Thomas, Men's Head Basketball Coach, Resigns Roy Thomas Quits After Five Years with the 1994, Thomas' First Team Won A&T's Ninth MEAC Championship
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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Aggie Digital Collections and Scholarship NCAT Student Newspapers Digital Collections 3-2-1999 The Register, 1999-03-22 North Carolina Agricutural and Technical State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.library.ncat.edu/atregister Recommended Citation North Carolina Agricutural and Technical State University, "The Register, 1999-03-22" (1999). NCAT Student Newspapers. 1226. https://digital.library.ncat.edu/atregister/1226 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Digital Collections at Aggie Digital Collections and Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in NCAT Student Newspapers by an authorized administrator of Aggie Digital Collections and Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Tevin Campbell,former teen singer, returns withnew CD. PAGE SIX. Monday, March 22,1999 Volume 73 No. 8 Copyright© 1999 Thomas, men's head basketball coach, resigns Roy Thomas quits after five years with the 1994, Thomas' first team won A&T's ninth MEAC championship. Aggies. An assistant will replace him. Thomas began his coaching career at BaylorUniversity, ofwhich heis an alumnus. He the Register StaffReports where they lost to South Carolina became head coach State University. at Texas A & M in 1980 and later be- Basketball CoachRoy Thomas, who "He said it was like business. It was gan his career in the junior-college took his first N.C. A&T team to the a tough decision. The worst part of ranks. NCAA tournament four years ago, him leaving is that he is leaving us/' His teams went210-99 and won the resigned last week, according to one said Debro. 1993 national championship inhis 11 of his players. Thomas did not give specific rea- years at Texas' Tyler Junior College. Anthony Debro, the team's sopho- sons for his resignation, Debro said. Two weeksago, he said he wasclose more forward, said Thomas called a Thomas declined to comment onthe to gettingthe program back to peren- teammeeting and informed the play- matter. nial contention for the conference ers that he was stepping down, ac- "Ifthat istrue everybodywillknow crown. cording to the News & Record of soon enough," he said. But he said the challenges he has Greensboro. Under the team's preceding coach, faced were greater than those of the Under Thomas, the Aggies made it Jeff Capel, the Aggies won the MEAC legendary Don Corbett, who went to the MEAC 230-130 from 1979 to 1993. Semifinals this year, title during the 1993-1994 season. In Coach Thomas A halftime controversy. Poor playing Banned, Essence blamed on A&T just wants to dance loss to Hampton ByRay Brown By Semaj Marsh Register Staff Register Staff Those who have been to N.C. A&T basketball as as will doubt After games recently December no re- a gruelingfive-game road trip in which member the exciting halftime. It theAggies captured dancing at came abig winover Morgan State from the 16 women who comprise Aggie Essence, and nearly upset State, the Aggies Coppin re- and their jazz-funk dance moves aren't easily for- turned home on Feb. 13 to battle conference foe gotten. Hampton. But they are, at as far as A&T However, in this contest least basketball early it appeared the games are concerned, only a memory. Aggie Es- Aggies forgot to bringback a few items from key sence has been banned from performing at Aggie their trip namely their intensity and — shooting games, and the explanation for that islongand dis- touch. puted. in of for Despitebeing front the cameras a live- AggieEssence has not performed anA&T televised the at game contest, Aggiesplayed surprisingly since the Fall 1998 semester. unmotivated for most of basketball the afternoon Demetrius Gunn, coach of Aggie Essence, and shot a dismal 32.8 percent from To says the field. A&T Athletic Director Hornsby Howell sidelined its credit, Hampton capitalized on the Aggies' Aggie Essence because their routines were offen- listlessness down the stretch and made several sive. late free throws to secure a 64-53 win. Howell disagreed Afterwards, A&T coach Thomas was ad- Roy "The Aggie Essence had to quit dancing because mittedlybefuddled byhis team's Photo by EDWARD MOORE / uninspiredplay. Register Staff they weren't properly registered with the univer- "The biggest disappointmentofall was thelack Aggie tries to score duringFebruary basketball match sity," Howell said. "I didn't execution," cancel them because of said Thomas, who sawhis club fall against Hampton University. The Pirates downed they were offensive." to 9-14 overall and 6-9 inthe MEAC. "We justhit A&T, 64-53. Gunn responded that