8-4-21 roundup: Pro basketball and baseball, Legion softball
By Richard Walker
Gastonia’s current three NBA products have had big summers.
Former player and longtime coach Darrell Armstrong will remain with the Dallas Mavericks after new head coach Jason Kidd kept him on his new staff. Former Ashbrook, Forestview and Huss student Hassan Whiteside will be joining his fourth NBA team in four years after agreeing to a contract with the Utah Jazz. And former Forestview and Gaston Day standout Nate Hinton will play for the Dallas Mavericks’ summer league team.
Armstrong, a 1986 Ashbrook High graduate who played 14 seasons in the NBA, is beginning his 14th season as a Mavericks’ assistant coach.
Whiteside has previously played for Sacramento, Miami, Portland and Sacramento again before signing with Utah.
And Hinton, a 2018 Gaston Day School graduate, averaged 2.0 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 21 games as a rookie for the Mavericks this past season.
Dallas begins Las Vegas SUmmer League games on Monday at 4 p.m. against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Mavericks also play Utah on Aug. 11, Denver on Aug. 14 and Sacramento on Aug. 15.
Legion softball
Davidson County rallied from an early deficit to beat Wayne County 9-7 and claim the 2021 N.C. American Legion softball state championship at Crest High School on Wednesday.
Wayne County had eliminated Robeson County 7-3 to advance to the title game.
Wayne County also led Davidson County 6-3 after four innings before Post 8 rallied to take its state championship.
Complete results and schedule follow:
Monday, Aug. 2
Game 1 – Davidson County 9, Hickory 0
Game 2 – Wayne County 9, Robeson County 1
Game 3 – Davidson County 5, Cleveland County 4
Tuesday, Aug. 3
Game 4 – Robeson County 7, Hickory 6
Game 5 – Davidson County 8, Wayne County 2
Game 6 – Robeson County 4, Cleveland County 2
Wednesday, Aug. 4
Game 7 – Wayne County 7, Robeson County 3
Game 8 – Championship game: Davidson County 9, Wayne County 7
Pro basketball
Charlotte Hornets guard Nate Darling suffered a right knee injury in the team’s pre-summer league workouts in Charlotte and will be unable to participate in the team’s Las Vegas Summer League games.
Darling will be replaced by former University of North Carolina guard Joel Berry. Berry previously appeared in 34 games for the Hornets’ Greensboro Swarm G-League affiliate during the 2019-20 season.
The Charlotte Hornets’ Las Vegas Summer League schedule:
Aug. 8 Portland, 6 p.m. (NBA TV)
Aug. 9 Sacramento, 6 p.m. (NBA TV)
Aug. 12 San Antonio, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Aug. 14 Toronto, 7 p.m. (NBA TV)
Aug. 16 or 17 TBD
Pro baseball
The Gastonia Honey Hunters lost 14-3 at the West Virginia Power on Wedneday.
Gastonia (27-32) will play West Virginia again on Thursday.