|
Cokely Clash 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
Ryan
Stegall
|
Click on the Player's Name for a short bio on where they have been since 1998 |
Who Says "You Can Never Go Back" ?
On April 15, 2005 a group of eight basketball players took the city of Liberty back to
Hearnes Center in March of 1998. When the undefeated team of McKay, Street, McClelland, Rowan, Rouse, Fleming, Stegall and Robinson took the court, victory was a forgone conclusion. The fact that they scored 111 points against a team of talented All-Stars was less important than the joy they showed while being together again. It looked as if they had never been apart and the fans just wanted to sit back and savor the feeling. Whether part of the capacity crowd at Cokely Field House or watching from home, fans were given all they could have hoped for.
Festivities began with a heart rendering performance of The Star Spangled Banner by the South Valley Middle School Show Choir directed by Lori Patterson. Their singing set the stage for the opening toss by Liberty's number one fan, Foster Sires. Foster had plans of his own when he tossed the ball to Stacey McAlexander who fired the ball to Chad Fleming who dunked the ball for a short-lived challenger lead.
The first shot taken by the champions was a three pointer from downtown by Nick Robinson. When the ball swished through the net, Robinson raised his arms in the air and it was obvious we were in for 40 minutes of fun. The champions built leads of up to 20 points, sometimes while playing against six players, and whenever they did they had some fun with alley oop passes and passes off the backboard for dunk attempts. While not every attempt was successful, they all brought smiles to the faces of players and fans.
They showed seven years apart and no time for a single practice were unimportant. They immediately gelled as a team and as friends. Every champion shot "lights out" with three point shots falling like lay-ups.
The Liberty School District Foundation thanked each of the champions and challengers for making this event special. While the foundation raised over 30,000 dollars and more than doubled the prior year's telethon income, the important outcome was another demonstration of the quality of people our schools and community produce.
|
|
Caricature of Players at top of page was done by Liberty artist, Eileen McCoy