Norfolk Academy鈥檚 McCormack wins NCAA Championship, Williams plays in Final Four
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Academy fans had plenty of rooting interest in the Final Four – two recent Bulldogs played in college basketball’s marquee event and one brought home a national championship!
David McCormack led Kansas to the title, scoring 15 points in the final and earning All-Tournament honors. Mark Williams now stars at Duke, which lost to North Carolina in a Final Four semifinal.
Not many schools can claim two of their own playing on the biggest stage in Division I basketball.
鈥淲hat an opportunity and experience for both of them and for the school,” said teacher-coach Eric Acra, NA’s boys varsity basketball coach for the past two decades.
McCormack was an all-around athletics standout at Academy, dabbling in football, track and field, and even dance. (Dance Master Elbert Watson taught him ballet moves that McCormack credits with helping him develop his footwork on the court.) Though he moved to Oak Hill Academy, a nationally acclaimed basketball powerhouse in western Virginia, in his junior year, he remains close with coaches, teachers, and friends he made at NA.
Williams attended NA from first through 11th grade, moving to the IMG Sports Academy in Florida before his senior year. Though his size (7-foot-1) and skills have always made him an athletics standout, he has also been a team player. He helped the varsity as a manager as an eighth grader, keeping statistics among other responsibilities. By the time he was in ninth grade he was on the court, helping lead the Bulldogs for three successful seasons.
He also remains close with friends from NA. When Duke played at the University of Virginia, he visited with Acra, Director of Athletics Chad Byler, and classmates who went to that game.
Their basketball success has garnered both McCormack and Williams national attention and brought excitement to campus.
Several media outlets contacted Acra for 海角社区 in the lead up to the Final Four; Academy students and faculty wore school colors orange and blue on the Friday before the national semifinals; and a group of alumni traveled to those games in New Orleans.
It’s important to note, though, that both McCormack and Williams are stellar students.
McCormack earned his undergraduate degree in communications studies from Kansas almost a year ago, during his junior season. He is a two-time academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and was nominated for Academic All-America in 2020 and 2021. In addition, he was one of only 25 students chosen to participate on the university’s 2020 Campus Task Force on Community-Responsive Public Safety.
Experts say Williams, a sophomore, is a future first-round NBA draft pick, perhaps as soon as this year. Yet he still focuses on his studies, making the All-ACC Academic Team as a freshman.
Acra and Byler went to the Final Four, supporting these two stars. Their effort and dedication are what made the special event possible, Acra said.
“You look at their work ethic, in the classroom and on the court, they put those together at the right time,鈥� he said.
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