GDS and Page RULE Day Three of the Pizza Hut Little Four/Jim Modlin’s NFL “N” Sider Picks

The Bengal boys made it 2 in a row and Debbie Jones of Page got her first(PHLFI) title as a head coach when Thursday’s championship games were over at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.(PHLFI =’s Pizza Hut Little Four Invitational)

Greensboro Day was down 10 at the end of the third quarter but the Bengals came back and bested the Dudley Panthers 68-63 with Bruce Woodall on fire from three point range and Johnny Thomas, Brandon Davis, and Josh Lanham all having big finishes for GDS. 

The big question before the game was, “who will it be on Day Three JC or JT?”  It turned out to be KB.  Dudley’s Kenny Belton was a major force on the inside scoring 31 points and the Day School started with man-to-man against Dudley but then mixed in a zone defense that kept the Panthers guessing.  GDS continued to keep an eye on Josh Chavis but he never really hurt the Bengals.  JC did make several key passes inside to KB, but in the 4th and final quarter it was all Greensboro Day School.  Johnny Thomas was named the boy’s MVP and the N.C. State signee told AM 950 sports radio after the game that he was very happy to leave the Special Events Center with his second Little Four Championship trophy.

JT gave much of the credit to his teammates saying that Josh Lanham came up huge at the end of the game and that Bruce Woodall gave GDS a big lift with those 3 point baskets and that Brandon Davis sacrificed self for team success.  Coach Freddy Johnson was hit with a technical foul in the second half and that might have fired up his team and it surely got the ref’s attention.

Coach Johnson tied Dudley’s David Price and former Page coach Mac Morris for most tournament titles with 7 and I would think that DP on Day Three was glad to get another trophy but he would like to have grabbed his eighth championship crown instead of the second place hardware.

Travis Leonard, Josh Hicks, Kevin Holland, Ryan Carty, and Christian Pulliam were other key contributors for GDS, while Marcus Heath hit 4 three’s and Mike Coger added inside help for Dudley.

On Day Three what about the Big “P”-AGE?  The Lady Pirates came out on fire and never looked back as they de-throned the young ladies from Dudley.  Bijon Fonville hit back-to- back three pointers to start the game and it was all Page from that time on.  The Pirates led by 9, 38-29 at the half and went on to win the first Little Four title for coach Jones with a 72-60 final, Page the victors over Dudley.

Jasmine Gill, the Pirate junior was very steady throughout the tournament earning MVP honors.  Gill had 20 points on Thursday night to pace the Pirates while Mercedes Humphries kicked in 13, Alexa Neal 10, Fonville 9, Nini Whitaker 7, Brittany Banks 7, and Destiny Carden 6.  The Pirates had balanced scoring backing up Gill and Dudley was frustrated by the Pirates all night long.

Sierra Little the 6’4 Dudley center never really got going and ended up with 15 points and joined fellow Panther Helen Terry on the All-Tournament team.  Neal and Fonville from Page with MVP Gill and Trumae Lucas of Grimsley helped round out the honor squad.  Great job by the up-start Pirates coming in as the #3 seed and knocking off #2 Grimsley and #1 Dudley on consecutive nights. 

Other results from Thursday included girls NEG 49-GDS 37, SWG 40-Smith 38, Grimsley 55-NWG 39……Final girls rundown:1)PAGE, 2)DUDLEY, 3)GRIMSLEY, 4)NWG, 5)SWG, 6)SMITH, 7)NEG, 8)GDS

Boys results from Thursday:NWG 56-Smith 51, Grimsley 60-Page 52 in Overtime, NEG 59-SWG 46…..Final boys rundown:1)GDS, 2)DUDLEY, 3)NEG, 4)SWG, 5)GRIMSLEY, 6)PAGE, 7)NWG, 8)SMITH           Interesting notes for the girls Page seeded third finishes first, for the boys NEG seeded fifth finishes third, Grimsley seeded seventh finishes fifth, SWG seeded sixth finishes fourth, and Smith seeded third finishes eighth……..

