Word of Mouth VOLUME 9, ISSUE 4
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
Hawaii = Success INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
By Terrence Phillips
New Students
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Patriotic Singers
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Character Stage 6 Gold Team
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Red Team
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JV Team
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Cheer Team
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The Gold Team won the Iolani Prep Classic in Hawaii, taking four out of four big games. We spent a week down on the island doing something we love – playing basketball! We masterfully handled the first two teams. Then played from the heart with come from behind wins in the last two games on our way to earning the championship. Terrence Phillips earned MVP honors, and Dwayne Bacon was named to the all-tournament team. After the Christmas break, the team headed to Springfield, Missouri to the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. This was a great event with attendance at more than 9,000 each game. With a come-from-behind-win after the first game, the Warriors rolled the next
two games winning by 25 or more and taking home the championship. Dwayne Bacon won the MVP averaging 30 points a game, and Terrence Phillips made the all-tournament team with 16 assists in the final game. (Pics on page 3.)
The team is at the point where we have really started to come together with Dwayne Bacon as our leading scorer, and Andrew Fleming coming along in his production. As a point guard, Terrence Phillips can pick any of our post guys to dish to. Lindell Wigginton and Josh Reaves give a great two-punch off the bench. Everyone is doing what they need to do each and every night.
We continue to grow as a team, but more importantly, we are growing closer as family on and off the court. Living in the dorm together helps us create a bond that most teams don’t have. With 18 more games the Warriors look to finish strong.
New Students Join OHA By Anthony Benedetto Being a new student at Oak Hill Academy can be a very frightening part of a student’s life. Some new students look at Oak Hill as an opportunity and a chance to change their live for the better, others seek a new experience, like student Matthew Bryan. Matthew
said, “I think Oak Hill is a great opportunity for many things, such as getting a good education, meeting new people, and learning independence.” At Oak Hill, all of these things can happen. Since Oak Hill is a boarding school, it’s easier to make friends with the new students. Matthew said, “When I got to Oak Hill
everyone was really friendly and easy to relate to and get along with. In most schools, people don’t reach out to you as much as they do here.” Oak Hill accepts and loves having new students; new students shouldn’t worry about fitting in because at Oak Hill everyone fits in.
Patriotic Singers By Hope Bernier and Shaolong Wang At every Gold Team home game, one Oak Hill student performs the National Anthem. Four students will be rotating performances throughout the
season. Sophomore Hope Bernier, sophomore Josh DeLacerda, junior Christine Sears, and senior Michelle Watson-Jones are the select few that perform the Anthem. Ms. Callison picked these students based on recommendations and
auditions. Hope, Christine, and Michelle sing, while Josh plays his clarinet. A guest singer, Karris Nichols, a 10-year old from Sparta, North Carolina performed at the November 8th game.
Responsibility Character Stage By Aislinn Curtin The students of Oak Hill help with many activities in the community both on and off campus. Students clean up the pews after church on Sunday. They make sure everything is picked up and put away. A variety of students also participate in and are helping with the first Homecoming Parade, Lamb’s Table, Feeding America, Leadership, and Youth Group. The students like to assist in the community, because they are serving people who need help. By participating in these activities, students are responsible for helping the community. By learning how to be responsible in the community, students learn to be accountable with homework and getting better grades. PAGE
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Gold Team By Percy Smith Gold Team Head Coach Steve Smith has a very extensive coaching career. Coach Smith has been at OHA for 32 years. His first two years he was an assistant coach and he has been head coach for 30 years. When asked how the team was shaping up this year Coach Smith replied, “Good, I like the way they are playing now. After the semester break they are playing even better. Bacon is playing his best overall for the year. Not only that, but all the other players are really stepping their game up.” According to Smith the team has great strengths
such as depth of two in each position, offense, and Bacon scoring 30 points every game which they didn’t have last year. Coach Smith’s favorite moments this year include winning two National Tournaments – the Iolani Prep Classic and the Bass Pro Tournament. Managers for the team this year include seniors Peter Hatakeyama and Josh Yoon.
