Cummings star Terrell will transfer
July 25, 2009 By Cavalier Dave Forrester of Hugh M Cummings High School
JUST IN FROM VACATION AND READ THIS...OH WELL LIFE GOES ONCummings star Terrell will transferWake Forest recruit headed to W. CharlotteBy Stephen Schramm and Bob Sutton
Times-News
Cummings High School boys’ basketball standout J.T. Terrell, aWake Forest recruit, will finish his prep career at West Charlotte High School.
"I kind of thought it would be the best decision for me there," Terrell said Wednesday night from Las Vegas, where he begins play today in a major recruiting showcase for top-level prep players.
Cummings coach George Robinson on Wednesday said he had not spoken with the family regarding their plans but said he knew they were mulling a transfer. "We’d love to have him back, but we’ll support him whatever he does," Robinson said. "I’m glad to have had the chance to coach him."
Terrell is living with his mother, Antia Curry, in Burlington. Terrell said he plans to move in with his father, former UNC Charlotte player James "Trigger" Terrell, who lives in Charlotte. Terrell, who’s playing with D1 Sports in Las Vegas, said leaving Burlington will be difficult. "Kind of tough," he said. "Just really about moving away from home."
On the flip side, he said he knows the players on the West Charlotte team. He said his brother, Demarice Terrell, is on that team.
The 6-foot-3 guard will be a rising senior next season. He leaves behind an impressive legacy at Cummings.
Terrell scored 2,202 points in three seasons with the Cavaliers, earning Associated Press all-state status as a junior and Times-News All-Region Player of the Year honors twice.
"If they feel that’s what’s best for him, we’re definitely not going to stand in his way," Robinson said.
Terrell’s decision surprised his soonto-be ex-Cummings teammates. Rising juniors Chris Richmond and Quinton Morrow are in Orlando, Fla., at another recruiting showcase.
Richmond said he learned of Terrell’s decision Wednesday and called him.
"I was surprised. I didn’t think he was going to leave his senior year," Richmond said. "He just said he had to make the best move for his basketball career."
Terrell was on the Cavaliers’ Class 2-A championship team as a freshman. As a junior, Terrell led the Cavaliers to the Class 2-A Eastern Regional semifinals.
This year, West Charlotte lost in the first round of the Class 4-A playoffs.
"We’ll bounce back," Robinson said. "There will be a team after he leaves. There will be a team after I leave."
Richmond said he and Morrow, who are teammates with the North Carolina Athletics in Amateur Athletic Union play, will have to elevate their performances for Cummings next season. He said Terrell will be missed.
"Cummings was on the way to going back to the state championship this year," Richmond said. "So we don’t really understand it. He’s leaving a team that was one win away from (reaching) the state championship. That’s what we didn’t understand."
Because players are on various summer circuits, Richmond said he rarely seesTerrell in the summer.They occasionally play pick-up games at the Alamance County YMCA in Burlington, he said.
National recruiting analyst Dave Telep, who’s based in North Carolina, said there’s no indication that Terrell’s transfer in high school would affect his status with Wake Forest. Terrell has made a verbal commitment to the Demon Deacons and can sign a national letter-of-intent in November.
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