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Mount St. Joseph’s sophomore guard Eric Atkins has overcome the death of his father this past summer to emerge as one of the area’s best point guards.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Just play the game. That’s Eric Atkins’ secret, a phrase the Mount St. Joseph sophomore tells himself before every game.
The saying has special meaning to Atkins — it’s what his father, William Atkins, always told him. William, known to friends and family as Bill, died last summer after a long battle with cancer, leaving behind a wife and three sons.
The youngest, Eric, is driven to live up to the hopes of the man who installed a work ethic in him at an early age.
“My father passing made me want to work extremely harder,” Eric Atkins said. “Seeing everything my mother went through this past summer, it made me want to work harder.”
So far it’s worked. The 6-foot-2, 160-pound point guard has emerged as the area’s best underclassman guard by leading the top-ranked Gaels to a record of 19-2 playing one of the region’s toughest schedules.
“He’s definitely getting some interest from the ACC and Big East level,” Gaels coach Pat Clatchey said. “I think college coaches are certainly aware of who he is and what type of player he is.”
Atkins’ early favrorites in a recruiting process that likely will keep getting bigger are Georgetown, Duke and Maryland.
Atkins, who Clatchey said has some room to grow physically, was named second-team All-Examiner last season, but he’s been even better this season. He is averaging about 14 points, five assists and three steals per game, and running an offense that features 6-foot-11 senior center Henry Sims, who will play for Georgetown next year.
“The main thing is keeping the tradition going,” Atkins said, looking up at the numerous championship banners in Mount St. Joe’s gym. “You don’t want to be the team that falls off and makes the school look down on you. You want to keep the tradition up. It’s a responsibility to play here.”
His work ethic hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I think he, deep down, wants to become the best player he can be,” Clatchey said. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes to reach that level.”
And for Atkins, that meant taking an unconventional route to the Baltimore County private school. Before attending Mount St. Joseph, he was home-schooled so he improve his basketball skills and conditioning with his father for up to four hours a day. William Atkins stressed fundamentals, and Eric continues to carry that message today. His ultimate goal is to lead the Gaels to Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and Baltimore Catholic League titles, in addition to becoming a McDonald’s All-American by his senior year.
“The only hard thing for all of us is that my husband isn’t here to see all the hard work he’s put in with Eric. He sees him from above,” said Dominique Atkins, Eric’s mom. “Eric has always had a good work ethic. This is just scratching the surface at this point.”
swelsh@baltimoreexaminer.com
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Examiner Reader said:
Julianne is my cousin
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
'SHOCKED' hunh? that's very interesting. one would think that the shock would come when reading he has TWO yes TWO children who's lives he plays no active role in. as you stated you only know Mr. Stewart from afar. i'm sure at least TWO of his biological children can say the same. came from nothing has made something of himself? hmmmmmmm law of gravity states what goes up must come down. it must be an angry person to put Mr. Stewart out there like that. somewhat disrespectful but so what so is being a no show father. i think this article should have been a little more personal,dug a little deeper, before praising a man for what seems to be a full circle of success. seems it should have been titled 'Stewart Paints a Pretty Picture'. but what do i know? a mans success should be measured by how he actually lives his life, not what looks good on paper. save your shock for ten years from now and the success of those TWO kids who made it even without the guidance of this great role mo
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Eric it was a great pleasure to watch you develop the last two years. I wish you continued success.If you need anything you can call on me. Mr.Don
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I think you should check the brackets for who's playing who in the state championship.
5 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I am shocked that someone would air Mr.Stewarts personal affairs with so much disrespect. I only know Stewart from watching his career as well as following it through out his years over seas he came from nothing and has made something of himsef and his life to my knowlege Mr. Stewart has 3 children all from his wife of 10 years...This man has accomplished a great deal and that is what the article is about.It's not personal.
51 agree | 47 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Eric,if you care about academics as well as Basketball, then COME TO DUKE!! My daughter (class of '01) lost her dad to cancer just prior to her senior year. Though not a BB player, Coach K embraced her. All of the Duke coaches are GREAT mentors. You cannot go anywhere better. Join our Duke family. If you live 100 years you will never regret it. Love ya, widowed Duke mom.
77 agree | 87 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Eric Atkins is a terrific young man with a wonderful family unit who is there to keep him moving foward in the absence of his dad. Being part of Eric's life right now is such a blessing to me and my family so thank you for highligting him and paying tribute to his dad.