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Gold Team Player Profiles By Frankie Culhane and Will Hall Andrew Fleming has committed to play basketball at the University of Iowa. The senior shooting guard’s favorite thing about Oak Hill basketball is the competition. He enjoys the hard work put in to be successful. When asked, Andrew said, “I love to get buckets and love turtles.” Dwayne Bacon has committed to play at Florida State University. The senior can play multiple positions including point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. His favorite things about his OHA basketball experience are the competition and traveling the country. He stated that he loves tattoos, which makes sense as he has several.
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Daniel Giddens will be playing at Ohio State University next year. The senior center “loves country music.” Daniel’s favorite thing about playing basketball at OHA is the tradition of Oak Hill, the great accomplishments of each team, and the players associated with OHA. Joe Hampton is one of three juniors on the Gold Team. He plans to play for Penn State University. Joe claims he is a “laid back, goofy person.” He can play the small forward and power forward positions. His favorite thing about Oak Hill basketball is the experience he gets from it, how much he learns about basketball, and the benefits that come from playing at Oak Hill Academy.
Ty-Shon Alexander is a sophomore on the Gold Team. He plays the shooting guard position and stands 6’4” tall. He finds basketball at Oak Hill to be a fun experience, especially with the environment in historic Turner Gymnasium. When at home, he enjoys fishing.
Lindell Wigginton is a sophomore playing point guard. He likes playing against great competition daily, and he’s in a position to succeed at the next level. He’s playing for a legendary coach, Coach Smith, who tells Lindell things that he needs to work on. Lindell enjoys his relationship with the coaching staff. Lindell has been playing basketball since he was 4 years old. Joshua Reaves is a 6’5” senior playing shooting guard. He likes how close as a family the Gold Team has become. He said, “No other team in the nation goes through what we go through living with each other every day.” Josh is a citizen of Bolivia.
Rodney Miller is a junior playing center. He likes traveling around the country and making connections with new people. A natural comedian, Rodney brings smiles and laughter to everyone around him. Standing 7’0” tall, Rodney is easily spotted around campus.
Terrence Phillips is a 5’11” senior playing point guard. He loves being able to travel all over the country and playing in different gyms almost every night. Terrence likes to play the drums and act in his free time.
Khadim Sy is a junior playing power forward. He likes playing against tough competitors. Khadim’s favorite character is The Joker. Hailing from Senegal, Khadim speaks three languages.
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Red Team By Frankie Knox Mr. Steve Hebold is the head coach of Oak Hill’s Red Team. A former player at the high school, college, and professional levels (Europe and South America), Coach Hebold took his extensive knowledge of basketball to the coaches box. Coaching at the NCAA DI, DII, European national level, and even the professional European level, this year’s Oak Hill Academy Red Team is benefiting from Coach Hebold’s vast experience, currently posting a 123 record. All three of their losses have been to Wesley Christian. All three games were close, with one ending in double overtime.
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When asked what he enjoys about coaching, Coach Hebold said that he loves the games, but he loves the practices even more. He has a strong love for teaching the game of basketball. Mr. Hebold finds that fact funny because as a player he loved the games over practices. Coach Hebold went on to explain, “Almost everyone has the will to win on game day, but the better question is ‘do you have the will to prepare to win’ (at practice)?” Coach Hebold embraces his role as coach commenting that there are
seasons in life and it’s his season for coaching. He said he thoroughly loved playing basketball and traveling the world and is thankful for that season of his life. As a teacher, Coach Hebold shared, “I like being a teacher to all of my students in the classroom first and foremost. Then, when it’s time, I will admit to the fact that I enjoy being with my team on the court. I always have.” When asked if he had any other things he’d like to say in this interview, Coach Hebold smiled and said, “Go Warriors!”
Red Team Player Profiles By Josh DeLacerda and Eden Silsehi Senior Frankie Knox is a shooting guard as well as a small forward. Frankie enjoys playing basketball because it gives him a great opportunity to show off his abilities as a player. A fun fact about Frankie is that he is a junior engineer.
