Just Asking?

I read the article in Sunday’s News and Record, in fact I read it on-line and I am not trying to open a new can of worms, but one line caught my attention.

This was the part where Mr. Lawson said that the Guilford County Schools officials asked him questions about the Northern Guilford basketball team, of which his son Jacob is a member. That would seem to fit.

The part that caught me off-guard, to use a basketball/football term;(he plays the off-guard position or he ran the ball off-guard) was the part where it said the Guilford County Schools officials asked Mr. Lawson what he knew about the football team and the baseball team.(The gentleman is the head custodian.)

I found that a little bit odd and it didn’t make sense to me. Did anyone else see that the same way or am I just taking this a little bit too far? Just curious…..

That’s all for today!

40 thoughts on “Just Asking?

  1. Willing to bet that was why they were upset with him, and continued to question him for so long. Not that he didn’t give them the info that they wanted, but that he COULDN’T! How would he know where all those kids live? County had their noses down the wrong hole and are now going to have to pay for their stupidity.

  2. Andy, this witch hunt has gone too far. If they find nothing which I expect, I would hate to have 350 angry parents after me and a lot of them with deep pockets. Yow!!!!

  3. The basketball team has what has attracted all the attention however I keep hearing most of the questions are elsewhere.

  4. I know all this stuff about resigning/quiting is very interesting, but..isn’t North Carolina a state in which anyone, unless you’re union, can be fired for no reason what so ever? It seems to me as if the county were going to let him bow out gracfully, if he lives across the street from the school then player/student is legally allowed to attend NG. I know in this economy being unemployed must be scary as hell but any of those invoved in this nightmare couldn’t think that this wasn’t going to come back and bite them in the butt at some point. Mr. Lawsons’ son will get a DI scholarship and that is what the parents wanted for thier kid from day one? Mission acomplished?
    All this is just the tip of a HUGE iceburg. NG will not be the only ones affected. This will change High School sports for the ENTIRE county!

  5. NC is a right to work state. As long as you do not discriminate or violate guidelines you can let somebody go.

  6. is this the same ******* ******** that’s a Grier flunkey? She should get her arce fired for interrogating someone for 5 hours. had i been Mr. Lawson I would have told them to kiss my behind, and see them in court. where do they get off acting like the freaking KGB. get the Grier flunkeys out of here.

    late

  7. it really does seem that they are picking on Northern because they are winning – but the way GCS works is they cater to whoever screams the loudest. So obviously some parents at Northern complained because their son is not in the mix due to transfers? The problem is all schools that win have this going on, and most that lose do also. It must drive the Northern people crazy that they are getting all this attention then in the case of baseball – there is kid at Ragsdale who is one of the best pitchers in the nation – probably will get drafted, he moved into an apt last year – rumor is he lives by himself to attend Ragsdale – he was at West Forsyth and his parents still have a residence in that area, and no one complains about him. Barring a major upset Ragsdale will win the state championship with this player pitching every other game and no one complains about him. I think GCS should get out of the sports business, eliminate them, they dont care about sports, they only respond when there are complaints.

  8. Joe,

    “right to work” simply means that an employee is not obligated to joining a union or paying memberships dues to a union upon being hired. 22 states have this in place. I think what you meant is “at will employment” which states that either the employee or employer can end the working relationship at anytime with or without cause. Every state in the “Union” is an at will state except Montana.

  9. You can bet your bottom dollar that will be reported today. That is no less than the 3rd Ragsdale player in the last 7 years with similar situations. They, at one time, had a line from AAU baseball through a parent who still has one son either coming through or in the Ragsdale program. This included employment for a father whose son played for a competing AAU organization and was quite a play.
    Jack I.
    PS. They will not win the state championship even though I have the utmost respect for the baseball coach and the type of person he is. For some reason, they always “choke” in the big games!

  10. No Dog, wanted to share all the facts with you on the pitcher at Ragsdale. His parents are divorced. The son lives with the Dad. The Dad has a residence in Jamestown. The oldest son plays at UNC-G and lives with his Dad in the summers. Not trying to throw it back at you but I thought you might not know all the facts. Situation was reviewed through the county office when the Dad relocated and kid moved with him.

    As to picking on Northern, some of you may want to do some digging on the details of Coach K’s departure from HP Central.

