THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503100242
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
TALLWOOD BASKETBALL coach Johnny Pope feels like the toughest job a coach has is to make a team live up to its reputation.
That's why it was no surprise to him that the Beach District coaches voted Bayside's Ron Jenkins as the coach of the year.
Bayside was the preseason favorite to take the Beach title and the Marlins breezed through the district schedule - that is, until a last-game loss to Tallwood. Bayside went on to win the tournament championship as well, before falling in the Eastern Region tournament.
Bayside was ranked third in the state at one point.
But to make Jenkins` game plan work, he had to have someone on the court to help. Again, no surprise that Lashawn Jones was chosen as the Beach player of the year.
``I've had some great players in the past and he stacks up right in there with the best of them,'' Jenkins said of his 6-foot-3 senior forward. ``He could handle dual roles, playing inside and out, and he was our leading scorer and, at times, our leading rebounder as well.
``He was our catalyst.''
Jones averaged 15.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
Teammate Shawn Blassingill was also chosen for the first team and was the Marlins coach on the court.
``He was our leader,'' Jenkins said. ``He was probably most effective in getting the ball to our scorers, although he has offensive skills. We spread the offense against Green Run and let him go one-on-one and he got 25. He could have been a scorer if we needed him too.
``He was also our leader on defense.''
Blassingill, who has an academic scholarship to William and Mary, finished with a 5.7 points average and dished out 8.3 assists a game.
Joining the two Marlins on the first team were Xavier Wilson of Cox, Rian Everett of Tallwood, Plaxico Burress of Green Run and Anthony Williams of Salem.
Everett, a 6-0 junior point guard, was one of the most unstoppable players in the league.
``He's one of the best one-on-one players in the league,'' Pope said. ``But he's also the quintessential team player. He works so hard to get the ball to other players.''
But he could score on his own, finishing with a 14.1 average that included 51 3-pointers. He shot 45 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the line.
Williams, a 6-2 senior forward, averaged 15.4 points for the Sun Devils. Burress, a 6-5 junior forward, averaged 15.5 points and eight boards a game.
Wilson, a 6-1 senior guard, averaged 12.1 points and led the Falcons in assists (107) and steals (60). He also averaged 6.1 rebounds - good enough for second on his team. ILLUSTRATION: ALL-BEACH DISTRICT BOYS BASKETBALL
First team
Second team
[For a copy of the rosters, see microfilm for this date.]
Lashawn Jones
Shawn Blassingill
Anthony Williams
Xavier Wilson
Rian Everett
Plaxico Burress
by CNB