Good to see Jeff Carlton and Kellie Dixon working together for the News and Record covering the games. Jeff on the boys Thursday and Kellie on the girls(KD Special to the N&R).  Thanks to Demp Bradford, Sports Event Manager for the Greensboro Sports Commission for his help throughout the Tournament and to Tom Palumbo, the Guilford College Quakers hoops coach, who was a guest with Jim Modlin and AD on WPET Thursday night.

Big Jim Modlin’s NFL Picks for the last week of the regular season.  Saturday:SKINS over Giants, Sunday:DALLAS over Detroit, JETS beat Oakland, VIKINGS past Rams, TEXANS take Browns, SAINTS sink Panthers, TENN. tackles New England, SEATTLE slews T. Bay. CINNCY seals it vs. Steelers, KC tops Jags., RAVENS ravage Bills, COLTS maul Miami, CHARGERS chase away Arizona, EAGLES eat up Atlanta, DENVER does in San Fran., and the BEARS break Brett and the Packers…….Picks from Big Jim at the Fitness Today Gym on Randleman Road and details provided by ANDY D.  (Last week:Bobby Lashley 6-7, Marshall Brown 6-7, Andy 6-7, Big Jim 5-8)    

8 thoughts on “GDS and Page RULE Day Three of the Pizza Hut Little Four/Jim Modlin’s NFL “N” Sider Picks

  1. Redskins, Cowboys, Jets, Rams, Texans, Panthers, Patriots, Seahawks, Bengals, KC, Baltimore, Colts, SD, Philly, Denver, Chicago

  2. When is someone going to expose the fact that Greensboro Day has kids playing who are in their fifth year of high school? Do you think Dudley would have had a better chance if William Graves was still playing? How does GDS get away with having Johnny Thomas, an ACC player, playing his fifth year of high school ball when he should be a freshman at NC State? They have several other five year players. What a huge advantage that is over regular high schools.

  3. Coach Freddy Johnson is one of thne best recruiters in NC, Roy Williams has nothing on this man when it comes to recruiting, how GS.COM can support these guys without even mentioning about what WHY said I will never know, Andy we need some answers, at least all of the other schools in Greensboro and High Point do things the right way.

  4. GDS is not a member of the NCHSAA – they operate under different rules in the “Independent” category of schools. They aren’t doing anything wrong – what’s questionable is the Greensboro Sports Council inviting them to play in the tournament when the “playing field” is not level.

  5. NFL Picks:Wash., Dallas, Jets, Rams, Texans, NO, NE, Seattle, CINNCY, KC, Baltimore, INDY, SD, PHILLY, Denver, Chicago.

    The players come to GDS because they want to play for coach Freddy Johnson. Josh Lanham was wasting away at WG, Travis Leonard was on a .500 team at Grimsley, JT has become a bettter player at GDS. These kids want to play for a winner and improve their game.  Coach Johnson is one of the best if not the best coach around here.  Dudley was up 10 points with one quarter to play in the Little Four final. With the proper attack Dudley should have been able to add to that lead and win the game. For Dudley Kenny Belton is here from Salem, VA and has been living with William Graves grandmother, JB Beloved was at GDS and left for Grimsley. Ishmael Hinson was at Grimsley and Smith before he left for Northeast Guilford. High Point Central has 2 WG kids on their team. Sam Grooms left NEG along with with another Ram and they are in Danville, Virginia at a private school where they offer the extra year of eligibility and don’t focus on academics. Shammar Bowden left Grimsley to go to a prep school up in Charlottesville, Virginia. We’ll get more into this next week. Very Good Comments……

  6. Andy,
    All those kids moved all over the place. That doesn’t address the advantage GDS has using fifth year players. They should win the Little Four every year always playing two or three college freshmen against high school kids. Coach Johnson does a great job but he has a huge advantage with kids who have more experience than at regular high schools. On another note, every team in Greensboro who had GDS’s regular season schedule would have a winning record. It is a lot tougher when you play a 4A or 3A team every game than when you mix in a good team every now and then.

  7. Coach thanks for setting everything straight about this not being a level playing field, Why you also make a very good point about the college freshmen and also the schedule GDS plays or lack of one, I think if GS.COM keeps GDS #1 in there poll there should be an asterisk beside there name because the playing field is not level.

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