    Jack I, the parent you refer to does not have a kid at Ragsdale. Hasn’t for many years. But that’s a good story.

  11. No Dog…not all schools that win are doing “this” as you state. NW Guilford’s baseball team has been strong the last few years (55 wins in the last three years and counting) without bringing in outside players. In fact, the program has lost a number of good players (Logan Self, Matt Nettesheim, The Wells brothers, etc.) to other schools and NW still keeps winning with players from their feeder schools…NW Middle and Kernodle. I think this speaks of two things…the administration and coaching staff’s committment to running a good program and the strength of the youth baseball programs that dot the area around NW. So, it is possible to win without having to resort to the things that Northern has been accused of doing.

  12. Northwest has sveral good rec baseball programs that feed the area, Summerfield, Colfax, Oak Ridge. To Dweebs point, good rec programs get kids started and many end up feeding high schools, including Ragsdale. The Ragsdale kids grew up playing together in Jamestown Youth League and travel ball. Look at each one.
    Srs.
    Coffey, JYL and travel
    Walters, JYL and travel
    Bright, JYL and travel
    McBride, travel ball, Angels and Impact with Ragsdale kids.
    Jones, JYL and travel
    Brandenburg, JYL and travel
    Andrejco, JYL and travel
    Desjardins, JYL

    Jrs.
    Stone, JYL and travel
    Anderson, JYL and travel
    Sparks, JYL and travel
    Whited, JYL and travel
    Hixson, JYL and travel
    Fultz, JYL and travel
    Jones, Asheboro rec program. Moved to Guilford County with his mother when he was in the 8th grade.

    Soph.
    Hodges, JYL and travel

    These boys grew up playing baseball together. They have won a bunch of games together in their lifetime.

  13. The big difference schools get occasional transfers…probably too many but they are sprinkled about.

    This NG coach has won almost no games in his entire career in a natural HS environment. His best players have been almost entirely imports. I think he won 4 games his 1st year at Bishop Mcguines. Then his entire roster seemed to be from out of state or country. I remember a rivals article that said they had 6 division 1 players after 1 awful season.
    Same at HP. Same at NG almost all good players were transfers.

    I guess we will find out if rules were broken. but it’s premature to say this guy can coach at all. I think part of the problem lies in the fact that he did not establish himself in the traditional manner. When coaches establish themselves over time and then kids find their way to that school it makes sense. Not saying it’s legal but red flags don’t just fly up. In this case a guy coached one poor team than had a roster full of college players. Legal or illegal suspicions will be raise when a coach with no accomplishments attracts elite players.

  14. Rumor has it that a football player from Page just enrolled here at Northern. Is there any truth to it and who would do that with all of this mess going on?

  15. My dearest Jonny,

    No accomplishments? Are you kidding? The list is too long for me to do tonight. I’ll catch you tomorrow.

  16. Yes he enrolled today. To answer your other question. Lets ask our AD why would a high profile athlete leave there program. Hey Rusty Lee why did the player leave page? Do your coaches have mandatory study halls, does your school not start players if the have a grade below a D? Let me rephrase the question. Can your Basketball coach allow a player to make the team without trying out even if they are academically ineligible? How can a player make the team if they can’t participate in tryouts? Does any coach call parents and informed them about their kid grades? Did Coach G bad mouth the player to college coaches? Did page’s principal allow this to go on. There could be so many rumors out there, but everyone will say he was recruited. Rumor its not all about winning, its about caring for the kids, and its not at Page. But who cares one kid can not make or break a football team. What about the kids that stay? By complaining are you saying you can’t win without this player, thats a great confidence boost to current players. Andy ask your readers to support the players that are there, after all its non professional sport its just for fun and sportsmanship right. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !

  17. rumor is true,

    Your comments are stupid. I just thought that I would tell you that. Obviously, you have no clue. Meantime, AND TRUST ME ON THIS ONE, the rest of the players at Page are glad he is gone. This is a guarantee. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. You are right when you say that one person don’t make the team, because when he was suspended two games for fighting on the football field at RJ Reynolds, well, Page won those contests. When he didn’t play the final five games of the season, well, Page won four of five, and the lone loss wasn’t because of the defense. Page just happened to face a team that was better than them, and that team eventually won the state championship. My son will continue to play for Page and they will continue to win without this fellow. I assure you of that.

