Athletic excellence and humility are common denominators among the 2012 MEAC Hall of Fame inductees.
The members of the Class of 2012 achieved greatness in their respective sports, and in their communities while putting team goals ahead of individual recognition and accolades, never expecting that someday they would be singled out for their contributions by being chosen for the MEAC's highest honor - even after their collegiate careers had ended.
They were simply doing what they do.
"I totally forgot about everything that was done during my career,'' says former Howard University women's basketball player Alisha "Tuff'' Hill. "Life goes on. I didn't expect it. When I got the call, I couldn't talk. I'm still taking it in. After two hours of sitting in the room with my plaques and trophies from when I played and getting a bunch of calls, I realized it was kind of a big deal. I didn't realize my numbers until my brother called. It's amazing. I am completely honored, first of all to be in the Hall of Fame, and then to be in there with my coach (Sanya Tyler, Class of 2011)."
Hill is the MEAC women's basketball all-time leading scorer with 2,179 points. She holds the school record for field goal percentage (.600) and most free throws attempted in a season (262 in 1997-98). She was a three-time All-MEAC First Team selection, a MEAC All-Rookie team selection (1995) and the MEAC Player of the Year (1998). Hill also earned MEAC Tournament Outstanding Performer honors in 1997 and 1998. During the 1997-98 season, she led the nation in rebounding with an average of 13.2.
Other members of the MEAC 2012 Hall of Fame Class are former South Carolina State defensive lineman Philip Murphy, former Florida A&M softball pitcher Amber Alford, former Hampton men's basketball player Tarvis Williams and former Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jermaine "J.D.'' Hall. The Class of 2012 will be honored tomorrow at a brunch at the M.C. Benton Junior Convention Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., during the 2012 MEAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament.
Hall will be inducted posthumously.
Hill, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, where she is a fraud investigator, says her fondest memories of playing at Howard are of the moments she spent with her teammates, the bus rides to games, the song they sang when they ran out of the tunnel before games, and the ritual they went through when one of them scored.
"It was so much fun,'' she says. "Those were the four best years of my life. Getting into the Hall of Fame is the cherry on top with a little whipped cream added.''
Alford led Florida A&M to three consecutive MEAC softball titles from 1997-99. She was MEAC Rookie of the Year in 1997 and Player of the Year in 1998. She finished her career with a 75-47 record and a 2.19 earned run average, and she struck out 487 batters.
"When I was playing, I just liked playing softball,'' says Alford, a legal assistant in Tallahassee, Fla. "I had been pitching since I was knee high to an ant. I didn't keep up with my performances. My approach was to stay healthy and make it entertaining for the team."
Alford, a two-time All-American, amazingly pitched a school record 43 complete games in 49 starts. But for her, it was no big deal. The reason being with her father coaching her when she was growing up, she would throw 150 pitches daily in addition to the work she did in practice.
"When I came to college, it wasn't a big deal,'' she says. "I was used to throwing a lot of pitches, and I was disciplined. It was fun. My attitude was do not start something that you can't finish. When I found out I didn't complete six game, I was like why didn't I finish those six games. What did I do wrong?' I just don't know why I didn't complete them.''
Murphy, who played along side the likes of future NFL stars Harry Carson, Dextor Clinkscale and Charley Brown, was the 1979 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team Sheridan Broadcasting Network and Kodak All-American selection. The Los Angeles Rams chose him the third round of the 1980 NFL Draft after he was Defensive MVP of the Senior Bowl.
"It's a testament to all of my teammates and what we did at South Carolina State,'' Murphy, an investment banker in Mystic, Conn., says, "what we were able to accomplish. Harry Carson, Mickey Sims, Dextor Clinkscale, Charlie Brown, Nate Rivers. You name them. I just did what I was supposed to do. When you play in company like that, you're supposed to do well. You should excel. All I tried to do was have the respect of my teammates and be good enough to be on the field with them.''
Murphy was widely recruited by a number of Ivy League schools the University of Pittsburgh and Northwestern University after he helped Xavier High of Middletown, Conn., to a 44-1 record during his career and a third-place national ranking his senior season. He was also nationally ranked in the shot put and hammer throw as a member of Xavier's track team.
"The prospect of playing at an HBCU was intriguing,'' he says. "I wanted to play a high level of football. I wanted to be challenged.
In addition to his accomplishments in football at South Carolina State, which included playing on three consecutive MEAC championship teams from 1976-78, Murphy had a stellar career in track and field. He was a four-time MEAC champion in the shot put and a two-time champion in the discus. He still holds the school record in the shot put at 57 feet, two inches, and he held the MEAC record in that event from 1979-2007.
Hall, who died in 2007, was a three-year starter for Bethune-Cookman. He still holds school career records for passing attempts (1,150) and completions (558), and he is second in career passing yards (7,154) and touchdown passes (44). Before his death, Hall had a successful coaching career as an assistant at North Carolina Central, where he was offensive coordinator for on the staff of Larry Little, his coach at Bethune-Cookman; North Carolina A&T., Connecticut and Vanderbilt. He was also head coach at Mandarin High in Jacksonville, Fla.
"He'd be proud and humbled by the selection,'' says Hall's brother, A.G. Hall, associate head women's basketball coach at Bethune-Cookman. "He'd be proud to be recognized for the things he did on the field as an athlete. He was as unassuming and humble as a person could be. He treated everybody the same whether they were a professional athlete or kid with the odds against him. That endured him to a lot of people.''
Jermaine Hall didn't start playing quarterback until he was in the 10th grade after playing several other positions.
"He decided he wanted to be a quarterback,'' A.G. Hall says. "He dedicated himself, and he was able to play at a high level. He was a very confident player. He believed in himself, he believed he could do anything he set his mind to.''
Hill, the oldest of five siblings, grew up on the west side of Jacksonville, Fla., and was a role model for his sisters and brothers.
"He was the leader of all of us kids,'' A.G. Hill says. "When you needed advice, he was who you went to; if you needed anything, that's who you went to. He has always taken care of us. I can't tell you how proud I am of him. It's one thing to grow up watching him and appreciating him. It's another thing to know others appreciate him as well. We celebrate that for him.''
Williams, a premier shot-blocker when he played at Hampton from1997-2001, currently plays professionally for BC Prievidza in Slovakia. He led the nation in blocked shots with a school record 4.6 a game his senior, and he set school records for blocks in a game (12), a season (147) and a career (4.48).
Williams, No. 6 on Hampton's career scoring list with 1,754 points, averaged 21.9 points his senior season. He received numerous honors during his career at Hampton, including MEAC Rookie of the Year (1998); Second Team All-MEAC (1997-98 First Team All-MEAC (2000-01); MEAC Player of the Year (2001), and MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2001).
The highlight of Williams' college career came when he made the winning shot in the15th-seeded Pirates' 58-57 first-round NCAA Tournament upset victory against Iowa State, the No. 2 seed in 2001.