Newspaper Page Text
Page 8
The Panther
December 13, 1978
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Clemons Coachs Basketball Panthers Aim for Unity
Pritchett
Members of Clark College’s 1978-79 Basketball Panthers
are: 1. to r., Michael Johnson, Henry Taylor, Kenneth
Dean, Darryl Miller, Ricky Williams, Jeffery Jones,
Larry Nolley, Greg Whitlock. Kneeling 1. to r., Carlton
Boston, James Graham, Robert Marion, George House,
Connie Mac Tolbert, David Glenn, Paul Robinson,
Theodore Lay. In middle, Coach Robert Pritchett. (Photo
by Kenneth Hodges)
Women’s Basketball Coach
Leteria Clemons (Photo by
Tyraun Patterson)
By David W. Thomas
Although Clark College's
women’s basketball coach
never participated much in
sports and isn’t really
obsessed with the game,
members of the team say, “She
strives for the team all the
way.”
Leteria S. Clemons is in her
fifth year at Clark as a
physical education teacher
and is in her third year as head
coach. She said the women’s
basketball team came as a
result of the students’ en
thusiastic participation in in
tramural basketball games.
Ms. Clemons said she enjoys
her work because of the
relationships she has
developed with some of the
girls. Moreover, she offers that
A Clark College Chess-
Backgammon Club has been
formed for those Clark
students interested in such ac
tivities. The club meets every
Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the
Panther Conference Room of
Thayer Hall. The purposes of
the club are: (1) to promote
regular competitive play
among those who already play
the games, (2) to schedule
competitive tournaments with
other chess-backgammon
clubs in the Center and the
community, (3) to teach the
essentials of the games to
those members who do not
play but are interested in
learning the games and (4) to
provide a social atmosphere in
which chess and backgammon
players may congregate.
Officers of the club are:
Suleiman Abdul-Azeez,
president; Mykol Williams,
vice president - chess; Tanya
coaching presents a challenge
and she enjoys such.
“I think they respect me,”
she said of her players. “I’m
very honest with them.” Ms.
Clemons said she is not a rigid
coach but added that there are
rules which the women must
follow.
Last year’s co-captain,
Elaine Banks, said of coach
Clemons, “I think she is very
enthusiastic ... a very aggres
sive person.” Thelma Lindsey,
a second year guard, said,
“She’s fair-minded and bfer
methods are good.”
Ms. Clemons did her
undergraduate study at
Tuskegee Institute, where she
received a degree in physical
education in 1974.
She came to Clark primarily
because it is a predominantly
black school. Before coming to
Clark, Ms. Clemons taught at
Northern Illinois University.
Although Coach Clemons
has no previous interest in
sports or experience in
coaching, she has Anthony
Witherspoon, a former Clark
College basketball star, to
make up for her lack of
experience.
Ms. Clemons said last year’s
team had some good players
but not enough.
“We have some pretty good
players this year,” she said. “I
think we’re going to come out
ahead.”
Harris, vice president -
backgammon; Harold Scott,
treasurer; and Annette Brooks,
public relations director.
Club ratings as a result of
the latest matches are:
Chess
Suleiman Abdul-Azeez 2-0
Cyril Carter 2-0
Jack Jenkins 1-0
Harold Scott 1-1
Tharyl Cawthon 0-1
Harold Greenwell 0-1
Bryan Lord 0-1
Renee Mabery 0-1
Mykol Williams 0-1
Backgammon
Ronnie Jones
2-0
Annette Brooks
1-0
Tanya Harris
0-1
Blanzie Williams
0-1
By Kent Hindsman
The basketball season gets
underway shortly and the
season should be a very excit
ing one. Under the direction of
their new coach, Robert Prit
chett, the Clark College Pan
thers should be full of
surprises.
“They are a young team,”
Pritchett said. “In order for
them to win they will have to
be a real hustling crew and will
have to play unified basket
ball.”
Coach Pritchett had been a
very successful high school
basketball coach before accep
ting the job as coach of the
Panthers. He led the Price
High Wildcats of Atlanta to
the state championship in
1974.
“The guys trained hard that
year. We were determined to
win. We worked continuously.
That is why we won the AA
championship that year,” he
reflected. “I hope that I can
build the same kind of basket
ball team here at Clark.”
The Panthers only have two
men from their previous
squad. They are Ricky
Williams and Robert Marion.
“These two guys will be
extremely crucial to our team’s
performance. Although we
don’t have that individual star
type person, the rookies will
depend upon them for
guidance,” Coach Pritchett
said.
With the basketball season
only days away, the Panthers
are training extra hard. Reflec
ting on their past record, and
under the supervision of their
new coach, the Panthers
should have a successful
season.
continued from page 7
says that the team is basically
young and inexperienced, with
only two regulars returning.
Ricky “Tweet” Williams,
George House, and Eric Taylor
are some bright spots that
Coach Pritchett noticed on the
squad. He feels one thing the
team lacks is a steady player
that can be depended on in
every game.
“Right now the team is play
ing spasmodically. One day a
player will look real good and
then the next day he will look
very average,” Pritchett said.
“Everybody works hard and in
the long run it might be better
to have eight or nine players
that can do it instead of one
who can do it all.”
The new coach’s philosophy
is a reflection of his character.
He appears to be a strong, con
fident, and hard-fighting man,
one who sees his downfalls as
a bad case of the flu, someth
ing to be overcome so that he
can carry on. If he is an exam
ple of what Clark’s entire
basketball team is going to be
like, the Panthers’ great
football season was only the
beginning of better things to
come.
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