Published: May 16, 2008 11:37 pm         

Woodrow senior Hallcomb’s prep story ends on happy note

Looking for a feel-good story in the world of sports? I’ve got one for you. On Friday, Woodrow Wilson’s Cameron Hallcomb signed a letter-of-intent to play basketball at West Virginia State.

No big deal, you say?

It’s going on all over the area?

Yes, but not like this.

Woodrow fans may remember that Hallcomb was ruled ineligible for the second half of the 2007-08 season.

Meaning, he missed the Flying Eagles’ run to the Class AAA state championship.

So signing his letter-of-intent and becoming the first member of the Flying Eagles’ senior class to do so, Hallcomb was able to finish his school year the way he hoped, with a college scholarship.

But he realizes what he missed.

So, what happened?

“A grade slipped and I didn’t realize it,” Hallcomb said. “But I don’t want to blame anyone else. I was coasting when I shouldn’t have been.”

And he paid a huge price for it, he said. And yes, it was tough to watch his teammates win the state title from the student section in Charleston.

“You can write that down with exclamation points, in all caps and in bold,” Hallcomb said. “It was hard. I went to all the games, all the state tournament games, and it hurt inside.”

So Hallcomb is in the unique position to offer advice to current and future high school players.

“Stay focused on the court and off the court,” he said.

“Don’t take anything for granted. You have to (keep the grades up). Without that, you can’t play.”

Hallcomb is an immense talent. He scored 27 points when Woodrow opened the season at Riverside.

In attendance that night was former Oak Hill star, state player of the year and current State assistant Cornelius Jackson.

“Corny liked what he saw and coach (Gene) Nabors kept in touch with (Jackson),” Woodrow Wilson coach Ron Kidd said.

As fate would have it, Mike Fowlkes, a local basketball guru, was taking another player from the area to Institute, so he called and asked if he could bring Hallcomb along.

Coach Bryan Poore said sure. Hallcomb did the rest, putting on a show in several scrimmages against the State team. That ended in Poore offering Hallcomb a full ride.

“I can’t wait to get down there,” Hallcomb said. “I liked State. That was my main thing, getting a chance to go to school and play down there.”

Did he promise his mom Angelia Moore he would keep his grades up?

“She doesn’t even have to ask me about that,” he said.

“I’m just real, real proud of Cameron,” Kidd said. “He took what was a negative, and instead of making it bad, he turned it into a good. It’s a blessing. Cameron is a good player and he is a good kid. I’m happy for him.”

Before leaving the school Friday, Hallcomb and his mom came up to Kidd and hugged the coach and thanked him for helping the player.

That, my friends, is what high school sports should be about.

You have to root for a kid like Hallcomb, who overcame the odds to earn a college scholarship.

And you can put that down with an exclamation point, in all caps and in bold.

— E-mail:

demorrison@register-herald.com