    Showing up late for practice, disrespecting teammates, well, who needs that on a team. You forget that parents have kids who still play for Page and tell us the real scenario, so your hatred for Page and your love for this player is asinine. Again, no one at Page will really care and Northern can now have the headache. Plus, this wasn’t real smart to begin with, because this player will take someone’s place at Defensive End, so there is going to be some irate parents at Northern for this move.

    By the way, I’d bet my life on it that you are probably the same individual who recruits players by bad mouthing other coaches from other schools. If you aren’t this person, then it was no secret there was already a coach from Northern who was talking (recruiting) this player before he even left Page. Remember the Proehlific Park Combine? Well, I’m sure that coach from Northern does, and I’m sure he WOULDN’T be honest to tell you that he was already talking to this player before the transfer. So, don’t be sending out smoke screens by bad mouthing Page. The focal point is on the coaches from Northern, especially one of their football coaches. Ala, the Proehlific Park Combine. HA HA HA HA HA…Also, if there were parents from Northern who were really in denial, then this should be more evidence to the them that something fishy is IN FACT going on. And if they still don’t get it, then I really don’t know how stupid they can really be.

  18. This particular player is at his 3rd school in three years, hmmmmm I guess every school he will go to the coaches will be idiots. Another question is it really bad mouthing if it is true. Why would anybody risk their reputation by telling a lie to a college coach.

  19. Page is glad to see that kid leave. Not always coming to practice, showing up late and fighting. Sounds like a great teammate. Maybe Coach G did not downplay him. Maybe he just told the truth. The Page coach is not by himself. While the kid will get plenty of offers, he has had at least pulled from him. Not everyone wants that baggage.

  20. I will stick to my story,the guy has never coached a team with just the schools players,he has only won with transfers,never with the regular students already enrolled at the school. Really it is no debate it’s fact. Without the B Mac kids and Frye HPC is not near as good,NG no way without Lawson, Mcain and Frye. John Wooden would not have won at NG without the transfers,he had a losing record at BM so thats not really part of my argument.

    really I am not haten but I think thats why you see the heat about it. He might be a great coach I think thats not yet proven.

  21. There is one reason and one reason only for all the shenanigans that are going on and go on around the area. Too many travel opportunities, i.e AAU basketball, Prep Stars Baseball, websites that rank kids when they are 6 months old, it is a joke people! Also too much specialization, parents your kids will get burnt out! I graduated high school in 1995 and no one ever committed to a college program before their senior year. You got 2011 commit to USC, for example, BOGUS! Give me a break! By the way, the college coaches aren’t off the hook either, if they are offering these kids they obviously have no idea how these kids will develop over their next few years of playing. As for those who argue, well they play so much more than kids used and that they are more developed! Wrong Answer! So with all this being said, you now have a school in Guilford County now being investigated for recruiting kids. There is one variable that stays the same throughout this entire situation, the ADULTS that are involved! Kids are not pawns people, stop looking at the dollar signs and start looking at futures. Did you know that 3% of all high school baseball players will have an opportunity to play college baseball? And from that 3%, about 0.5% have a chance to play professional baseball! Not the show people, but in the Northwest League in Eugene Oregon, or the Sally League in Greensboro, NC! Very unlikely your kid will ever make it to Yankee Stadium! Get a life people and concentrate on education. That is where true opportunity is!

  22. I agree with baseball fan. This problem goes away if mature adults(parents) make rational decisions. You can blame all of the coaches and administrators you want, but the problem really exists because of over zealous parents. 99% of the recruiting for basketball and baseball are done via the AAU type leagues so does it really matter (from a sports perspective) what high school you go to?

  23. Hey i’m not sure what is going on with this kid or page. Here is a fact for you. The young man has 29 offers to play major college football. Let’s look at the numbers he has over 6.3 million dollars in offers. 29 college coaches didn’t care about the track record. If he was that bad at page who are their mentors. In 5 years this kid will be in the NFL making Millions. so what difference does my opinion makes. NONE.

  24. no one ever said the kid couldn’t play football. Just that he cause a lot of internal problems. Besides, if he has 29 offers from playing at Page are they really doing bad over there? You think he is the first big time football recruit to have once played at Page? The coaches must have done something for him, considering they are the ones with all the game film. Do your research. Someone has filled the young man’s head with lies so they can get him to fulfill their own agenda, ie playing for their team. This isn’t a new trend it has been going on for awhile.

