Something's weird on Gilead Road - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

SPORTSTITANS VS. VIKINGS 2009-10: ROUND 1Success is a HabitNorth Meck standoutBremner has permanentreminder to work hardby Chris Huntchris@huntersvilleherald.comCarlin Bremner thought about it fora long time.Sure, he wasn’t the first high schoolbasketball player to make this kind ofcommitment, but what he hoped to dowould permanently change his life.Then again, wasn’t that the point?Next, Bremner talked about it for along time.He approached his father, Eric, whoat first tried to change his son’s mind.But after several deep conversations,the elder Bremner relented, choosinginstead to advise his son on the matterat hand.Finally, Bremner did it.Last summer, he got a tattoo.But this wasn’t just any tattoo. Itwasn’t a spur-of-the-moment designfound on the wall of a tattoo parlor, norwas it a predictable print with a flamingbasketball scorching the nets of a hoopor an image with religious overtonesproclaiming superior strength and attitude.It was quite the opposite.Bremner didn’t want just any tattoofor the sake of having one. He alreadyhad an idea. The question rollingthrough his mind was whether he couldlive with this particular tattoo for therest of his life.In the end, his father’s wordsconvinced him to get the tattoo.One can get a glimpse of the newartwork just under Bremner’s NorthMeck jersey. Sneaking out of the uniform’sneckline, inked in Chinese, is thephrase “Success is a habit.”Those are the words Eric Bremnerused repeatedly to motivate his son ata young age. Now the phrase is permanentlyetched on the player’s chest, justabove his heart.“It’s something my dad always said tome growing up, and it means a lot to(more on page 33)North Mecklenburg junior boys basketball player Carlin Bremner shows off the tattoo he got lastsummer. Written in Chinese, it means “success is a habit.”Big-Game HunterChris Hunt/Herald photoC. Jemal Horton/Herald photoHopewell girls basketball player Hunter Meakin is making a remarkable 50 percent of her 3-pointattempts this season.Hopewell star’sperformances, mind-setbelie her small statureby C. Jemal Hortonjemal@huntersvilleherald.comHow could they have known?How could all those people who tookone look at Hunter Meakin and figuredshe was too short, too slow and too fragileto be a dominant basketball playerhave known her work ethic?How could they have known that, sinceher elementary school days, she’d spentcountless hours in her driveway shootingbasketballs until her arms were tired andnighttime began to cover Huntersville?How could they have known that, yes,at one point Meakin was so weak that shehad to shoot the ball from her waist justto reach the basket but that she’d alsoput in the sweat equity with her coach tocultivate one of the sweetest jump shotsin Mecklenburg County?Most people – Hopewell High Schoolopponents – have learned about Meakinthe hard way: by watching helplessly asshe swished 3-pointers to help the Titansto victory during her three seasons as astarter.“I think most people think I can’t handleball pressure and that I’m too small– I’ve heard a lot of things,” Meakin said,shrugging her shoulders modestly. “I justtry to play the best I can and help myteam win.”Now, folks in Mecklenburg County’sgirls basketball community know justhow dangerous Meakin is. With her fluidstroke and businesslike approach, she’sbecome one of the most feared outsidescoring threats around – all 5 feet 4, 130pounds of her.The junior guard leads Hopewell’s balancedsquad with 13.5 points per game.More impressive, she ranks first in thestate in 3-point shooting, making a mindblowing51 percent of her attempts frombeyond the arc (48 of 94).On Friday, Jan. 15, the Titans (14-2,5-0 I-MECK 4A conference) take ontheir archrival North Mecklenburg (10-5, 2-2), and it’s safe to say the Vikingsare well aware of Meakin’s abilities.Years ago, however, Hopewell coachGary Richmond was yet another person(more on page 33)www.huntersvilleherald.com The Herald Weekly • Jan. 15-21, 2010 • Page 29