The Bulldogs began the season with a rout of the defending 4A champion Largo Lions, 82-60, then held off the nationally ranked #8 Poets, 72-71, after coming back from 10 points down late in the third quarter, all without Williams, who was ejected with two technical fouls. Williams led the Lakers to a 278-93 record in his 16 seasons with them, and walked away with MSA A and city league titles, all while leaving a formidable core for Moore the following season, with rising senior McNeil, and the three rising juniors in Harlee, Lucas, and Melvin. The Poets had been the top ranked public school team in the area for ten straight seasons from 77-86, but in Woody Williams final season, thered be a plot twist. Junior Zach Blackwell paced the Clippers with 16 points in the city championship game. The Lakers faced Digital Harbor in the city title game, and the Lakers routed the Rams, 69-30, hanging the 39 point win with the 27 point regular season win over the state champion Knights, and the 19 point win over the 22-win, 4A regional champion Warriors. Over seven seasons, from 77 through 83, Wade led the Poets to a 174-10 record, boasting undefeated records in 79, 82, and 83. We will destroy teams, lamented point guard Muggsy Bogues, on the prospects of the Poets on the eve of the season. Gray added 16 points and 6 rebounds. Over the holidays, the Poets would travel to compete in the 44th annual Cambria War Memorial Tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, playing one of the best from Cleveland, and one of the best from the Bronx. The Lakers downed #2 Southern for a fourth time in the city league semifinals, with a 89-85 win that appeared much closer than it was. The 7-foot-4 center was the most dominant force in college basketball this past season, averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game on 61% shooting from the floor. In the semifinal, the Lakers handled nationally ranked Eastern, 73-56, as Ernie Graham scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to put away the nationally 10th ranked Ramblers. Williams was named Mr USA Basketball, and selected to the Parade All-American and McDonalds All-American teams. Murray scored 37 points in a Ascenders win at the Sunshine Prep Showcase in December; Ali is currently averaging 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, in 24.3 minutes per game at Howard University in an abbreviated (COVID related team) freshman campaign. Because the Poets competed in the MSA Conference and not the MPSSAA, tournament officials had to deny the Poets bid, and cancelled the tournament altogether without the main attraction coming to town. 5 Illinois Advertisement College Sports 3 Big Ten teams sit in the top 5 of the. The Poets hung tough with the Speedboys through one half, going into intermission trailing the top team in the country by just four points. Joining Scott up front was 66 senior Bryan Carver, while junior guards Dwayne Wood and Kevin Bush were ready to run the show. Through six games in the 2020-21 season, Price is averaging 7.2 points per game, and shooting 55.6% from the floor; Through 2020, Martin has recorded a 249-110 record in 14 seasons at Patterson, leading the Clippers to six regional titles, three city league titles, and three state championships 12, 17, and 19; Mungo scored a season-high 17 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out three assists in a 106-102 double-overtime loss to California PA; Willis is playing at Genessee Community College in Batavia, New York, and is averaging 11.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, per game; 2019 was the fourth season where the Baltimore City League placed three state champions in the same season, and the second time in two years. Bright led the Poets with 20 points. The Poets beat Northern, who finished in second place behind the Poets in the MSA A Division I, twice, by 25 and 46 points. Alexander finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and four assists. With no city title game, no Dunbar showdown, the Lakers put their focus on winning the 4A state title, a title Southern had won in 94. Williams scored 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, Bogues dished out 12 assists, Dawson scored 17 points, Brown, 16, and James, 14. To add, the Ducks topped a pair of Philly teams at the Mayors Academy, including a 70-62 victory over the legendary Overbrook Panthers program, Smith scored 28 points, including 12 in the final stanza. But unlike Lake Clifton the night before, the Poets clawed away at the margin and even took a lead of their own before the Friars pulled out a 68-66 win, handing the Poets their only loss of the season. The Poets had also crushed the top two teams in the other