Sports > November 1, 2007

By Jae Haley | Managing editor

The men’s basketball team’s motto this season is “One team, one fight,” but at the annual Black and Gold Scrimmage Oct. 27, team unity seemed to have been discarded—at least temporarily.

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Sophomore L.D. Williams plays defense for the Gold team. (Roger Kirkpatrick/Old Gold & Black)

Each team at the scrimmage played with an intensity and emotion usually reserved for the heated rivalry games against Duke or UNC. The capacity audience of about 1,200 could easily feel both teams’ energy in the crammed quarters of Reynolds Gymnasium and were witness to the versatility of this year’s team, significantly greater than in the past few years.

Because of the limited space, many people had to be turned away, denied the chance of not only seeing this year’s team, but the highly regarded freshman class of James Johnson, Gary Clark and Jeff Teague, all of whom are expected to make significant and immediate contributions to the team.

Johnson in particular made sure to not disappoint in his quasi-debut, scoring 16 points on the night, second only to sophomore L.D. Williams who had 18.

In the first of the two scrimmages, Johnson and Williams teamed up to lead the Gold team to a 33-23 victory. They were accompanied by sophomores Ishmael Smith and Jamie Skeen and junior Harvey Hale.

Williams went 3-6 and 3-4 from three-point range in the first game. He finished with nine points while Hale and Johnson finished with seven. Smith led the Gold team in assists with five.

Representing the Black team in the first scrimmage were Clark, Teague, redshirt sophomore David Weaver, sophomore Chas McFarland and redshirt junior Cameron Stanley. McFarland and Teague led the Black team in scoring with five points apiece, while Stanley grabbed four rebounds.

The second scrimmage proved to be more exciting both in terms of line-ups and actual game play. The Black team was led by Hale at the point, a role he filled his freshman year in order to free up then-senior Justin Gray for his natural position of shooting guard. Clark was in the two position and the 6’8” Skeen filled the five.

Skeen was particularly effective in the paint for Black, shooting 4-6, grabbing three rebounds and scoring a total of 10 points to lead the team. Skeen finished the day with 14 total points.

The coaches’ faith in Skeen’s ability to play at center is just one example of the team’s versatility and potential for creating match-up problems for other teams.

In addition to Skeen, Johnson, Weaver and McFarland played at center at one point during the scrimmage.

Teague, Smith and Hale each took a turn at the point guard role, and Williams, Skeen, Hale and Teague all displayed their shooting abilities.

Johnson’s versatility alone, created by his height and presence in the paint combined with his three-point shooting, make him a particularly dangerous threat for the other team’s defense.

Hale showed off his own talents at shooting for the Black team, going 3-4 for field goals including his trademark mid-range jumper.

He also went 2-3 from three, contributing to his eight total points. For the day, Hale totaled 15 points and shot 50 percent from behind the arc.

Despite good offensive production from Hale and Skeen, Gold again prevailed in the second scrimmage, 35-30.

The Gold boasted the interesting lineup of Smith at point guard, Teague at shooting guard, Weaver at center and Williams and Johnson at the three and four, respectively. Many fans have speculated Head Coach Dino Gaudio will often employ the guard tandem of Smith and Teague to play at a quick tempo, as both are listed as true point guards.

The Gold team, coached by Gaudio, made a few substitutions later in the game in favor of a larger lineup: Johnson, McFarland, Weaver and Williams played with Teague leading at the point. Teague benefited from assuming the one position, ending with 11 points on 4-5 shooting.

Gaudio spoke briefly upon the conclusion of the scrimmage, asking those in attendance to come out again for the first game of the season against Fairfield when a special ceremony will be held to honor the late Head Coach Skip Prosser.

Before the Fairfield game the team will play one more scrimmage 7 p.m. Nov. 5 against Mars Hill at home.