.
Thanks should go to Terry Brown and WKMX for making the games available. Gives everyone a chance to see the games. Nice job Terry.
ole nib
I am going to take a wild guess because I really don't know.........TONI PAPPAS?
I heard that he could shoot from the pld timers that played with him and from others who have witnessed his shooting skills.
****, i dont know if theres only been one WHS athlete to make that paper. i could have swore one or two baseball players from one of bob flints teams got mentioned in there too. could be wrong though. anyhow, my guess is sean wright or toni pappas??
GO TIGERS VERY IMPRESSIVE,,, AND YES PICK ROLLEY WAS DEADLY FROM ANYWHERE ON THE FLOOR I WATCHED HIM PLAY ,,, AND STILL TODAY HE CAN SHOOT THE BALL ,,,
THOSE OLE BOYS NEVER LOST THERE TOUCH
Kudos to those of you who guessed Toni Pappas. She is the only one I know of. I could be wrong but maybe the Wiz can research that for us. Toni is the only one that I know of. Not to take away from anyone else but that girl could play a mean game of roundball. Too bad she didn't go on and accept the college opportunities she had. She would have probably been able to play in the WBA. She could hold her own on the court with anyone and they tell me she got most of her skills from playing at the 18th St. play ground.
The present day Tigers travel to Lowellville tomorrow night for #12. Good luck guys.
ole nib
18th Street was the place to go to get your skills. After a while in the 80's a court was made at the 13th Street part by the big silver building. I think it was a NBA length size court. After a few games and playing on it for a week you were bound to be in shape. I remember a long time ago a couch from another team, I think United, was playing down there and the coaches reasoning for being there was he wanted his players to know what it was like run against Wellsville. I think the coach at that time was Chuck Greenwood, but not sure.
I love reading these posts about the wellsville team,but I wish we could get more support on road games. and maybe hootch2 could spend a little more time at games instead of writing a 3 hour story about 1945.
Prince Planet, you have just stunned me and a bunch of others. You are from Wellsville right? Yet you speak of Toni Pappas as a he. Anyone that knows Toni, knows she's a she.
Anonymous,
Toni Pappas, let me see.......... her and her sister played for St. Als up till their 8th grade year, transferred to Wellsville where she set the scoring record until Jasmime Richardson broke it. Yes I know Toni is a female, I have know the Pappas family for a very long time way before Toni started palying basketball. What guy spells Toni with an I anyway. Of all the TONY'S I know don't spell it that way, and all the female TONI's I know spell it this way. And if you would look at the comment above mine Pic Rolley was mentioned. I think Nib even caught that and didn't bother to show me where I could have explained who i was talking about. There are two Pics and I am talking about the elder one. Pic jr. is his son and he could shoot the rock too.
Sorry if if I didn't explain myself me clearly.
To hootch2 - Shame on you... That comment in response to gooo tigers won't be seen on this blog.
I am curious though. What story about 1945 were they referring to?
ole nib
Goooo Tigers needs to spend more time in school so maybe they'd be able to add and subtract. When I was in school 2008-35 equaled 1973. Another anonymous coward rears his ugly head
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think goooo tigers was referring to hootch2's reminiscing. I, for one, enjoyed the post, and feel goooo tigers' response was uncalled for.
Ooookaaaay, now I see. Gooo tigers was slamming hootch for his confetti comment. Sometimes, well most, I can be a little thick headed. I have to agree with "password". I enjoyed the comment and found it relavant to the subject. How many times has this village had a buz going on for the roundball teams? hootch gave us one example. I can remember kids from Wellsville that jumped trains to ride to Steubenville and hike up the hill to see play-off games at St. John's Arena.
Hootch I hope you didn't take offense. I'm trying to keep this a g-rated site but good natured kidding will always be allowable.
ole nib
None taken Nib. Nobody supported Wellsville basketball teams more than my parents. Hell, my mother made a sign that stretched the full length of Clark ave. from 17th St. to Aten Ave. for the 87 girls state final team. It was one of those things where at first the neighbors all looked out and wondered what the hell she was doing. And before long it was like a crusade to get it all up before the bus came by. Everyone on Clark Ave. Jumped in to help. Those are the memories that make Wellsville special. Gooo Tigers seems to think I don't support this current team. I work long hours and don't always have the time or if you noticed the last sentence of my post, the energy that my Dad & Mom had. But believe me, I'm paying close attention.
ouch must have hit a nerve with hoooootch2,i wasnt actually referring to 1945 but was saying it was a long time ago.but i will keep my post short im not as long winded as some,i go to every wellsville basketball game and i have seen the great fan at maybe 3 games in 2yrs but maybe im not as busy as he.go tigers
I wonder if Gooo tigers wears a disguise at the games or just on this blog. You go to every game. What a great fan you must be. You have risen to the top of Wellsville fandom. Your streak of consecutive games must be right up there with Kyle Ripkin's. The players all look to the stands to make sure you're there before the ball is tipped. You've reached a point in your streak where you can keep track of how many games other people from Wellsville attend. When you walk down the streets of Wellsville, people say Wow, there goes gooo Tigers, the biggest tiger fan of all time. I'm tearing up just thinkin about it.
goooo tigers- that shot at hootch was uncalled for. i think you should apologize. i wish they could get more support on the road too, but it is expensive to go to all the games. i didn't have time to get to the last one- i listened to the it on wkmx live.
One moment that stands out in my mind is the sectional tournament - I think 1984: St. Johns Arena, time in regulation stands at 0:00.0, Tigers are down by two. As time ran out, Tom Wilson is fouled and is given two free throws. Time out, the arena is rocking, fans on both sides going absolutely berzerk, finally Wilson walks onto the court alone: both teams watching from the benches. #21steps to the line, dribbles the ball a few times, stops and quietly asks the ref to wipe the ball down with a towel. His request is granted, and he methodically sinks the first shot. I can't remember if there was another time out called but the time between the first and second shot seemed like an eternity. The tension was palpable as he returns for the second shot. Once again, he stoops down to dribble, stops, hands the ball off to the ref to be wiped off, then calmly watches the second free throw fall in, nothing but net. Purest example of grace under pressure I've ever seen. Tigers go on to win in OT.
goooo Tigers has some catching up to do if he wants to surpass Betty, Clara & Ann as the #1 Tiger fan. Good Luck with that.
Judyscooty: I was in the service that year (1984) but I remember people telling me about that scene with Tommy Wilson. It's like a scene from a corny sports movie. Hard to believe it actually happened. But thanks for the reminder. I really missed a lot those years. 83-84 I love to get Bruce Winland and company together and I'll get them to start talking about those days. They're so passionate about it, it's like being there when they tell the stories. Loonie Ladies Live On!
Post a Comment