Senior Will Hall is a point guard and shooting guard, as well as a Team Captain. Will enjoys playing basketball because of the competition. Senior Andres Rodriguez is a shooting guard and also a Team Captain. Andres enjoys playing because of winning and making nice passes. A fun fact is that he loves getting money.
Junior Graeme Majors is a point guard as well as a shooting guard. The thing he most likes about playing is having fun and getting better. He also enjoys playing golf. Junior Jonathan Harris is a small forward. He enjoys playing for the winning and the highlight plays. His first dunk was in 9th grade. Junior Kane Schrader is a small forward as well as a power forward. He enjoys playing due to the crowd and intensity. Kane is from Australia.
Miles Agbaje is a 6’3” junior who enjoys basketball and playing with his teammates. He plays the power forward position. During football season, he cheers for the Baltimore Ravens. Bushe Ramabu is in his junior year playing power forward. Standing 6’6” tall, Bushe values learning from a coach with international credentials. Playing street hockey is one of his favorite pastimes. Dylan Curry is a 6’5” junior playing the small forward position. At home, Dylan likes fishing at the lake.
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Red Team Player Profiles cont. Shaolong Wang is a 6’3” junior and plays forward. He takes knowledge from his coaches seriously. As a basketball player, Shaolong thinks he eats too much.
L.B. Wingate is a 5’11” senior and plays the shooting guard position. He likes his teammates and thinks he’s the funniest guy in the room.
OliverLynch Daniels is the only sophomore on the Red Team. He plays the point guard position standing 6’1” tall. He values the time he spends with his friends. He also has a love of various shoes. Team managers include Charlie Favor, Tyler Whiteman, and Henry McMahon.
JV Team By Jae Mayweather Mr. Knudsen, or Coach K, is the head coach of Oak Hill’s JV basketball team. He has led the team to a 7-3 record. Coach K has been at Oak Hill for three years and had coaching experience prior to coming to OHA. He believes the team has improved greatly from the start of the season. He also believes that his team’s size and their true ability to play defense are their biggest strengths. When asked if he thinks being a teacher off the court helps build relationships with his team, he said, “Yes, because it allows my players and students to see me in two different environments.” He is looking forward to the rest of the season.
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JV Team Player Profiles By Bushe Ramabu Fan Yu is a 5’10” freshman point guard or shooting guard. He enjoys the unity of Oak Hill basketball, more specifically the junior varsity team. Zero Zheng is a 6’3” sophomore power forward who enjoys playing with his teammates and shooting the basketball. He also enjoys reading. DJ Grayson is a 6’0 freshman power forward. He enjoys Oak Hill basketball because he believes it gets him ready for next level of basketball. He also enjoys archery.
Fawaz Ilupeju is a 5’11” freshman shooting guard from Boston, Massachusetts that came to Oak Hill because of the competition. Matt Gruhn is a 6’3” junior shooting guard who came to Oak Hill to play basketball, but doesn’t let people know that he is rather ticklish. Frankie Culhane is a 6’3” junior small forward or power forward who loves that he has the opportunity to play basketball every day. He also claims to be the best 3point shooter in the school.
Alex Kulp is a 5’9” junior point guard who really likes the diversity of the student body and working together as a team. He also looks up to Kevin Durant, his favorite NBA player. Sam Mussen is a 5’11” junior shooting guard or small forward who likes working with a good team and coaching staff in order to improve his individual skills. He also rides horses and is on the equestrian team. Leo Cao is a 6’4” sophomore power forward or center who enjoys playing on the Oak Hill JV team along with his teammates. In his spare time he listens to music and watches movies.
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JV Player Profiles cont. Sam Ballard is a 5’11” junior shooting guard that loves the competition at Oak Hill. He was born in England and while living in France realized his love for basketball. He then decided to come to America to play.
