Morgan State: Immediate playing time for Gentry?

Brian Gentry is a physical receiver with speed.

It's not all that often that incoming freshmen are expected to come in and produce immediately in their first year of college competition. And for good reason.

Making the successful transition from high school to college isn't easy. In many instances, 18-year old athletes aren't ready to deal with the psychological ups and downs associated with living up to lofty expectations.

Brian Gentry, who signed with Morgan State earlier this year, embraces the challenge. The former East Forsyth wide receiver possesses an inner drive which pushes him to deliver beyond expectations. Even as a college rookie, there's no denying how the Bears view him as a coveted prospect who can make his mark this fall.

Gentry, 6-feet-3, 200 pounds, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds, but equally important are his 37-inch vertical leap, sure hands and physicality. His skill set will allow the Bears to move him around in different formations to create favorable match-ups for Morgan State's offense.

A look at Morgan State's web site makes it clear what the expectations are for Gentry, who played in the East-West All-Star Game last month. On the website, Gentry is a described as an additional big target with exceptional breakaway speed who will contend for immediate playing time.

Gentry was a three-sport athlete
at East Forsyth High School (NC).

“As a receiver, I feel like I have an advantage over anyone who guards me,” said Gentry, a two-time all-league pick in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference. “I don't say that to sound like I'm cocky. But I've learned how to use my size and speed to get open and make plays.”

Gentry was recruited by Wake Forest and UNC Charlotte, but decided that Morgan State would be the best for him. “There was a strong connection there, which really got my attention,” he said.

During his time at East Forsyth, Gentry, who also played basketball and ran track, produced noteworthy numbers over the past two seasons. During that stretch, he had 1,400 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns, which included 17 scoring receptions.

As a junior, Gentry wasted no time in putting his game-breaking skills on full display. In his first two games of the 2013 season, he scored six touchdowns, which included four TD catches and one scoring pass.

Even though much is expected of Gentry, he's not taking anything for granted. He fully understands that gaining the full respect of his coaches and teammates is all about performance.

“I'm coming as an underdog and I'm starting out all over again (to prove myself),” he explained. “There's a lot to learn. Being the underdog is something I'll have to get used to because I'm so accustomed to being on the field all the time. The key for me is to keep working. I'm looking to play right away.”

Although Gentry has chosen to attend a school that's 370 miles from his Kernersville, NC home, he'll get his opportunities to play in his home state during his career. Since Morgan State is a member of the MEAC, he'll return when the Bears visit North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T.

Hawkins has family ties with East Carolina football

Dedrick Hawkins covers a lot of ground at the safety position.

Editor's Note: This article appears in The Chronicle SportsWeek section

for Thursday, August 13.

On recruiting visits, an athlete's perception of a school's environment plays a vital role on which school the athlete will choose. Such was the case for Glenn defensive back Dedrick Hawkins, a three-time All-Piedmont Triad Conference pick.

Hawkins entertained offers from Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill and The Citadel,but opted to look elsewhere. Eventually, he narrowed his choices to UNC Charlotte and East Carolina, two schools that didn't offer scholarships. It didn't matter to him that he would have to try-out as a walk-on.

“For me, the atmosphere is so important,” said Hawkins, a 6-feet-3, 195 pounds safety. “I chose East Carolina because of the high level of competition. Being in that kind environment will help to bring out the very best in me.”

Hawkins will try-out at ECU as a walk-on.

East Carolina has played in eight bowl games over the last nine seasons. Another plus is that Hawkins has an older brother, Josh, who plays for the Pirates. The elder Hawkins is a senior and two-year starter who ranks among the top cornerbacks in the country.

A year ago, Josh Hawkins, also a Glenn graduate, was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, the Heisman Trophy equivalent for defensive backs. Four years ago, Josh Hawkins made East Carolina's roster as a walk-on. This year, he's listed by several national publications as a pre-season all-league pick for the American Athletic Conference.

“We've never played on the same team before, so I'm looking forward to having a great experience,” said the younger Hawkins, who recorded six tackles in the East-West All-Star Game. “I look at what Josh did and realize that we both come from the same background. 

“So, I feel like I can make it just like he did. Josh has always told me to follow in his steps, but in doing so, to leave a bigger footprint.”

Given the family connection, one might assume that older brother would have a huge influence on the younger brother's choice of schools. Dedrick explained that he never felt any pressure to play college football with big brother.

