As Marshawn Lynch unwrapped candy and played with the kids outside the Oakland Technical School diner, his mother, Delisa Lynch, reflected on the school’s Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday night.

“It’s amazing… a blessing,” she said. Delisa set track and field records on the North Oakland campus in the early 1980s. Marshawn, who was a star football player, graduated in 2004 and went on to play for UC Berkeley and later for the Seattle Seahawks and the Oakland Raiders. He was honored on January 20 along with other distinguished alumni in front of a packed gym.

“Everyone paints a bad picture of Auckland, but if only they could see tonight. … We did it together. We need a village,” Delissa said.

The Hall of Fame class of nine was honored with jackets and plaques. The tech gym, freshly painted in the school’s purple and gold colors with “Welcome to the doghouse” on one wall and “There’s nothing but the dog in me” on the other, hummed as Oakland boxing legend Andre Ward sat by the court. to watch the Techie girl’s Basketball game before the ceremony.

Lynch, a Super Bowl champion and international icon, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame along with other legendary athletes the school has nurtured, including:

• Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with fellow Hall of Famer Devaney Hampton, won two state basketball titles at the Institute of Technology and then co-hosted the NCAA Tournament in California.
• Ricky Henderson, Baseball Hall of Famer and Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in bases scored and stolen
• Josh Johnson, 49ers quarterback who went on hiatus in the NFL playoffs (the Tech crowd exploded when the quarterback’s matchup with the Cowboys was announced)
• Bothers Josh Lowry and Terrell Lowry, MLB draft picks (Terrell Homered for the San Francisco Giants) and college basketball stars.
• Leon Pau, who led Tech to two state title games before he became a star in California and won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics.
• Northern Shavers, basketball star drafted by the San Antonio Spurs.

“There was majesty in the corridors,” recalls former baseball star Chris McClarty. one of the most dynamic basketball duos in the country. “It gives you confidence,” McClarty said.

Honored with McClarty in the school’s Hall of Honor, Quentin Thomas thanks Pau for getting a basketball scholarship offer for the North Carolina power plant.

“It’s something special that we’ve been able to achieve in four years,” said Thomas, who entered the Institute of Technology in 2000 with a wave of athletic talent across all sports. “To be back in 2023 and see how this will impact the community and the city, I’m just grateful to have been a part of it.”

Roderick Williams recalls playing in the outfield at Bushrod Park, avoiding potholes and tracking flying balls alongside Henderson, who would become the greatest hitter of all time.

“He was like Bo Jackson before Bo Jackson,” said Williams, who graduated from high school in 1976.

Two coaches who have worked together at Tech for nearly a century have been inducted into the Hall of Honor. Rosemary Whisenton, Johnson’s mother and grandmother of freshman basketball star Jai, surrounded her with a cheerleading squad. Ashley Sherman, who has been training wrestlers in Oakland for over 50 years and is a member of the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, welcomed the decades-familiar faces he toughened up at the Tech Wrestling Gym on the second floor.

Seven athletes entered the Hall of Excellence:

• Michael Denard
• Chris McClarty
• Quentin Thomas
• Harold Gipson
• Armando Surratt
• Virdell Larkins
• Wolfe Perry

And seven athletes and coaches were inducted into the school’s Hall of Honor.

• Pico Wilburn
• Rosemary Wizenton
• Delton Edwards
• Ronnie Turner
• Ashley Sherman
• Hodari McGavock
• Tim Brown

Auckland Councilman Dan Kalb, Deputy Mayor Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, School Board President Mike Hutchinson and School Board Principal Sam Davis attended. VIP courtside tickets were sold to raise money for the Oakland Institute of Technology Parent Teacher Association.

The ceremony followed a Tech women’s basketball team game against Oakland High School. Staying true to its goal of winning its third consecutive state championship this year, Tech delivered a superb record, winning easily. Hampton, who now coaches AAU basketball, sees similarities with her tech teams.

Sia Sumler, who hit the game-changing free throws in the 2005 title game after Hampton and Gray-Lawson were fouled, said she was proud of Hampton’s accomplishments and his recognition as a member of the Technology Hall of Fame.

Later in the evening, after the ceremony, the Tech Boys basketball team entered the court. Screams of “OOO-TTT!!!” reverberated off the freshly painted purple and gold walls like the thriller of a game that Tech won in overtime. When Stanford sent Omar Staples to the home team basket, Marshawn Lynch danced on the court with former classmates and new Hall of Famers. With fans roaring on their feet, Oakland High star Money Williams calmly converted two free throws to equalize at the end of normal time.

“Technology is my home,” Thomas said. – I like to come back after so many years, to see a crowded hall and everyone who supports not only the men’s (basketball) team, but also the women’s. The women have a great program, as always. They were better than us when we were in school, with Devaney and Alexis. … Last night with the alumni game. It’s special.”

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