THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 11, 1995 TAG: 9502110210
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 136 lines
When they were in high school together at Philadelphia's Dobbins Tech, Marvin Stinson and Maurice Whitfield studied different, but complementary vocations.
Stinson's field was carpentry, while Whitfield's was electricity, a situation that made for a very clear division of labor.
``We built the houses,'' Stinson said.
``And we wired them up,'' added Whitfield.
Now that they're at Norfolk State, Stinson and Whitfield, half-brothers and partners in the Spartans' backcourt, are again complementing each other well. Only now their roles have reversed.
These days, it's Stinson, a shooting guard, who provides the electricity - in the form of instant offense off the bench - and Whitfield, a point guard, whose steady hand gives the team a firm foundation. They're a couple of the key cogs of a Norfolk State team that has built a 19-3 record and No. 7 national ranking heading into tonight's game at Hampton.
``They're winners,'' Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard said. ``They're a good tandem with a good knowledge of how to play their positions.''
Stinson and Whitfield were big winners at their last stop, Gloucester County College in Sewell, N.J., a suburb of Philadelphia. With Whitfield at the point and Stinson on the wing, Gloucester County went undefeated and won the Division III Junior College national championship. Stinson hit a shot at the buzzer to win the title.
Afterward, the brothers got together and decided to draw a line with the college recruiters who came calling: they would sign as a package, or not at all.
``That way, we'd always have each other to fall back on,'' Stinson said.
They made for an attractive package. One point guard, one shooting guard - a complete backcourt - from the same North Philly household.
``That's the whole point,'' Bernard said. ``They had played together and gone undefeated.''
With no incumbent at point guard, Whitfield has started from day one, and leads the team in assists, at 5.3 per game. He may also be the best 6-foot-1 rebounder in the CIAA, with an average of 4.4 per game.
Stinson, the more touted of the two - he was named the Division II preseason newcomer of the year by the Sporting News - got off to a slower start. With All-CIAA pick Carnell Penn starting at shooting guard, Stinson had to adjust to coming off the bench.
He also had to learn Bernard's definition of a good shot. At Gloucester, Stinson, who once scored 50 points in a game, had the green light all the time, from virtually anywhere.
``I could do basically anything I wanted,'' he said.
Early this season, Stinson would often find himself on the bench after a couple of missed treys. His shooting percentage slumped, and occasionally, his confidence did as well. That's when the support of Whitfield was most valuable.
``There were times I'd put my head down, but Maurice was there to tell me it would get better,'' Stinson said.
While Stinson had to adjust to Bernard, the coach also came to a better understanding of his player.
``I had to develop the confidence in him that he has in himself,'' Bernard said.
That done, the 6-3 Stinson has become the team's most productive scorer - on a per-minute basis. He averages nearly 11 points per game in just under 20 minutes of action. Stinson also leads the team in 3-point accuracy, hitting 43 percent. But he's no mere jump shooter. He goes to the line more often than anyone on the team except forward Corey Williams.
``He's a tough kid,'' said Gloucester County coach Steve Salamone. ``A tough kid from a tough background.''
Stinson comes by his toughness naturally. His father, Marvin, was a heavyweight contender who fought the likes of Tim Witherspoon and Jimmie Young.
Stinson grew up living with his dad in West Philly while Maurice lived with their mother in North Philly. They moved in together in high school when their mother moved to West Philly.
``That's why we're so close now,'' Whitfield said. ``We didn't see each other much growing up.''
By the time they moved in together Stinson was already an established star. He made the Dobbins Tech varsity as a ninth grader and was named all-public league three times.
Whitfield spent more time playing football and baseball, and didn't make the basketball team until his junior year. He never cracked the team's starting lineup.
Both spent a lot of time on the playgrounds, where Stinson was Whitfield's teacher.
``He was the shooting guard so I started playing the point,'' Whitfield said.
Stinson drew some Division I attention but his grades dictated that he attend junior college. He headed for Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas.
``I wanted to go to Texas, too, but I wasn't good enough,'' Whitfield said.
Whitfield stayed and honed his game on the playground, while Stinson suffered through a year far from home.
``I just didn't like the system we were in. I used to complain a lot,'' Stinson said. ``I was so upset I didn't go back to school the next year. I just sat around the house.''
He returned home and contacted his high school coach, Richard Yankowitz. Yankowitz called Salamone, a former high school teammate, and asked him if he'd take both Stinson and Whitfield.
Salamone didn't hesitate. He had recruited Stinson out of high school and the player, by his own account, ``wouldn't give him the time of day.''
But now times had changed. Stinson and Whitfield enrolled at Gloucester.
``We won our first 27 games by an average of 29 points,'' Salamone said.
After years on the playgrounds together, Stinson and Whitfield knew each other's every move. Whitfield knew that if he drove the lane and got caught in the air, Stinson would cut to the basket and bail him out. They devised their own plays, and ran them at Gloucester.
They came to Norfolk in part because the Spartans are expected to contend for a national championship. When Norfolk State got off to a 3-2 start, ``I think they took it harder than anybody,'' Bernard said. ``They had not lost a game in more than a year.''
Times were hard off the court as well. Just before practice started, Stinson's 15-year old half-brother, Anthony Horne, was killed in a drive-by shooting.
``We had tough times,'' Stinson said. ``But we always had each other to fall back on.''
Both say they've adjusted to life at Norfolk State, and plan to finish their college careers here.
``It's been nice so far,'' Whitfield said. ``Once we win this championship it'll be even better.''
After graduation, they plan to pursue a common career: law enforcement. Both are criminal justice majors and talk about becoming police officers back in their native Philadelphia.
``For the adventure,'' Stinson said.
Cops? It's easy to envision Stinson and Whitfield, who've always worked so well together, patrolling the mean streets of their hometown.
As partners, of course. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by D. Kevin Elliott, Staff
Marvin Stinson, left, and Maurice Whitfield are a couple of reasons
Norfolk State sports a 19-3 record and No. 7 national ranking.
by CNB