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Oakland Mills High School senior Miriam McKenzie practices with her team Monday morning. McKenzie will play next year at Loyola College. — Kristine Buls/Examiner
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - No matter what hand Oakland Mills senior Miriam McKenzie uses, she’s always right.
The 5-foot-8 guard uses her left hand to write and brush her teeth. But it’s her right hand that has brought her accolades on the hardwood. McKenzie shoots and dribbles with her right hand but is equally adept at scoring in close with her dominant, left hand. The versatility makes her not only one of the most complete scorers in Howard County, but also in the Baltimore region, averaging 27.1 points per game, seven more than a year ago.
“She’s going to be tough to replace,” Oakland Mills coach Seth Willingham said. “She’s somebody that you can’t replace on the basketball court. Just her presence. Her academics is great, how hard she works in the weight room, there are countless things I could say about her.”
McKenzie has always been a southpaw, but broke her left arm as a 6-year-old when she was playing around at church. It was just a few months later that she picked up a basketball for the first time and was forced to learn with her opposite hand.
Her versatility on the court earned her a scholarship to play at Loyola next winter, and allowed her to become the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,599 points in a 45-32 win over Glenelg last Thursday night.
“Having the school’s scoring record means a lot, but I would like it a lot more to make it to the state playoffs,” McKenzie said. “That’s definitely the number one goal. We can’t say our goal is winning a state title if none of us have ever been there before.”
Oakland Mills (15-3, 13-3 Howard County) saw its bid for a second state title and first since 1998 come to an end last year in a 48-44 loss to Douglass in the Maryland 2A South Region quarterfinals.
The loss was especially difficult for McKenzie, who made a buzzer-beating three-pointer against Edgewood in the opening round to give her team a 50-47 victory.
“It’s not my best memory of last year because we ended up losing,” McKenzie said. “I am pretty confident. I think we can do something special if we all play together.”
But growing up and learning to deal with tough losses and controlling her emotions has been a key for McKenzie, who also averages 12.7 rebounds, 4.8 steals and 4.1 assists per game. She has emerged as a leader for the Scorpions and works to help keep the team focused. With a showdown against No. 3 Mount Hebron (21-0, 16-0) looming on Friday night at 7, she should have no problem rallying her team.
To Willingham, that’s an even bigger key to her success than being able to shoot with either hand.
“When she came in as a freshman we butted heads pretty good,” he said. “She was definitely talented, but lacked a few fundamental skills and me and her have one thing in common, we both hate to lose. That’s something that got us through the hard times.”
dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com
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6:29 PM MST on Tue., Jun. 24, 2008 re: "Raiders wiped out by Paint Branch"
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Examiner Reader said:
Julianne is my cousin
2 agree | 2 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 | 4 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.
882 agree | 243 disagree
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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.
315 agree | 291 disagree
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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.
313 agree | 292 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.
306 agree | 347 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 | 355 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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