Friendly faces, different places

Flashes from the past…

… Friday, a drop-by from Sam Goodwin, the winningest football coach in NSU history, now the athletic director at his alma mater, Henderson State. Sam was en route to his hometown of Pineville for a reunion of his high school football team; actually, for the 80th birthday celebration of one of the Rebels’ coaches. On Feb. 23 in Little Rock, Sam will be among the 2007 inductees in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, chiefly for his playing career at Henderson State and for his incredible run of five state championships in seven years in the mid 1970s at Little Rock’s Parkview HS.

I was able to tell him a story he didn’t know about those years. When we were driving up on a Friday to play a 1991 game at Arkansas State, we made a pit stop and I bought the Little Rock paper. The sports section’s big story that day was a feature on an undersized offensive lineman for one of the Little Rock high school teams.

The lead paragraph went something like this: “When Sam Goodwin was at Little Rock-Parkview, the Patriots made a living with undersized, overachieving players like Hall High School’s Johnny James.”

The rest of the story, no mention of Sam. That impressed me. Think about it: the sportswriter assumed that if you followed high school football in Arkansas, at all, you automatically KNEW Sam Goodwin and what he had done 15 years earlier at Little Rock-Parkview. That’s just how good he was.

… Nice to see former two-time Demon Academic All-America baseball star Terry Joseph, the 1995 SLC Player of the Year and one of our all-time greats, finally break through into college coaching – in football.

T.J. worked as a graduate assistant coach at LSU this past year after a few seasons in the high school ranks in New Orleans. That proved to be a heck of a springboard. Last week, he was hired at Southeastern. Two days later, former LSU assistant coach and new Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley plucked T.J. away from the Lions. Now Terry’s office will be just down the street from J.C. Love Field, the Bulldogs’ baseball stadium where I am sure he launched a few shots in to the trees behind the short left field fence from 1992-95.

….Last week, it was wonderful to see plenty of Demons on the road at NSU games in Texas. In San Marcos, there was the effervescent John “Lil’ Snack” Smith, who is off to a roaring start in his professional life up I-35 in Austin.

At Arlington, what a thrill it was to reunite with Wayne Waggoner. The sharp-shooting Demon guard in 1980-82 was the best shooter I’ve seen wearing the Purple and White. He averaged 17.6 ppg in his senior year, 1981-82, on a balanced team. He was a NBA Draft pick and made it to the last cut with Dallas.

Wags is married with two cute little boys. He’s in the trucking business and has moved back to the DFW metroplex after several years in Charlotte, N.C. He and coach Mike McConathy are old friends, going back to the friendship their dads, Bernard Waggoner and John McConathy, formed while they were two of the greatest players in Demon history in the late 1940s.

Also at UTA, awesome to reunite with Jill Cantrelle, a former student worker in the athletic administrative offices in the early 1990s. She’s engaged and brought her future hubby to say hello and learn how to cheer for her Demons. She, the former Angela Hennigan, the former Heather Hanners and many others were part of a good-sized group of NSU alums in the stands.

Also there – former Demon guard Brent Shropshire, who was invited by coach McConathy to speak to the team. He played on coach Mike’s first NSU team and was a red-hot scorer down the stretch as the Demons surged to the SLC Tournament finals. He’s back home in the Metroplex.

-- Doug Ireland, SID

You want me, coach?

It was a first for me here in San Antonio as the Lady Demons prepare for their game against UTSA Saturday afternoon.

Prior to Friday evening’s practice, I was informed by assistant coach David Aguilar that my services may be needed during the offensive set drill.

Wanting to be a team player, I politely agreed, thinking I was just going to have to shag balls or something to that effect.

Nope… not this time.

I was put into full-speed action to play defense against Ashli Barnum then Brittaney Isom.

Now basketball is not my cup of tea. I’m the one who will pull a 3-pointer from 40 feet or try, on occasion, uncontested layups. Now ask me to do any ball handling or straight up defensive pressure, you may as well sub in Louis Scolnick from Revenge of the Nerds.

However, I think I held my own. I didn’t allow any buckets, and actually pulled down a couple of rebounds. Barnum did school me a couple of times, but luckily for me, the shots didn’t fall.

The evening practice wrapped up an eventful day that had us leaving Corpus Christi at 10 a.m. for the 2-hour journey to San Antonio.

Once we arrived, we had lunch at Fuddruckers – perhaps the place that serves the best burgers ever. Then the team spread out on their own to visit the shops along the Riverwalk and also visiting the famed Alamo.

It’s been quite a trip. A first-ever trip to Corpus Christi and first-ever action in the college game.

-- Matthew Bonnette, assistant SID

It’s not your usual Southland Conference city.

It’s not the likes of Hammond, Lake Charles, Nacogdoches, Thibodaux, Beaumont or Huntsville… not that there’s anything wrong with those great towns.

But here, there’s crystal clear blue water as far as the eye can see; million dollar mansions along the beachfront; and tons of palm trees growing every 10 yards.

I’m talking about Corpus Christi – the home city of one of two of the newest members of the SLC – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - and the Thursday night opponent of the Lady Demons.

It took right at 7 hours to get here as we ventured out of Natchitoches at 7 a.m. Wednesday on a charter bus, but it was well worth the trip when we finally arrived in the city.

The team hotel sits right on Shoreline Blvd., just across the street from the seawall that touches the Gulf of Mexico. Along the boulevard is an abundance of attractions including the U.S.S. Lexington Museum which features the actual aircraft carrier that served during World War II. Then there’s the Texas State Aquarium, The Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History… I can go on and on and on.

Trips like these are usually taken when competing in Thanksgiving or Christmas tournaments.

But thanks to the SLC for adding Corpus Christi, this trip will be second nature.

And to think, we get to visit San Antonio on Friday and Saturday.


Matt Bonnette, Assistant Sports Information Director