MSA A division, Lake Clifton and Southwestern, by 35 and 64 points, respectively. Alexander led all scorers with 21 points, while Bright added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Brown scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while the freshman Gibson added 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Senior Robert Spert Gray scored 17 points, and 62 center Jerome Banks scored 16 points, hauled in 15 rebounds, and blocked four shots. The Poets routed DC Interhigh contender McKinley Tech, by 23, 74-51. Five days before the second meeting with the Knights, a scathing article about the Poets program was written in the Sun, titled Failure Follows Dunbar Basketball Success, chronicling the hard times and lack of major college exposure for the Poets former stars, save for Petey Harris, who played a season at McNeese State, before moving on to Stephen A. Austin, where he became one of the greatest Lumberjacks in its programs history. The Crusaders, playing without one of their two stars, 69 Rodney Walker, didnt stand a chance, and the Poets built a 61-27 lead after three quarters, before taking a 88-61 victory. After a blizzard pushed back the championship game five days, the Poets struggled with Cambridge South Dorchester in the state final, shooting 2-17 from the field in the second quarter. Wade, who led the Knights to their fourth Final Four in his eighth year over his two stints at City, was named the Suns Coach of the Year. The 91 Poets would play the Friars not once, but twice. Jacob Calvin Meyer/Baltimore Sun/TNS Here s where The. Will Barton led the Lakers with 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Melvin added 17 points, Antonio Barton, 16, and Sharp, 12. Notes; Graham followed the footsteps of former Poets star Larry Gibson to College Park. The prospects of a rematch with the Stags were extinguished. The Yellowjackets made one more run in the final stanza, but the Ducks held on for a 76-72 victory, putting a exclamation mark on an undefeated season. With Bird sidelined by an injury, Lewis averaged 28.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.4 steals per game in the seven game series. Lees off balance potential game-winner missed, and Dunbar lost just its third game in four years. Lee and Terry Dozier were named to the All-Met First Team. Williams, who scored 21 points, and Dawson, who scored 17, were joined on the all-tournament first team by Brown. Lewis was drafted 22nd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1987 NBA Draft, giving the Poets three first round picks in one NBA draft. His sophomore season, Brown averaged 7.7 points per game. Graham shot 18 of 26 from the field. Murray led the scoring with 23 points, while Lewis scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished out four assists. The Sabres were down three points early in the extra session, before getting a bucket, then capitalizing on a pair of Panthers turnovers, before hitting their free throws down the stretch to win their first state title, 81-75. Lewis played six seasons for the Celtics before his tragic death caused by a heart defect in the off-season, less than three months after collapsing on the floor in a game versus the Hornets and his former teammate Muggsy Bogues. 3 82 Dunbar (27-0) Coach Bob Wade > MSA A Champion, City League Champion, #2 in the Sun, #2 in the USA, David Wingate 65 SR; Parade A/A 2nd (Georgetown, NBA), Reggie Russ Williams 67 JR; All-Met 1st (Georgetown, NBA), Muggsy Bogues 53 JR; All-Met 1st (Wake Forest, NBA), Tim Dawson 66 JR; (George Washington/Miami), Keith James 64 SO; (South Carolina/UNLV), The 1980-81 Poets finished 24-3, dallied in the national rankings, and won the Baltimore City Public Schools championship. The Huskies won 102 games in Lewis four years in Boston. Kevin Graham led the Lakers with 24 points. Southwestern had contending teams in the 80s and 90s, but never broke through until 97. Bright recorded 22 points, 8 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and four blocked shots. Bond scored 16 points, going 4-4 from beyond the arc in the final, while George added 15 points and hauled in 15 rebounds, and Stokes, the floor general, added 13 points. It would be another nine years before theyd do it again, in Coach Mike Daniels third season at the Castle on the Hill. After a year at Clemson, Wise made an ill-fated decision to turn pro, and his career ended shortly thereafter; Gibson played four years at Maryland, and averaged in double figures in scoring in each of those four years, while averaging 8.4 rebounds over 101 games. Learn more about supporting local journalism. Elliott scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Wells matched Elliotts team-high 16 points. The Poets blew a four point lead in the final minute of regulation against the Lakers, and a nine point lead in the final 90 seconds of regulation versus Calvert Hall. With The Poets MSA A title in 73, Cain had led the Poets to seven MSA A titles in their first 17 years in the conference. 