“Josh didn't try to recruit me,” said Dedrick, an All-Northwest pick and former Crosby Scholars president who had a 4.0 weighted grade-point average in high school. “I never felt like he tried to influence my decision one way or the other. He always told me to follow my heart.”

Dedrick Hawkins is best suited to play safety. He has the range to cover from sideline to sideline and the ball awareness that's critical for the position. With his size and speed (4.54 seconds in the 40-yard dash), he's strong enough to provide solid run support and fast enough to cover receivers, running backs and tight ends.

“I've learned from Josh how important it is to stay on top of my studies and not get sidetracked,” said Hawkins, who plans to major in Computer Science. “To be at my best, it's important for me to work diligently and not take any days off. I have to keep striving to keep getting better at what I do. ”

Will Huntley play both ways at Guilford College?

Kedlin Huntley makes big plays on both sides of the football.

Just by looks alone, you might not figure Kedlin Huntley to be a football player. Standing 5-feet-8 and weighing 160 pounds, he looks more like someone who plays basketball, baseball, or soccer.

With Huntley, though, appearance means absolutely nothing.

During his time at West Forsyth, Huntley, who graduated in June, delivered monster performances as a ball-thief cornerback and big-play specialist on offense and special teams. He was named Central Piedmont Conference Special Teams Player of the Year for 2014. As a defender, he made the All-Northwest team and was a two-time all-conference pick.

Huntley will play football at Guilford College this fall. Given his high school resume, it's going to be interesting to see where the Quakers put Huntley. There's no denying his value as a man-on-man pass defender. As a junior at West Forsyth, he had 69 tackles with 14 pass break-ups and 4 interceptions in a season in which the Titans went 12-2 and advanced to the second round of the Class 4-A state playoffs.

Huntley is at his best in open space.

Offensively, Huntley is a genuine game-breaker. Although his 4.59 seconds clocking in the 40-yard dash is better than adequate for his position, it's his ability to read blocks and make would-be tacklers miss that make him an exceptional talent.

In open space, he's a difficult match-up for any defender to handle. In watching him on video and in person, there's no question that Huntley has “competitive” speed. During an actual game, you're not likely to see him get caught from behind very often.

Also keep in mind that he's just as lethal as a kick return artist. Given the package he provides, there doesn't seem to be a ceiling on what Huntley might accomplish as a collegian.

A good case in point was this year's East-West All-Star Football Game. Huntley was chosen as a cornerback for the West team. But once practice sessions started, it didn't take long for the coaching staff to decide to employ Huntley strictly as a slot receiver. He scored the first touchdown of the game for the West on a 1-yard sprint around the left side and he caught a crucial third-down pass for 12 yards which kept that scoring drive going.

“Guilford recruited me as a defensive back, but it wouldn't bother me to play on the other side of the ball,” said Huntley. “I enjoy the challenge of finding ways to get into the end zone when I have the ball in my hands.”

As an incoming college freshman, Huntley understands that while he's reached a higher level of competition, he'll have to start at the bottom of the totem pole. In his mind, it's not a daunting task. It's all part of the process of establishing himself as a college athlete.

“My prime focus is to earn as much playing time as I can in the secondary,” he said. “In practice, I'll compete against players who are older and more experienced. That's the big challenge and I feel like I'm more than ready for it.”

Wheeler ‘making strides’ in first season with Dash

Andre Wheeler has emerged as key component coming out of the Dash bullpen.

Andre Wheeler’s baseball metamorphosis has had its twists and turns along the way.

Originally, the Winston-Salem Dash lefty relief pitcher was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an outfielder from Austin, Tex. He didn’t sign. Instead, he went to Texas Tech University and was an everyday player as a freshman. Still, the thought that he’d end up pitching was always in the back of his mind.

The make-up of the Texas Tech team played a role in the eventual position switch. The Red Raiders recruited a lot of junior college players, who were older and more seasoned than the team’s underclassmen. Even so, they still needed pitching depth. Wheeler pitched four games as a freshman. The following year, primarily because of team needs, he became a full-time reliever.

“When I first switched it was tough,” said the 23-year-old Wheeler. “In high school, I pitched a little, but really didn’t know what I was doing. There’s a lot more to it than just going out there and throwing the ball. You have to have a plan and you must learn how to pitch. Right now, I’m not where I want to be, but I am making strides.”

Over the course of this season, Wheeler (4-2, 3.40 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched) has produced in a variety of roles. Wheeler has started four games and he’s worked middle relief duty. On several occasions, he’s turned in superlative stints as a closer. Being willing and prepared to handle all assignments that have come his way hasn’t been an issue.

