Wall tops 2009 sports scene in North Carolina

Not long ago at a tournament for high school-age basketball players in Philadelphia, a performance by Garner's John Wall stunned North Carolina coach Roy Williams.

"I said, 'Who the heck is that guy?' " Williams recalled this month.

A year ago, Wall was packing the gym at the Glaxo SmithKline Invitational in Raleigh and was well known in recruiting circles.

But he wasn't yet a household name with sports fans nationally. Wall, a 6-foot-4 point guard from Raleigh's Word of God Academy, is now one of the biggest names in college basketball.

His speed, uncommon ball-handling ability and precise passes make him a likely No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Wall's incredible year made him the unanimous choice for the most interesting sports personality of the year in North Carolina as selected by a panel of sports staffers at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer.

Wall was rated the No. 1 prospect in his class by Rivals.com, and recruiting fans followed the details of his college decision with great interest.

Baylor was thought to have an advantage because it hired his D-One Sports club team coach, Dwon Clifton, in July 2008.

Mike Krzyzewski had Wall on campus at Duke for a visit, and N.C. State's Sidney Lowe worked hard to stay among the leaders for the hometown favorite. Williams called Wall during the NCAA Tournament before the Tar Heels won the national championship.

But Wall said he didn't hear anything from Williams after that. A quote from D-One founder and Wall adviser Brian Clifton - Dwon's brother - hinted at an impasse with the Tar Heels.

"I have no desire to talk to, to be involved with, to visit, to contemplate in any shape, form or fashion John Wall going to play for Roy Williams. Zero," Clifton said.

There were even reports that Wall might try to enter the NBA draft because he was in his fifth year of high school and might have been eligible for the draft under the league's collective bargaining agreement. That never happened.

Instead, Wall chose to play for Kentucky, where controversial first-year coach John Calipari was building a top-rated recruiting class even as his former school, Memphis was having its 2008 run to the NCAA championship game vacated because of NCAA rules violations.

Wall, too, ran afoul of the NCAA when it was determined that he accepted travel expenses from Brian Clifton, who was registered as an agent with international basketball governing body FIBA. But Wall was suspended for just one game and one exhibition, and had to repay $787.58.

In his first game, he made a last-second 15-footer to defeat Miami of Ohio. He led Kentucky into the top five of The Associated Press' rankings, scoring 16 points with seven assists in a 68-66 defeat of North Carolina.

Now Kentucky is a favorite to reach the Final Four, and Wall is a frontrunner for national player of the year.

"I've always thought he was fantastic," Williams said.

Now a lot of other people do, too.

Here are the rest of the most interesting people in North Carolina:

2. Jerry Richardson

On Super Bowl Sunday, Richardson got the call on the cell phone he kept by his side solely to inform him when a new heart had been found for him.

By 8 p.m., the owner of the Carolina Panthers was in surgery. The man who brought football to Charlotte began a tumultuous year with a heart transplant.

In September, the Panthers made a stunning announcement revealing that Richardson's sons, Jon and Mark, had resigned. Jon was president of Bank of America Stadium, and Mark was team president.

Now Richardson ends the year with huge decisions to make. After making the playoffs last season, the Panthers have slumped in 2009.

Coach John Fox is under fire, and Jake Delhomme has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL this season.

3. Roy Williams

After North Carolina lost to Florida State in the ACC Tournament semifinals, Williams told his players they could still do something that people would talk about forever.

Then the Tar Heels blistered all six NCAA Tournament opponents by double-digit margins, winning by an average of 20.2 points to hand Williams his second title.

"The first one was unbelievably sweet in 2005," Williams said, "but in some ways this one's even sweeter."

Williams wasn't finished making news. He released an unusually candid autobiography, co-written by Tim Crothers, revealing new details about his difficult relationship with his alcoholic father.

And in December, he made news again when he sent security officers to confront a Presbyterian fan who hollered for UNC forward Deon Thompson to miss a free throw. The fan was ejected.

There's truly never a dull moment with the Tar Heels when Williams is coaching.

4. Jimmie Johnson

Here's what Johnson, a Charlotte resident, accomplished this year:

He won an unprecedented fourth straight NASCAR championship.

The Associated Press voted him its athlete of the year.

NASCAR chose him the driver of the decade.

Johnson stays out of trouble and is pleasant and well-spoken.

But he's not as colorful as top drivers of yesteryear such as Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Some of the many NASCAR fans who yearn for Dale Jr. to step to the forefront of the sport his late father dominated have been disappointed to see Johnson emerge as the sport's dominating driver.

