q
Tuskegee native selected
to coach Michigan All-Stars
The Basketball Coaches Association of
Michigan (BCAM's) board of directors reached
into its pool of 3,000 coaches and picked long-
time and recently-retired Detroit Cody's
Robert Menefee as its team Michigan coach for
the next two years.
The team will represent Michigan in the
annual Wendy's Classic, held this year on July
20-21 at Wright State University in Dayton,
Ohio. The games will be televised nationally oil
Fox Sports Network•
Team Michigan will be represented this year
by a highly talented group of seniors from
across the state• Notables are Marcus Taylor,
Maurice Searight, James Theus, Rickey
Paulding, Arthur Johnson, and Thomas
Dillard.
Coach Menefee was honored at last year's
BCAM's Hall of Fame banquet in Lansing for
his accomplishments in Michigan high school
basketball, which includes a 421-169 overall
record at Cody High school•
Menefee was inducted into The Detroit PSL
basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. He was elect-
ed president of the 75-member Detroit boy~
basketball coaches association in April 2000.
Menefee received his B.S. Degree from
Alabama State University and a M.S. Degree
from Eastern Michigan University.
He is the son of the late Deacon (Spring Hill
Baptist Church) Timothy Menefee and is the
cousin of Macon County Probate Judge Alfonza
Robert Menefee
All-Star Coach
Menefee.
He is a
graduate of
South
Macon High
School.
Menefee
also served
as a
sergeant in
the Vietnam
war in the
same unit
as Coach
Charles
Biggers of
Booker T.
Washington
H i g h
School.
Coach Menefee has sent over 270 young men
to the college ranks from Cody.
They include: Vernon Carr, Michigan State;
Rodney Heard, Kansas State; Brian Alexander,
University of Detroit; Robert Martin, Ball
State; Derrick Zeigler, Cleveland State; Kevin
Hrabowski, Boston College; Candice Pickens,
California University•
Ernie Zeigler is presently an assistant coach
at Kansas State and Rodney Heard is with the
Vancouver Grizzlies NBA organization•
Page B-2, The Tuskegee
Death of Coach 'D.J.' Johnsoff::c:
~RCE
h k Nlg ity
s oc s otasu a commun
i26, j
In a shocking development, Notasulga High 'Tie said there was always a reason f0iCount
thing. He was a great person--always smili,g (lo
never saw him being ugly or fussing. He ke~ Is Fe~
• ge ~a~
one together He made everyone work as r
• , ^ ~ther i
He's very special to me• I ve been a friencl ~,
f a~, fly." . ,, tol' t:t~
He was special to so many people, saic~.
Boman, a recent Notasulga graduate whO'~ers,
softball for Johnson. "In the last five ye~a's U]
touched a lot of people. He was a great co~ July
was like some of the other coaches. He wa[se call
ested in not)ust softball, but your life. He ~orma,
to relate ~. ~keg,
Johnson s father, Mar-tin, died of a hear~neerl~
School girls softball coach Donald "D.J." Johnson
died Wednesday, July 12, of a what appears to be a
massive heart attack.
Johnson, who had led the Notasulga girls softball
team to its first state tournament this past spring
was 33 years old.
A native of Sylvania, Johnson collapsed about
11:45 a.m. at the school and was pronounced dead
at 1 p.m. at East Alabama Medical Center in
Opelika where he was transported by ambulance.
Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said Johnson's
death had "all the classic symptoms of a massive
heart attack."
Notasulga head football coach and athletic direc-
tor Ronnie Sikes was on the scene when Johnson
collapsed when he was helping to make a weight
room out of the old band room, according to Sikes.
'Tie died in my arms," Sikes said• '~I did CPR on
him for about 10 minutes, then the EMTs revived.
We never could get a pulse."
Johnson had skills as a carpenter and plumber
and was helping put tile up in a bathroom when he
collapsed wtule stepping up a ladder•
A math teacher and assistant football coach in
addition to his softball duties, Jonson is survived by
his wile, Shana, and a two-month old son. Johnson
and his wife had celebrated their first wedding
anniversary the Monday prior to his death.
The Notasulga community was shocked by the
death of the popular coach.
"He taught me to never give up and always keep
the faith," Lady Devil softball player Joni Weldon
told a local newspaper at the news of Johnson's
death.
Weldon, who will be a senior this year, was a fre-
quent baby sitter for Johnson's son, Preston.
the day of the sectional softball tournament ~_past
"Coach Johnson had to leave and when[ysu~
decided we wanted to win the s˘'" gr
prora
gone,
we
Brtrt~ - ~rt
tournament for him," Boman recalled of t~.~.C~
Devils run to the state tournament tstm
• .l~LtX)rl[
"Winning it was so special. He was hurt~ to d
you could tell it made him fell better." , [our c~
In football, Johnson was the teams d#~dica~
coordinator and offensive line coach.
"He was my right-hand man," Sikes said•
a big reason we've had so much success.
He was a good coach. He always went
mile. A big thing we'tl mis is he would carry t
home and never complain, and he's lend
money at school."
Johnson coached the girls softball team
four years. Coaching the softball team
Johnson met his wife.
A memorial service for Johnson was
Friday at First Baptist Church in
Donations in Johnson's memory may be
the Notasulga High School Athletics
%
] eeltt e excitement...
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