72 agree | 73 disagree
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Achilles said:
interesting
117 agree | 117 disagree
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Ben Williams II said:
All those high school teams in DC MD and VA are cheaters....and that KIMA school was the worst of all of them. It was like if a player wanted to play they let him, no matter how old he was. But even though their record wasnt that great, they did have some good players like Goodson, Peguero and Coleman. It shocked me to see Coleman play for such a organized team since the teams he usually play with are disfunctional. He and Peguero would make a nice 1+2 combo for college, but Coleman has to prove that he can dribble the ball. But he has my vote because he has changed him game enormously compared to his recent years, and why hasnt he and Peguero signed to any D1 schools?? The staff is HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
300 agree | 279 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I'd like to know which kids Larry is talking about expressing something to in the 7/26/06 article he refers to, because it amazes me that he would care about any other kid in the world other than the ones he mentioned in the article being as though he has 2 other children, another 12 year old daughter and another 10 year old son which he plays no active role in his life what so ever nor does he pay the child support he is suppose to pay. He has alot more to achieve than a degree. He has a 10 year old son that he needs to be a father and role model to.
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Tony Gaujot said:
People must have not been paying attention last year. I am saying this because Kevin Durant had the best season for a freshman of All-Time and people still are saying Oden should be the # 1 pick by a 3to 1 margin. Durant is the most complete front line player I have ever seen. It's going to be sick when he adds 20-25 lbs. of muscle. Now I am not knocking Oden, but I think he is a bit overrated. To say he is the best center prospect in 25 years is laughable. Did the guys spouting this mess forget about Shaq? When Oden puts up 25 and 13 like Shaq did for most of his career and wins 4 titles then get back to me. To be honest, I am not sure Oden will ever average 20 ppg in the NBA. Besides, if you look at need, the Blazers already have Aldridge and he is very promising. If they took Durant to play the "3" their front line would be Durant, Zach Randolph, and Aldridge. Can you say UNSTOPPABLE?There really isn't room for both Aldridge and Oden. Durant = Bird but much more athleti
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Examiner Reader said:
I think Jamar Harrison is a C-USA, A-10 type talent right now, and if he improves his "3" he will become a guy that can play for money one day. it may be oversees, but he has the athletic ability to get there. A JUCO or prep school may actually be good alternatives for him, because he will continue to get lots of game action. If he goes to a solid D-1 program, he may sit for a year or two waiting his turn. He is, however, better than many of the guys some of the D-1 schools are signing.
290 agree | 293 disagree
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Steven Forte said:
That center Rodney Goodson is soft.
336 agree | 289 disagree
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Arnold Kennedy said:
Yes, Harrison should be getting tons of letters. He was clearly top 5 in the SG category, plus last year he squared off against Coleman and won the scoring battle 27-15, then in the next game, although they lost, he outscored Coleman 22-15. Now, even though Coleman had a horribly selfish PG in Harris, he still should have produced more last year as a Colt. But he did improve his defense this year. I went to all but two of KIMAs games and he did well, not great but well, considering that he had not played man to man defense at Coolidge. But yes, Harrison should be getting more letters. If he was maybe 6'6 instead of 6'2-6'3, he'd get way more offers. And Coleman really has an upside. Although he averaged about 22 last year, his average dropped to about 12-13 this year, but he didnt have the team he had last year. Coolidge needed a better point guard.
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Jamie Krystal said:
KIMA and Dunbar respectively had their share of talented SG's. But if they were to go head to head, Id give the advantage to KIMA. Dunbar's center Roberson I think is too weak against KIMA's Goodson...plus Goodson outweighs him by about 60 pounds.Goodson would dominate the whole game. Plus Coleman would chip in about 20 5 and 5, and that little point guard would give you some good minutes and some smart decisions. I think KIMA should have been ranked in the post top 20 instead of Dunbar.
314 agree | 293 disagree
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Tony Gaujot said:
Why isn't Jamar Harrison getting more offers? He was one of the 3 or 4 best SG's in the DC area last year. He has the game and the grades, but hardly any D-1 schools are noticing. It does not make any sense. It looks like not playing AAU ball really has hurt him. I hope a D-1 comes in late and gets him. He will produce. If not, maybe he should go to a prep school for the 07-08 season.
307 agree | 348 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
They didn't feed the big man enough, but yes that Lionel Coleman really knows how to put on a show....did you see him in the lay-up lines?? Insane. Drew Smith
696 agree | 356 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Man that kid Coleman really helped bump that team over the edge...he was a difference maker the whole season...
329 agree | 318 disagree
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