11 84 Dunrbar (30-2) Coach Bob Wade > MSA A Champion, City League Champion, #1 in the Sun, #2 in the USA, Mike Brown 64 SR; Sun POY; (Syracuse/Clemson), Keith James 65 SR; All-Met 1st (South Carolina/UNLV), Derrick Lewis 63 SR; All-Met 2nd (Northeastern/South Carolina), Herman Harried 67 SR; All-Met 1st (Syracuse), Taurence Chisholm 56 SR; All-Met 2nd (Delaware), Terry Dozier 68 JR; (South Carolina, NBA). Nolan, who had won a state championship with Milford Mill the year before, after scoring 54 points and 25 rebounds in the Millers two wins in College Park, scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win over the Vikings. The Poets had their hands full for 25 minutes, as City held a one point lead with just seconds more than seven minutes to play, before Wise took it to the next level again, scoring 8 points in a 10-2 Poets run pushing a 71-69 lead to a 81-71 margin, deeming the result all but academic. The Ducks featured the best guard in the city in Tyler Smith, the best junior in the city, Gerald Brown, and an unheralded big, one who had never played organized basketball before, finishing the season as the best post in the city in Richard Joey Dorsey. When it was all said and done, the Poets would travel more than 13,000 miles, win seven tournament or national showcases, and win the third mythical national championship in the programs history. Brown scored a team-high 25 points, while Dorsey completed a breakout season with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots. Both the Poets and Vikings moved up a class in 94, to the 2A classification, and were pitted in the same region. Use the "Find my Team" feature to quickly locate your team! Fantasy basketball rankings for the 2023-24 NBA season: Where to draft Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and the rest of your favorite stars in head-to-head . Lloyd added 16 points and five assists, while Booth provided 15 points and 13 rebounds. Heres what you need to know. Lake then put away DC Interhigh power McKinley Tech, 73-56, with Wright scoring 21 points, Brown adding 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Graham tallying 15 points and 13 rebounds. For the season, the Poets averaged 90.5 points per game. Pompey stepped down following his seventh season at Dunbar, and the once longtime Edmondson coach finished with a 155-25 record in his tenure for the Poets, winning a national championship, three MSA A titles, three Baltimore City championships, and a state title in the Poets very first year in the MPSSAA. After pummeling Mt. The Lakers were up by nine points with five minutes to play when the Baltimore County champs rallied to tie it with less than 40 seconds to play. . The Poets and Lakers would meet six days later in the MSA A Conference final, and for a fourth time, the Poets handled the Lakers without a scare, posting a 66-48 win. Both Bright and Lloyd, both juniors, joined Alexander on the All-Met First Team. Notes; McMurray played three seasons at Bacone College in Oklahoma, winning three NAIA regional finals. Will, a highly talented 66 junior, played two years at City College, before reclassifying and playing a year at National Christian. June 26, 2023 Advertisement Baltimore Sun 2023 All-Metro girls outdoor track and field: Overlea's Temi Ariyo named Athlete of the Year June 24, 2023 Doubt has always motivated Spalding graduate. This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. Gaines averaged 16.8 points, 7.8 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game, while the junior Wright led the Lakers in scoring, at 21.7 per clip, adding 5 assists per game. Jordan, frustrated after a disappointing first half, left the locker room at halftime at never returned to the arena. This time, the Engineers held a nine point first half lead, before the Cadets caught fire in the second half, shooting 14-21 from the floor, and handed the Engineers a 62-56 loss. The Poets survived four players fouling out, including Williams, who picked up three fouls in the first three minutes. After coaching at Edmondson for five years, Williams stepped in to start the Lake Clifton football and basketball programs, as well as serving as the Athletic Director. A year after coming four points short of Dunbar from winning their first city title, the Sabres ran the table in 97, going 27-0 and finished with the areas top ranking for the first time in the programs history.