“I’ve learned that no matter what the situation is, you’ve got to attack those hitters,” said Wheeler, who signed with the Chicago White Sox as a 15^th round draft pick in 2013. “It doesn’t matter if you’re starting or coming out of the (bull) pen. In both cases, it all comes down to coming in and throwing strikes right away.”

Wheeler has 49 strikeouts and 23 walks this season.

While Wheeler acknowledges that he’s far from being a polished product, he’s shown signs of emerging as a dominant presence on the bump. Fans got the opportunity to see Wheeler on top his game in Winston-Salem’s come-from-behind 2-1 home victory over Myrtle Beach on June 29.

Entering the game in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 1-1, Wheeler delivered two shut-out innings. In the process, he allowed zero hits and had three strikeouts to earn his third victory of the season. His mix of pitches kept Pelicans’ batters guessing. Wheeler’s lively fast ball, sneaky slider and vastly-improved change-up, was more than the visiting team could handle.

“I was able to throw all three pitches for strikes and I attacked the hitters,” he explained. “When I’m hitting both sides of the plate with my fast ball, that’s when I’m at my best. And it really helps when I can locate my slider late in the count. The change-up is coming along. I didn’t throw it too much last year. Without the change-up, I don’t think I would’ve had as much as success as I’ve had this season.”

Consistency and repetition are keys in grooming pitchers. There are numerous elements which are involved in developing proper throwing mechanics. That’s the physical aspect of the game that presents its share of challenges. But there’s also the mental aspect that can’t be overlooked. For Wheeler, maintaining the right frame of mind is just as important as mastering technique.

“At the pro level, the mental part of the game is the biggest challenge to overcome,” he said. “When you have a bad outing, you can easily get down on yourself and not have confidence. But you also know that you’ll be back out there two or three days later. You have to be ready to bounce back and perform right away.”

Stayed tuned for the Friday edition

Up until his sophomore year of college baseball at Texas Tech, 
Andre Wheeler was an everyday outfielder. Now he's in the pros and he's
on the mound. The transition is not yet complete. But in the meantime,
the results have been better than expected in Wheeler's first season
with the Winston-Salem Dash. In the Friday edition of SportzXpress, 
Wheeler discusses how he's going about the business of perfecting his craft.

Barnum starting to find his groove at the plate

Dash slugger Keon Barnum has driven in 19 runs during a 25-game stretch in July.

It wasn’t that long ago when Keon Barnum of the Winston-Salem Dash stood out as a prized college baseball prospect. Initially, he made a verbal commitment to play for “The U” (in Miami in Fla.).

But once the pro scouts began to take notice, Barnum’s thinking shifted dramatically.

After turning in a couple of impressive pro workouts, the Chicago White Sox made Barnum its first-round draft pick (48^th overall) after his high school graduation in 2012.

Barnum, whose home is Tampa, Fla., never had any uncertainty about his decision to play for pay. On the one hand, it was very gratifying to be heavily recruited by one of the nation’s college baseball powerhouses. But on the other hand, there was an even greater sense of satisfaction to get the opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream.

“Playing professional baseball is something I really wanted to do,” he said. “I could’ve gone to school. But the decision to play pro ball was up to me. So, I decided to go for it, get after it, and start early. I love what I’m doing. It’s a big change from high school. It can be a grind, but it’s actually fun to play every day and get better.”

Barnum, a 22-year old first baseman, has all the requisites to become the feared power hitter of the future that the White Sox have projected him to be. At 6-feet-5, 225 pounds, he possesses the strength, quick hands and powerful swing to hit for distance on a consistent basis.

Expectations are always sky-high for first-round draft picks and Barnum is no exception. Although he’s been inconsistent at times, Barnum has been sizzling at the plate in recent weeks. Over his last 25 games (dating back to July 3), he's hitting .255 with 19 RBIs.

Barnum was a coveted college prospect coming out of  
high school in Tampa, Fla.

“I realize that people think highly of me,” he said. “But on the other hand, you don’t want to have that pressure on you where you’re thinking so much about what other people’s expectations are.

“You just have to go out every day and play your game to the best of your ability. I just block it all out (in my mind). It’s all about staying on the path to get to where I want to be. I don’t let it go my head. I just go about my business and stay as humble as possible.”

An early-season injury (oblique muscle) kept Barnum from finding his groove as a hitter. He was sidelined for a little over a month and returned in mid-June. The forced hiatus slowed his progress. Thanks to the hot streak, Barnum has had a nice bump in his overall stats. Entering tonight's home game against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Barnum has a .242 batting average with 5 home runs and 42 RBIs.