  25. A couple of years ago, H, P. Central hired a new basketball coach,,, I believe he came from Bishop.

    At the same time in High Point, the “Choice Plan” was in affect, which actually limited local students as to where they could attend school.

    If I’m not mistaken, this new coach at H. P. Central was accompanied by a player from Bishop, who lived in Greensboro, maybe in the Western Guilford distict.

    I had heard that the student went to Central for the ” IB” Program.

    Why did this student not attend an IB Program at Grimsley or Smith, probably closer to home,,,,,, while other students in H.P. were fighting to attend the school across the street from their home ?

    A few questions maybe someone could answer:

    Who was the Basketball Coach referred to above ?

    Who was the A.D. at H. P. Central at that time ?

    Was The Principal that recently resigned at Northern ever an administrator at a H.P. school ?

  26. Really,

    Here is a fact for you, the millions of dollars that you refer to mean little to nothing at all. Here is my point. You see there is a bum at Wal-Mart that I give 25 cents to whenever he sees me and asks for it. Do you know how many people COULD give this bum money? Well, the amount of money that everyone COULD give is worth about the same amount in college scholarship offers that this player could get. However (no offense to this bum), after I give him the 25 cents, do you know what this man is still going to be after I give the money to him? He is still going to be a bum. Same scenario with this player. He’ll act the same way, he’ll put himself before his team mates and think that everyone should bow down to him. You see, your envisions of him playing in the NFL is quite erroneous when this player won’t even make it past the first year in college.

    Again, no one will care that this player goes to Northern. He’ll disrupt the Northern team over there just like Terrell Owens does everywhere he goes. You probably won’t even hear Page complain about this transfer. But this is just more proof that something is going on.

  27. Ummmm,

    Here’s a thought: why in the world would a kid be trying to transfer into a school whose athletic program is currently going through an investigation?? GCS education at its finest…….Wake County Schools are TOPS!

  28. What can Nothern do for this kid? As REALY posted he has 29 +/- scholarship offers! I don’t know this kid so I cannot speak about him personally but what I can speak is that once you get to college everyone was “ALL Something” in high school and often your attitude and mental toughness is what keeps you on the field when everyone else is just as highly regarded as you are as far as talent.

  29. The AD @ the time @ HPC was Force, ex Northern AD, while Stan was Basketball coach. I believe, could be wrong, ex Northern pricipal was at HPC in some role. I don’t think this is all just a freak simularity… Frye was at 3 schools in 3 years also. And YES, he was at team camp with Ragsdale before transfering to Northern.

  30. Frye never took a class at Ragsdale. He worked out with them for a couple of weeks in the summer between his first year at HP Central and his soph. year at Northern. He left HPC. I guess he got bored with the culinary program at HPC.

    As to some earlier comments on parents being overzealous, there is definitely some of that. But how can you blame parents when college coaches are offering scholarships to 2011 kids? Kids that are freshmen and sophmores in high school are getting offers. It’s crazy but please tell me how that is the parents fault?

    Like it or not the landscape has changed in recruiting. It sucks but it has changed and a parent is not going to change it.

  31. But correct me if I am wrong, the parents have a say in whether or not a college coach gets to a kid that early! Just a thought!

  32. Mist coaches at northern know how to mentor Kids. This is not Page. We care more about the kids than winning, and because we do they win because they know we care. Stud is not a bad kid, he had coaches that can’t mentor. They are teachers and role models first. Maybe not Charles Barkley, “I am not your role model, I,m your coach as long as you don’t make any mistakes”. Where is the same punishment for Page coaches that done wrong. Any of them get suspended.

  33. Please explain baseballfan. I don’t follow your point. Do you throw away mail the kid receives? When they come to the kids games do you tell the coach to stay away? When he calls the kids HS coach do you tell the HS/AAU/Showcase coach to not speak with the college scout? How do you keep the coach away from the kid? Assuming you would ever want to do that.

    Coaches do mentor but the kid has to make some effort.

