Issue 9 - North Canton City Schools - sparcc

One
Pat Brady
Staff Writer
A sit down with former
ACC basketball star
Dickie Hemric
n
One
North Canton resident Dickie Hemric has lived on Seventh
Street, less than a mile away from the high school, for a while
now, but it wasn’t until recently that people started recognizing
the former Wake Forest standout and NBA champion. In his days,
Hemric’s 6’ 6” frame stood out more than it would nowadays. He
used that advantage to dominate the ACC for four consecutive
years, averaging close to 25 points per game for his career.
Most people didn’t even know who Hemric was until Duke
senior guard JJ Reddick approached his record for most career
points in ACC history. Eventually, JJ eclipsed his record and now
Hemric only has the rebounding title to his name, but there is more
to it than that.
Viking Views: When did you start playing basketball
Dickie Hemric: It was when I was a freshman in high
school. I lived in a small town – Jonesville, North Carolina.
We had a senior class of 36 students. From there I went on to
play at Wake Forest.
VV: When did you move to the North Canton area
DH: When I retired from basketball, I decided to work for
GoodYear’s world headquarters in Akron.
VV: How was basketball different when you played
DH: It wasn’t as up-tempo. We were more methodical when
I played. We had a lot of set plays. In those days, 6’6” was
a good sized individual. With my size and strength, I played
what we called the “pivot” position. The guards would bring
the ball up the court and then the offense would go through
me and the guards would cut to the basket. Today, it’s all a
motion game; everybody is moving.
VV: What enabled you to have the success you did
DH: I had good teammates around me, and my ability to
discern where a rebound was going and position myself for it.
I also think I had a lot of natural ability.
VV: Do you think your rebounding record will be broken
DH: I don’t think it will be anytime soon. The scoring record
was described as invincible, but nothing lasts forever.
VV: What’s it like to have JJ Reddick break your record
DH: There is a bittersweet reaction because they play a lot
more games than we did with all the conference tournaments
and stuff.
Courtesy of Dick Hemric
Shannon Pifer
“The scoring record was
described as invincible, but
nothing lasts forever.”
• (top) While at Wake Forest,
Hemric shoots over a Duke
defender
• (left) Dickie Hemric at his
home in North Canton.
VV: How do you feel about JJ having the three point line
when you didn’t
DH: Forget that, that’s the rules he played with and I played
the rules I had. I’m not going to make excuses; the kid broke
it by the rules. You need not put an asterisk by his name.
VV: What player in today’s game would you compare to
yourself
DH: Tyler Hansborough from North Carolina. He’s four to
five inches taller, but he plays with some similarity to how I
played. He’s always in the post getting rebounds.
VV: What do you think of the NBA
DH: The entire sport has changed in many ways. I don’t
think there is the same camaraderie because of free agency.
Players are coming and going every year.
VV: Do you prefer the NBA game or the college game
DH: The college game. In the NBA, the 24 second shot clock
makes it so you don’t have to press the other team or play
much defense because you know they’re going to shoot it. In
college, I think teams have to be more defensive-minded.
VV: What do you think of Lebron James
DH: I think he’s a great player who will rise to even greater
heights. He has tremendous agility and shoots well.
03.24.06 the viking views 37