It was an unusual year for sports in the tri-county area because of one person – Ja Morant.
Morant, who was a little-known yet outstanding basketball player who graduated from Crestwood High School in 2017, was an All-America at Murray State in 2019. However, his success on the court isn’t what made Morant particularly newsworthy.
Instead, it was the way he vaulted to fame, becoming a nationwide phenomenon by blowing up on social media as well as through more traditional news sources.
Of course, more than Ja happened in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties in the sports world in 2019. Let’s take a look back at the news side of the just completed year in local sports.
MORE MORANT
After a freshman season at Murray State in which he was an All-Ohio Valley Conference first team selection, Morant established himself as a likely All-American from the beginning of his sophomore season.
Morant took it a step further, as became far more than one of the best college basketball players in the country. He became a social media sensation with his wide array of dunks as well as in helping the Racers to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.
The talk started early on in his sophomore season that Morant could be an early pick in the 2019 National Basketball Association draft and it never relented. He ended up being the No. 2 overall pick in the draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
He has continued to light up social media in his rookie season, almost posterizing veteran Kevin Love. Morant basically cleared the 6-foot-11-inch Love, who was trying to draw a charge, just missing a dunk.
Love’s response? “Ja almost ended my professional career with this dunk,” Love said in a tweet. “That kid is something special.”
JORDAN MONTGOMERY RETURNS
After undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow and missing 16 months as he recovered, Jordan Montgomery returned to the mound for the New York Yankees at the end of the 2019 season.
The left-handed Montgomery made two appearances in September for the Yankees, pitching two innings each time. He allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked none. His earned run average was 6.75.
After a 9-win season as a rookie in 2017, the former standout for Sumter High, the Sumter American Legion P-15’s and the University of South Carolina, started 2-0 in 2018, pitching in six games before being shelved due to the injury.
WILSON COACHING CRESTWOOD GIRLS AGAIN; SAMUEL HIRED
After two unsuccessful seasons as the boys head coach at Crestwood, Tony Wilson returned to the bench for the Lady Knights, with whom he was ultra-successful.
After going 8-38 with the boys, Wilson seems to have found the magic again with the Lady Knights. They had reached double digits in win before the first of the year. He was 208-75 in 11 years in his first stint.
Aric Samuel was brought in to replace Wilson as the boys coach. Samuel, who led Hartsville to consecutive 3A state titles, He has the Knights off to a 7-7 start.
JONES RESIGNS AT SHS; BROWN NEW COACH
Shawn Jones resigned as the boys basketball head coach at Sumter after four seasons following an 11-13 season in which the Gamecocks failed to make the 5A state playoffs.
Bryan Brown, who had been the boys head coach at Sumter School District rival Lakewood the previous five seasons, was hired as Jones’ replacement. The Gators went 10-14 in Brown’s final season, but he led them to the program’s first ever region titles the two seasons prior to that.
SUMTER’S FELDER TEARS LABRUM
Sumter High School boys basketball standout CJ Felder, who had signed to play with Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference, suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder and only played nine games for the Gamecocks.
The 6-8 Felder averaged 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots per game in those contests.
As a freshman at BC, Felder was averaging 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds entering the new year.
LAKEWOOD HIRES TWO NEW BASKETBALL COACHES
Brown’s move to Sumter obviously left an opening at Lakewood, and Ed Scott was hired as his replacement. Scott, who starred as a player at Lower Richland High and was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team performer at Clemson, is a high school head coach for the first time.
In August, Demetress Adams-Ludd decided to step down after four seasons as the girls head coach. She was replaced by Stephen Adams, who had been a junior high coach in Columbia.
KENNEDY TAKES OVER AT MANNING
Reggie Kennedy, the former standout linebacker who led East Clarendon to the 1985 1A state title, returned to his Clarendon County roots as he became the football head coach at Manning.
