Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 5, 1990 TAG: 9003052002
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bob Teitlebaum
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Past events say that Martinsville will win the Group AA title when 32 of Virginia's finest high school teams begin chasing four championships this week.
Staunton Robert E. Lee, unbeaten and virtually unchallenged as the state's No. 1 Group AA team, would disagree. But the Leemen may have to fight tradition as well as the Bulldogs.
Wells, who doubles as a Martinsville girls' assistant in the fall, didn't tell Hall that the George Wythe and Radford girls' teams met five times this season. Wythe won all five, including championship games in the New River District, Region IV and Group AA.
With some help, Martinsville may have a chance to duplicate that feat this week against Piedmont District rival Laurel Park. The Bulldogs have beaten the Lancers four times, and if they do it again, it will be in the Group AA final Saturday at Charlottesville.
"Troy should have known that, but he didn't say anything about it," Hall said Saturday night after Martinsville rallied from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Laurel Park 74-64.
That was the widest margin between the two teams. Martinsville also beat the Lancers twice by two points and once by seven.
There's more. Last season, Magna Vista beat Northside by two points in the final seconds of a Region III semifinal game and went on to win the state title. The Bulldogs beat Northside this season in a Region III semifinal on a last-second shot by Curtis Pilson.
The biggest history lesson, though, is that Martinsville has won nine Group AA championships since 1961 and started the last decade with a Group AA title. Also, Hall, the winningest public school coach in Virginia, is closing in on 500 career victories.
When Martinsville beat Laurel Park in the Region III final, it left the Bulldogs with a favorable state draw.
Laurel Park is now in Lee's bracket. If both teams win opening-round games, they'll battle in the semis.
With 6-foot-7 sophomore Odell Hodge and 6-4 Lemont Wells, Laurel Park matches up better against a tall Lee team than does Martinsville, which has won with quickness and a strong perimeter game from Troy Brandon, Travis Wells and Pilson.
Laurel Park, with four underclassmen in its starting lineup, is the team of the future. The Lancers have come on strong under coach Frank Scott after losing five of their first seven games.
Timesland's strongest contender for a state crown is James River in Group A, followed by either Martinsville or Laurel Park. Yes, Laurel Park is that dangerous, though the Lancers appear to be a year away.
George Wythe and a young Marion team, also with only one senior starter, are long shots in Group AA. Bland, despite a great season, isn't ready to challenge the top teams as James River proved when it blew away the Rockets 87-47 in the Region C final.
If the Knights play defense as they did in the Region C tournament, top-ranked James River will be very tough.
The Knights appear to have the worst draw, playing in the same bracket as Woodstock Central. If those two hook up in the semifinal round, they could repeat last year's first-round double-overtime thriller won by James River.
Actually, the Knights have the best draw. Defending Group A champion Fluvanna is James River's most serious challenger. The Flying Flucos, ranked third, would have been second if not for a couple of losses at mid-season.
Only in Group AA can the top two teams reach the final, if Lee and Martinsville make it that far. Group A has the most teams left from the Associated Press' final Top 10 - five squads. There are four top 10 teams remaining in the other two classifications, but Maury, No. 1 in Group AAA, is not in the state tournament.
In Group AAA, Thomas Jefferson, with 6-7 Kendrick Warren, might be a slight favorite. The state's two most highly sought prospects, Warren and South Lakes' Grant Hill, are in the Group AAA tournament that will unfold in Williamsburg.
Franklin County's chances are not good for a title, but the odds of the Eagles winning a first-round game improved Saturday night when Wakefield upset South Lakes in the Northern Region final. Otherwise, Franklin County, with three tremendous perimeter players and no height, would have faced Hill and South Lakes.
Cave Spring's girls will be seeking the Roanoke Valley District's first Group AAA state tournament victory when they play James Madison on Wednesday. The Knights lost in overtime to Menchville last year after being wiped out by Lake Braddock the year before. So they're getting closer.
Wythe coach Al Copenhaver has a chance at a unique double if his team wins the state. The Wythe girls' team, coached by his wife Mary, won the state title in the fall. If the Maroons win the boys' title, it will mark the first time in state history - if not in the nation - that a husband-wife team has coached state champions in the same school year. It at least ought to qualify them for a spot in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" section.
by CNB