IN RECOGNITION OF THE I.C. NORCOM BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM

The I.C. Norcom Greyhounds boys' basketball team had a remarkable season and I believe the Greyhounds deserve formal recognition for their accomplishments. On March 12, 2010, the I.C. Norcom Greyhounds won the Group AAA boys' state basketball championship. The Greyhounds completed their 2010 season with an impressive 25-4 record.

I.C. Norcom won the championship in memorable fashion. Down ten points with 7:48 left in the game, the team rallied back to trail 54-53 with a minute left to play. A buzzer-beating shot by Shelton Haskins with 1.5 seconds left sealed the 55-54 victory over a previously unbeaten team from Petersburg High School.

I.C. Norcom made history throughout the tournament. They were the first Portsmouth team to ever reach a semifinal game. In a similar comeback victory against Chantilly High, Norcom advanced to the AAA Championship, again the first team from Portsmouth to do so. The win gives the school and the city of Portsmouth its first Group AAA state basketball title.

I.C. Norcom was founded in 1913 as the High Street School, the first public high school for black students in Portsmouth. It was renamed in 1953 in honor of its first supervising principal, Israel Charles Norcom, a pioneering educator, civic leader and businessman. Now, more than 50 years and three locations later, I.C. Norcom High School is still an innovating and inspiring place for Portsmouth students.

In addition to excelling on the basketball court, the Greyhounds are also doing great things in the classroom. I.C. Norcom houses a Center of Excellence in Math and Science, which provides students with additional classes in science, math, and technology. Fifty seniors this year will be receiving their Center of Excellence Diplomas which require five science course credits, one more than required under the advanced diploma. In addition 23 I.C. Norcom seniors have been participating in the First College program--attending Tidewater Community College this semester and taking up to 14 college credits before they graduate. I.C. Norcom is doing a great job cultivating excellence both on and off the athletic field.

I would like to extend my enthusiastic congratulations to the I.C. Norcom players, their families, principal Lynn Briley, coach Leon Goolsby and the rest of his coaching staff, on the occasion of this historic Boy's basketball championship. On behalf of the people of the Third Congressional district of Virginia, I.C. Norcom alumni, and the entire city of Portsmouth, I commend them for this historic win and wish the program years of success in the future.