April 7, 2004
AC's Turner, St. Joe's Smith win Pergament Awards
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
The 10th annual Boo Pergament Awards were presented during All Star Saturday over the weekend at
the Ventnor Education Community Complex.
Frank Turner of Atlantic City and Kayleen Smith of St. Joseph were the winners for 2003-04. Turner, a
sophomore, did not play varsity basketball as a freshman but this year became a key part of the Vikings’
conference champions and South Jersey finalists. Smith, a junior, was a role player last year but this
season became a go-to player for the Wildcats.
The award was created in 1990 after Pergament retired. A member of the South Jersey Basketball Hall
of Fame, he had spent more than three decades helping area basketball players improve. He has become
one of the most respected Atlantic City historians and now devotes most of his time to collecting post
cards and other memorabilia about Atlantic City.
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There have now been 13 years of all star games giving the top seniors from the Cape-Atlantic League one
final chance to play before graduating. But it is hard to imagine a more exciting play in any of them than
the one that happened on Saturday in Ventnor.
Kyle Wakefield of Middle Township had the ball and he brought it across half court. Off the dribble, he
launched the ball toward the glass. Suddenly, Mark Porter of St. Augustine emerged, leaped into the air,
grabbed the ball and threw down the perfect alley-oop dunk. It brought down the house.
Both Porter and Wakefield were, incidentally, among the three finalists in the slam-dunk contest before the
game.
When Oakcrest coach Dave Lewis hit 10 straight from three-point range to win the Coaches Shootout it
brought some oohs and aahs from the fans. But the Wakefield to Porter dunk was one for the ages, just
the kind of play fans are hoping to see when they attend an all star game.
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Dan Cappelluti’s five three-pointers in the boys game tied the all-time record set by Brian Pruitt of Holy
Spirit in 1993. It was the only record tied or broken during the two all star games this year.
There are, by the way, four records set in 1990, the first year of the all star games, that still stand today.
James Inman of Pleasantville scored 36 points in 1990, a record since tied by Lamus Rhett of Bridgeton in
1998. Inman also had 19 rebounds that year, also still a record.
In addition, Mike McFarland of Ocean City made five steals in the 1990 game, a record tied by Ivary Israel
of Egg Harbor Township in 1994. And Yulvonka Legette of Ocean City set the girls record for steals with
six in 1990. Stephanie Daniels of St. Joseph tied that record in 1995.
It should be pointed out that in the 1990s, the all star games were 40-48 minutes long, compared to the
32 minutes currently.
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