Girls basketball: Lincoln Park Academy coach collects 300th win

Dec. 18--FORT PIERCE -- On the court where he has guided Lincoln Park Academy's girls basketball team to so many victories over the last 15 seasons, coach Wendell Adams reached a major milestone Tuesday night.

The Greyhounds dealt Fort Pierce Westwood its first defeat, 39-36, and handed their longtime coach his 300th career win.

"I've been fortunate to coach at the same place for 15 years," Adams said afterward. "I've had some really good kids."

Tiara King just missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds for Lincoln Park (5-3), which used a 16-7 run in the third quarter to erase a seven-point halftime deficit.

Gariana Grimsley had 12 points and two steals, and Taneria Wilson added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Adams, 54, is 300-89 since replacing four-year coach Marty Wolfson in 1999. He becomes the second St. Lucie County girls basketball coach to win 300. Howard Avril was 344-229 in 22 years at John Carroll Catholic (1986-2008).

Under Adams, LPA has won 20 games nine times, captured nine district titles -- including each of the last five seasons -- and advanced to regionals 11 times. The Greyhounds were regional runners-up in 2000, 2001 and 2005.

Adams, who never has had a losing season, started his coaching career as a boys freshman coach under Marcellus Brown at Fort Pierce Westwood in 1985-86. He was a two-year girls assistant at Fort Pierce Central, including the Cobras' Class 3A state championship team in 1987.

After working in insurance for a few years, Adams spent one season as a boys assistant at Port St. Lucie and three more at Fort Pierce Westwood. He spent ive years as boys junior varsity coach at LPA.

After Wolfson stepped down following a 26-win, district championship season in 1999, Adams got the job and produced district titles in each of his first four seasons.

He has coached three All-Americans -- two at LPA -- and eight players who have scored at least 1,000 points.

"Since I started coaching, all of the girls who came through my program and graduated have gone on to college and graduated, except two and they went into the military," Adams said.

Even with one of his least experienced teams, the Greyhounds are on track for yet another winning season.

"I have a young group of kids who are slowly buying into the system," Adams said. "Before long, they can put a mark on this program."

Players have come and gone, but there has been one constant during Adams' run.

"My wife (June), daughter (Wenisha) and mother (Caretha) have been three of my biggest supporters," Adams said. "They've been with me through the journey."

Trudy Walker scored 14 points and Maci Simmons had nine for Fort Pierce Westwood (9-1), which had the longest unbeaten start in the program's 36-year history ended.

Lincoln Park hosts Martin County at 7 p.m. Friday.

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