Kennedy, the longtime head coach who led Sumter to the 2013 4A Division I state championship game in his one season at the school, came to Manning after four years at Irmo. He replaced Keith West, the former Sumter quarterback who went on to join the Sumter High staff.
Kennedy led Manning to a 6-4 record and the Region VII-3A title. The Monarchs lost in the first round of the state playoffs to Cheraw.
WAYNE MASS DIES
Wayne Mass, who was a standout offensive tackle at Edmunds High School before going on to an All-American football career at Clemson, died on July 4.
Mass died after suffering a heart attack in Durango, Colorado, at the age of 73.
Mass graduated from Edmunds in 1964 before going on to Clemson. Mass started each of Clemson’s 30 games at offensive tackle during his three seasons. Mass earned first-team All-America honors in 1966. He was a first-team All-ACC selection at offensive tackle in 1966 and 1967.
Mass was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
Mass was selected in the fourth round of the 1968 National Football League draft by the Chicago Bears. Mass played for the Bears organization from 1968-70, then played with the Miami Dolphins in 1971. He played for the New England Patriots andthe Philadelphia Eagles in 1972.
LEONARD JOHNSON RETURNS TO SCOTT’S BRANCH
Leonard Johnson returned to the place where he enjoyed some of his greatest success as a high school football head coach – Scott’s Branch.
Johnson, who led the Eagles to two 1A Division II state titles during his first stay from 2005-12, came back to Summerton after Brian Smith left after one year.
Johnson led Scott’s Branch to a 3-9 record as it advanced to the second round of the 1A state playoffs.
SUMTER LOSES DINKINS-MCCALL
The Sumter High School football team lost an important part of its offense when running back/wide receiver Tony Dinkins-McCall was lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Dinkins-McCall had moved to running back from wide receiver and had ran for 638 yards and eight touchdowns on just 61 carries in seven games. He had 12 catches for 150 and one touchdown and returned two kickoffs for TDs.
Sumter was 7-0 when he was lost and won its final two regular-season games as well its first-round game in the 5A state playoffs. It lost to Gaffney in the second round to finish 10-1 for the second straight season.
“TWO GLOVES” GAINEY ARRESTED
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey of Bishopville, who worked his way through a number of satellite golf tours to becoming a winner on the PGA Tour, was arrested for soliciting a prostitute in an undercover sting in Polk County, Florida.
Gainey was one of 124 people arrested in a massive, 6-day sting. The sting was targeting prostitution, human trafficking and child predators in central Florida.
MARLOWE NEW SOUTH FLORENCE COACH
Sumter High School assistant football coach Drew Marlowe was named the new head coach at South Florence High.
The 29-year-old Marlowe began working on the Sumter staff as an 18-year-old, just a few days after graduating from his alma mater.
REALIGNMENT AFFECTS LOCAL SCHOOLS
The South Carolina High School League released its reclassification proposal for the 2020-22 school years in December, and all seven of the high schools will be affected in some way.
Sumter High will remain in 5A, but it will be part of the 5-team Region VI. It will be the only school not located in Horry County as the others are Carolina Forest, Socastee, Conway and St. James.
Crestwood and Lakewood would drop from 4A to 3A and be a part of Region VI along with 3A holdover Manning. The other teams in the 6-team region would be Camden, Lake City and Marlboro County.
Lee Central would remain in 2A but would become part of a lower state region after having been part of upper state Region IV for the past several years. The proposal has Lee Central in Region VII along with Andrews, Kinsgtree, Latta, Marion and Mullins.
East Clarendon, after two years in 2A for the first time ever, would drop down to 1A in this proposal. It would be in Region IV along with fellow Clarendon County school and 1A holdover Scott’s Branch. The other schools in the region would be Carvers Bay, C.E. Murray and Hemingway.
ITEM SELECTS TOP 125 SPORTS FIGURES
In order to celebrate its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item compiled a list of its top 125 sports figures in that time frame.
Heading the list is New York Yankee All-Star Bobby Richardson, NFL greats Freddie Solomon and Terry Kinard, Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen and Morant.