“My timing and rhythm are coming around,” said Barnum, who throws left and bats left. “I lost something in those areas because of all the time I missed being injured. Now I'm getting back into it.”

After being drafted out of high school, Barnum made the most of his limited time with Bristol in the Appalachian League for rookies. In 13 games, he belted 3 home runs and had 8 RBIs, while posting a .279 batting average.

In 56 games with Kannapolis (Low-A) the following season, he hit .254 with 5 homers and 25 runs batted in. When he arrived in Winston-Salem two years ago, it didn’t take long for him to learn that it takes more than raw talent to do well in the (High-A) Carolina League.

Pitchers are more adept at attacking hitters’ weaknesses. As a result, Barnum didn’t get a steady diet of fast balls when he stepped into the batter’s box. Instead, he saw more breaking pitches than ever.

“Once you get to High-A [baseball], pitchers are better at learning hitters,” he said. “They have a better understanding of how to pitch to different hitters than the pitchers in rookie ball. It’s a challenge, but it’s not something that you can’t handle.”

Just as pitchers learn about hitters, the learning process also works the other way around. With more experience, hitters get a better grasp of what pitch to expect based on pitcher tendencies and variables such as the ball-and-strike count. It’s an ongoing process to improve consistency at the plate.

“The learning process is coming along,” Barnum said. “I see a lot pitches that are down and away – mostly off-speed breaking balls. But I’m getting better at recognizing what’s coming. I play close attention to the pitcher’s release point, so I can get a good view of whether or not the ball is coming out high or low.”

It was a year ago when Barnum first learned what it takes to make it through a 140-game baseball season. For young players who aren’t that far removed from high school, completing a marathon season can prove to be a daunting task. Barnum held up well and played in 132 games, while hitting .253 with 8 home runs and 60 runs batted in.

“Last year was my first time playing that many games and it was tough,” said Barnum. “My body was really worn down. This year, I try to eat better and just take care of my body and get as much rest as I can.”

On deck for Tuesday ...

Keon Barnum (20) is coming on strong for the Winston-Salem Dash. The young

slugger talks about this season in an extended interview that will run in the

Tuesday edition of the SportzXpress. Stay tuned.

Price primed to fortify rep as fierce hitter

Gabe Price holds all the school records for tackles at East Forsyth.

Gabe Price put the finishing touches on a stellar high school career when he was selected to play in the annual East-West All-Star Football Game played in Greensboro a week ago. During his time at East Forsyth, the 6-feet-1, 218 pounds linebacker claimed sole ownership of all the school records in tackles. In all, Price had 358 career hits.

During his junior and senior seasons, he recorded triple-digits in tackles. The single-game mark of 23 stops also belongs to Price.

Price will play at Wingate University.

“I was thrilled when I got the news that I was picked for the All-Star Game,” he said. “It gave me the chance to showcase to college coaches what I'm capable of. This game features some of the best players in the state. So, to me, it's like playing in a college level contest.”

The All-Star game wasn't the end of the line for Price, who has signed to play at Wingate University, a school that started recruiting him as a junior. Price isn't making any predictions about what amount of playing he might get as a first-year freshman.

“I admit being a little nervous about making the transition to college,” he said. “My whole focus with college football is to stay humble and prove myself as someone who's always working hard to get better at his position.”

Price's high school career had a most memorable start. As a freshman in 2012, East Forsyth (13-1) finished the regular season undefeated at 11-0 and advanced to the third round of the Class 4-A state playoffs. It proved to be a season in which the Eagles made numerous TV appearances on the Friday Night High School Football Highlights show which aired on WXII, Channel 11 in Winston-Salem.

By the end of his career at East, there was no disputing Price's status as arguably the premier defensive player in northwest North Carolina. The post-season accolades poured in, which included being the Piedmont Triad Conference Defensive Player of the Year, along with all-conference honors and being named to the Winston-Salem Journal's All-Northwest team.

Price will always treasure the Eagles exciting playoff runs and conference championships. But what he'll treasure most, he explained, is the strong bond he established with his teammates, especially those who graduated with him in the Class of 2015.

“Most of the football players in the senior class have been with each other since we were little kids,” he said. “We grew up together and either played on the same team or against each other when we played Pop Warner football. It's a very special relationship with those guys. And that's because all of us are friends for life.”

Don't hold back

Words from MJ

Introducing ... drum roll please ... SportzXpress