Aggie Essence has been an a wall and couldn't score anymore." "official" team, wall dance performing at university That arrived at a most inopportune time functions, since 1994. for the Aggies, who were outscored 16-3 in the duringkey moments of the second half. Christina Lynch, an A&T juniorand student cap- game's final minutes. "Weforced the shotclock down toabout three With A&T nursing a two-point lead with 4:05 seconds, but then we had a mix-up and let the See DANCERS on Page 3 to play, Hampton's Tajal Young hit a lay-up and (Hampton player) get a wide open rebound on completed a three point play to give the Pirates thebase-line and score," Thomas said. "Thatplay their first lead of the second half at 51-50. A&T really hurt us. We have to lock in (mentally) and quicklyresponded with a turnaround jumperby be sure what we're doing in those situations." forwardKelvin Clyburn (8 points, 11 rebounds), After the Belton basket, the Aggies had sev- butthe Pirates thenreclaimed the lead whenTony eral opportunities to stay close, but they failed Adams made a slashinglay-up tomake the score to capitalize onrepeated trips to the foul line and 53-52. Hampton would never relinquish that added only one more point on the scoreboard Campus News. ,»2 lead. the rest of the way. As a team, the Aggies shot The final nail in the coffin came at the 1:55 only 54.5 percent of their free throws. Cartoon.. ...4 mark, when Hampton's Doug Belton scored on "Our free throw shooting stunk/' admitted an offensive rebound with only seconds left on Thomas. "We made only 12 of the 22 shots from i oetry 1 age / the shot clock. That basket exemplified the nu- merous defensive breakdowns A&T suffered See HAMPTON on Page 3 20 Questions 4 Local judge,A&T alum, rules more than courtroom and Lawrence McSwain "I lecture to juveniles in court because I think some people need guidance direction," of he says. "Some of them need to know says benevolence these young people need guidance and direction. someone cares about them, and I act as a parent and authority figure." equals success. Some ofthem need to know someone cares about them, After graduating from high school in 1962, McSwain served three years By Crystal Ward and I act as a parent and authorityfigure." in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Di- Register Staff vision. He enrolled at A&T in 1969, Judge Lawrence McSwain earned his degree in political science, N.C. A&T graduate Lawrence — then completed law school at N.C. McSwain believes that true success Central in 1979. lies in helping others. A 1977 student internship at the The longtime judge, recently ap- McSwain, Judge McSwain's brother. years to Vivian McSwain, a registered Guilford County district attorney's pointed as chief districtcourt judgefor At the age of 9, in the days before nurse with a master's degree and a office started McSwain on his current North Carolina's 18thjudicial district bowling alleys had automatic pin set- college teachingposition.The couple path. A student internship at the in Guilford County, grew up with the ters, McSwain landed his first job has no children of their own, yet Durham Legal Aid Service followed, belief that helping somebody special which was not uncommon for chil- plentyofchildren in theirlives. Judge and McSwainbegan work as an assis- meant helping others. When he drenhis age: He was a pin setter. McSwain is a father figure on the tant district attorney in Guilford launches into one of his famous lec- His paychecks went to his mother, bench, and it doesn't stop there. County shortly after completing law tures, particularly to a juvenile of- he said, who in turn gave him an al- He works with the Childrenof Di- school. fender, it's in thehope ofturningthem lowance. Between work and school, vorce program and speaks at DARE By 1983,he was Chief Assistant Dis- around. he found the time for hobbies like anti-drug programs. And then there trict Attorney, holding that position In short, he's helping others chess, bowling, photography and, af- are the lectures. until 1985. McSwain wasborn in 1946inShelby ter one too many beatings from an They're more than the average ju- Originally appointed as District and grew up in Kings Mountain. As llth-grade bully, karate. venile can handle, some say. Court judge in 1986, McSwain was the oldest ofnine children, the respon- McSwain's training taught him a "He makes excellent points, but elected to the position in 1988, then sibility for helping others came at an headlock move that turned the tables they'reprobablybeyond the attention again in 1992 and 1996. In December early age. He had to see that his on the bully, and the lesson was ap- span of the kids he's lecturing/' said of 1996, he was appointed to his younger brothers and sisters were parently a lasting one.