“Some will call it practice, some will call it luck

But either way, you're going to the history books

Standing in the hall of fame”

- Hall of Fame, The Script

They say good things come to those who wait, and on Dec. 2, Cambridge native Richie White Jr. experienced such a moment worth waiting for.

At a long-anticipated ceremony, White was among those affiliated with the 2000 Community College of Baltimore County at Dundalk Lions team awarded entry into the school’s Hall of Fame, during a day and night of festivities including a luncheon and the 2023 CCBC Athletics Hall of Fame Men’s Basketball Game.

In 2000, the Lions won the Division II National Junior College Athletic Association Basketball Championship, marking the first national title for a state of Maryland school in the 12-year history of the tournament. 

A top-ranked team for nearly the entire season, mounting a decisive 34-2 winning season record, the Lions defeated Rose State (Oklahoma) for the NJCAA Division II crown on the early March 2000 weekend in Danville, Ill.

“In 2000, we lost the first game by one point, followed by a 17-game winning streak,” White said.

White, who played point guard, was among the 13 student-athletes from diverse backgrounds who came together to win the tournament. The group included an NJCAA All-American, CCBC Athletics Hall of Famer, and many NJCAA All Region 20, All Maryland Juco Conference and All Tournament awards. The program was led by head coach, the late Don Beasley, who passed away in 2017, assistant coaches E. Todd Moore and Elliott Oppenheim and athletic director Ken MacLaughlin. 

White’s fellow teammates who were honored include James Bowen, Anthony "Will" Chase, Micah Davenport, Andre Fountain (not attending), Jaki' J Garrett (Tito), Sean Glassgow, Demetrius Harris, Tenell S. Hicks, Eugen E.T. Jackson, Shaun Sanders and Greate White.

Coach Beasley was represented by his wife, Edith, daughter Victoria, and siblings Hattie, Cherise, Tyrone, Paul, Bernadette and Kenyetta.

All were welcomed and recognized by CCBC President Dr. Sandra L. Kurtinitis, who asked the appreciative crowd, “How could they be anything but champions?”

The CCBC Athletics Hall of Fame Committee, under the leadership of chairman George Henderson (former longtime CCBC Essex baseball coach), selected this team, the third team ever and first at CCBC Dundalk, to join the CCBC Athletics Hall of Fame. 

White, a Cambridge native who also excelled during his student-athlete career on the Cambridge-South Dorchester High School Vikings junior varsity and varsity basketball team from 1994-1998. In ‘98, White was team captain and MVP.

While his first love was playing baseball, following in his father’s footsteps, he took up basketball to honor the memory of cousin James White, a star basketball (and football) player at C-SD, whose promising life was cut short by drowning, three months after graduation.

While a number of his high school coaches and mentors were steering him toward a variety of options, he credits his coach Colvin Camper, who passed away in 2022, with alerting him about Dundalk’s team needing a point guard during the summer of 1998.

Attending a workout, White clearly remembered feeling awestruck, being where 150 athletes were competing for a spot on the team.

Just graduated from high school, White recalled that a number of the others attending were several years older and their outstanding abilities already known to him from games he’d seen them play on the AAU circuit.

“There were guys who’d played with Howard and other Division I schools, but who ran afoul of team rules. When Dundalk gave them a second chance, they made the most of settling for a Junior College opportunity,” White noted.

While other players came from Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pa., with just three from Maryland, White was the only one representing the Eastern Shore.

Heading home immediately after the workout, he heard from Coach Beasley, inviting him to return and play summer ball with the Lions.

From CCBC Dundalk, White has followed a career path focused in medically related pursuits. Among the first statewide to be certified in forensic DNA technology, he worked with Maryland Probation and Parole from 2006-11.

He returned to Cambridge before the birth of his son, Richie III, now 5, and since 2018 has worked with the Dorchester County Health Department as care coordinator/case manager.

He also coaches his son in the T-ball team he and his mom, Flo, currently sponsor.

For more information about CCBC athletics, visit ccbcdundalklions.com.