If Johnson is bothered by that, he doesn't show it. He just keeps winning and doing the right thing.

5. Armanti Edwards

With an incomplete pass on the final play at the goal line in the snow at Montana, one of the greatest careers in the history of Division I-AA and the Football Championship Subdivision ended.

Edwards, the Appalachian State quarterback, overcame a foot injury suffered in a preseason lawn mowing accident to become the first two-time winner in the 23-year history of the Payton Award, given to the top FCS player each year.

He passed for 3,291 yards and ran for 679 more to finish his career with 14,753 yards of total offense. Only the late Steve McNair at Alcorn State has had more in Division I-AA.

The Mountaineers fell short of their fourth FCS title in five years in that 24-17 loss in the FCS semifinals at Montana. But after engineering championships in 2006 and 2007 as well as an unforgettable win at Michigan, Edwards leaves college football as one of the most decorated FCS players ever.

In 2010, we'll find out what kind of future he has in the NFL.

6. Julius Peppers

He wanted to be traded.

Peppers, the Carolina Panthers defensive end who has been to four Pro Bowls, wanted to play in a 3-4 defense rather than a 4-3.

The Panthers denied his request and applied their franchise tag to him. Peppers would be paid a salary of slightly more than $1 million per game to play in a system not of his choosing.

At times this season, his performance hasn't seemed worthy of that salary. But in Carolina's 26-7 dismantling of Minnesota on Dec. 20, the pass rush generated by Peppers was so ferocious that Vikings coach Brad Childress considered taking Brett Favre out of the game.

7. Judy Rose

One of the most successful women in college sports administration, Rose is the athletic director overseeing the birth of the Charlotte 49ers' football program.

Charlotte is moving ahead with a football start-up target date of 2013 without key infrastructure in place. A 15,000-seat stadium that could eventually be expanded to 40,000 must be built.

Rose, a former assistant coach to Tennessee women's basketball legend Pat Summit, is running a fund-raising program unlike any she has ever orchestrated.

Rose is trying to find a conference affiliation for the 49ers and schedule games in 2013. And she's already hearing from coaches who want the job.

8. Kevin Guskiewicz

Suddenly, administrators for high school, college and pro football are paying attention to the permanent damage concussions can cause, thanks in part to Guskiewicz's advocacy.

Guskiewicz, a University of North Carolina researcher, has been a pioneer in concussion research and an advocate for player safety.

One of his studies a few years ago showed that 595 retired NFL players with a history of three or more concussions were 20 percent more likely to develop clinical depression than players who hadn't suffered a concussion.

The NFL initially was skeptical of some of his research, but recently strengthened its protective policy to require a player who has a concussion to remain out of action on the same day if he shows certain symptoms, including memory gaps, dizziness and headaches.

Guskiewicz has been instrumental in helping the North Carolina High School Athletic Association develop a rule that requires players who suffer a concussion to be cleared by a physician before returning to action.

He chaired an NCHSAA task force that recommended that all football players receive a baseline brain function test so that their amount of recovery can be measured if they should suffer a concussion.

The pros and high schools are coming around. Now Guskiewicz is calling on the NCAA to implement protective policies for college players.

9. Stephen Curry

Recruiting analysts and college coaches alike missed on this one.

Curry, who couldn't get a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech even though his father played there on the way to the NBA, was selected with the No. 7 pick in the NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors.

The last of his three college seasons ended in disappointment as the College of Charleston surprised top-seeded Davidson in the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals and prevented the Wildcats from returning to the NCAA Tournament.

But Curry still had a marvelous season. He led Division I in scoring at 28.6 points per game. He led the Southern Conference with 5.6 assists per game.

And now he's off to a good start as an NBA rookie, averaging double digits in points for Golden State.

10. Rod Brind'Amour

One significant name was missing from the Carolina Hurricanes' dress list on Dec. 7 in Pittsburgh.

Team captain Rod Brind'Amour, 39, was a healthy scratch from the lineup. It had to be a humbling event for a proud, 21-year veteran whose emotional, two-handed hoisting of the Stanley Cup in 2006 has become the signature image for the franchise.

Brind'Amour's offseason workout regimen is legendary among the Hurricanes, and even at this late stage of his career his leadership is respected. But his plus-minus rating has been the worst in the NHL this season as the team has hit bottom.

Will Brind'Amour turn over the captaincy to a younger player? Will he retire?

Will he bounce back after a slow start, as he did in helping the Hurricanes to the conference finals a year ago?

Regardless of what happens, Brind'Amour's very human drama because so many of us see our skills erode as we age.