Stephen Wang is a 6’5” junior power forward or center who loves that the Oak Hill JV team works as a team. He also likes listening to music, socializing with friends, trying different foods, and many other things. Bryan Wu is a 5’10” point guard from China who enjoys the freedom and development he gets from playing on the JV team.
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Nate Berhanu is a shooting guard or small forward from Tanzania. Standing 5’11” tall, Nate likes the fact that he is surrounded by so many talented people who help him play better. Mason Higgs is a 6’ junior. He plays the power forward position. Mason enjoys the consistency of practices on ‘the Hill.’ When away from campus, Mason likes to rollerblade. Michael Poteat is a 5’11” small forward in the 8th grade. He enjoys the Oak Hill basketball program as it is enhancing his skill set. When not on the court, Michael makes his own rap music.
Team Managers include: Amy He, Jae Mayweather, Alex Collins, Meme Ogbuefi, Tori Levine, Destiny Crickman, Miles Preacher, Chris Li, Ming Ogden, Trey Woody, and Nahum Belayhun.
Go Warriors, Go Warriors, Go! By Marie Crickman The Cheer Team has had a great year thus far. The team consists of Abby Osho, Aislinn Curtin, Amy He, Anna Spencer, Cierra Thomas, Marie Crickman, Davi Lazard, Eden Sileshi, Jae Mayweather, Lolo Ogbuefi, Michelle Watson-Jones, Oluchi Chigbu, Samantha Kibble, Sidney Thomas, Tamsin Smith, Tori Levine, and Dani Kahn as the manager. The coaches of the team are Ms. Haas, Mrs. Crede, and Miss Gamble.
The team practices 2-3 times a week in the chapel. The practices run about an hour long. During these practices the team touches up on any cheers that are not to their standard. Toward the end of practice, the coaches like to mix it up by either teaching a new cheer routine or expanding the range of skills in the stunting area.
The team attempts to support all three basketball teams to the best of their ability, but they mostly cheer for the Gold Team games. The team performs for first and third quarter breaks as well as the halftime show. The performances vary with cheers that consist of pom poms and stunts. Also, to raise the spirit at home games, Oak Hill presents the Rally Team. The Rally Team consists of James Lock and Brendan Cruz dressed in red and gold Root Suits. The gentlemen do a great job keeping the fans attention and spirit roaring during time outs and other breaks.
Currently, the team has been working very hard to be able to travel with the Gold Team. The requirements for each member to be able to travel are to have all grades above a D, no excessive amount of disciplinary write ups, and the ability to conduct accordingly as a spirit representative of the school.
On January 24, the team made their first appearance off campus at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia to help cheer the Gold Team to victory against Cape Henry Collegiate. The team continues to improve their skills and raise the spirit level as much as possible at games. Come see the Oak Hill Warrior Cheer and Rally Teams!
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Alphabetically: Yonatan Belayhun, Anthony Benedetto, Hope Bernier, Marie Crickman, Frankie Culhane, Aislinn Curtin— , Josh DeLacerda, Will Hall, Amy He, Frankie Knox, Jae Mayweather, Sam Mussen, Terrence Phillips, Bushe Ramabu, Eden Sileshi, Percy Smith— , Tamsin Smith, Shaolong Wang, and LB Wingate. - also a Photojournalist
The Mission of Oak Hill Academy Proofreaders Lisa Finklea Cyndie Richardson
Faculty Sponsor Mikki Haas
2635 Oak Hill Road Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363 Phone: 276-579-2619 E-mail: info@oak-hill.net
Oak Hill Academy is a coeducational, Baptist affiliated, boarding/day school committed to excellence in education and adolescent development in a non-military setting. The mission of Oak Hill Academy is to offer a safe, secure, nurturing environment for girls and boys needing a change in school, peer, community, or family relationships. Oak Hill provides a structured collegepreparatory program to students in grades 8-12. Our curriculum challenges the brightest student and encourages those who are unmotivated, who are underachieving, or who are experiencing difficulties in their school setting.