  34. The biggest part of the problem is that a high percentage of parents of these kids have never played or did not play sports at a high level. They didn’t follow or play the game their kids are now “special” at. Because being a teacher I see firsthand daily how parents live vicariously through their children. They get excited, see the dollar signs I mentioned earlier when realistically if they followed their childs sport they would know the likelihood of them being truly special is slim to none. Developmentally, their is a natural psychology to a kid. When he is a 14 or 15 year old freshman or sophomore in high school there is NO way to be able to tell if he/she could compete against college/pro level talent. There is just no way to tell. Projection is a load of crap. The kids perform against their own level and in no way should a college coach evaluate or project this early that a kid could play at that level. There is one specific instance in mind in the area, but I won’t go there because the kid is a good kid and doesn’t deserve the flack for being pawned early and then having a college coach say, “yeah well, on second thought!”

  35. you are wrong mist,

    I guess its always someone else’s fault. Typical American society and your mentality. Shoot, we will just blame it on someone else.

    Here is the mentality: I will not hold myself accountable for fighting on the field at RJ Reynolds (coach’s fault), I will not hold myself accountable for not showing up to practice or being late the majority of the time (coach’s fault), I will not hold myself accountable for not being a good teammate (coach’s fault). To be honest with you, I would like to see all kids succeed, but I would imagine that somewhere in this kid’s young life he didn’t get what he needed growing up and decided to act like he has. So, you say that the Northern coaches are so great and better than the rest, well, I hope that is true in this case and for this kid. Every kid deserves a chance to be something special as long as they work hard to go get it, and I think you will be mistakened when you finally realize that working hard is probably not the case here when the thinking is probably that things should be handed to him. What is messed up is how you bad mouth all other coaches in the whole county and at all schools by telling these players this just to recruit them to your school. Again, here is more evidence of recruiting and how you tell kids these things to make other coaches look bad to make yourselves look good. I promise you this, You and Your school will reap what you sow. It will come back on you. GUARANTEED!

    Also, why haven’t you spoken to these other terrible coaches? You bad mouth them like you know them, which I know you don’t, because if you did you would probably find out that these coaches are good guys. Maybe then you would be a little more understanding; however, I doubt you would take your time to do this, because I know that you have your own agenda and continuing this path will soon lead you to trouble. GUARANTEED!

  36. To You are wrong Mist – and can’t write or spell either.

    Too bad all those great mentoring coaches are about to be released (as in not rehired) because they mentored so many athletes over to NG from other schools. Teaching kids to lie and cheat is not mentoring.

    The greatest post on this board was the person suggesting the Nighthawks change their name to the Cheetas.

  37. Baseballfan, you raise some good points. Some parents do live some through their kids. Some simply take a much stronger interest in their kids than others. Most parents that get involved in sports that have a child that plays at an advanced level understand the numbers and the probablity being slim that a child will ever play for money. In fact the odds of playing beyond high school are extremely long. But playing sports can teach a lot more than just pursuing dollars or a scholarship. teamwork, work ethic, commitment, as well as just making some great friends and having fun. Almost every parent realizes there is much more scholarship money available for academic achievment than sports achievment. But don’t fault a kid for pursuing a dream, or a parent for trying to help them achieve it. Some kids and parents realize that sports may actually help the child get an education that they may not have been available to them on academic achievement alone.

    You make an excellent point about scouts pursuing 14-15 year olds. When scouts refer to projection it is with a focus on the physical aspect and not the mental. You take a 15 year old that throws it 85, or runs a 4.6 forty, or averages 25 points/game and has a 30″ vertical, , that kid projects to have potential. And the kids do play against kids of their own age but who do you suggest they compete against? Time will tell how he or she matures. Most everyone feels it is too young but I just don’t see where that is the parents fault. Everyone wishes recruiting did not start so young but the parents or kids don’t make the rules. The schools are simply trying to get a leg up on a kid at an early age and get on the kids they feel have potential. Trust me, I bet if you polled parents most would say they wished it did not start so young. It’s tough on the parents and the kids.

  38. To Uh

    You are exactly right. That is what is wrong with our society and if we don’t do something soon this country is gonna be in a world of hurt when these kids that can’t and won’t take responsibility for their actions grow up.

    We can see it already in gov’t that these crooks don’t take responsibility.

    Unfortunately it is the parents fault for these kids being idiots becuase thay never handed them their but as kids and forced them to grow up and feel priveliged and know there are no repurcussions for their actions.

    Remember the grass is always greener on the other side but sometimes it is because there is a septic tank.

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