Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 9, 1990 TAG: 9003081658
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Ray Cox
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Four stories dominated the year: George Wythe's Jamie Lee, Blacksburg's Jay Purcell, Radford's Lewis Ramsey and the unexpected success of Christiansburg.
First, Lee. The 6-5 forward fulfilled the vast potential that was suggested when he was brought up to the Maroons varsity as a freshman.
Lee dominated the New River District in virtually every statistical category and was accorded player of the year honors in both the league and the region.
He figures to land in college as a shooting guard and should do very well as such. He has range, shooting touch, court awareness and plain old athletic ability.
One last point about Lee: It was fortunate that his season was one in which the Maroons were still in the New River. If Lee had faced Hogoheegee District competition, as his former teammates will when George Wythe drops to Group A next season, it would not have been a pleasant sight.
He might have averaged 35 points and 20 rebounds in the weak-sister Hogo.
Purcell is another player who figures to land at another position when he goes to college. He was moved to shooting guard this season so he could help take up the scoring slack left by the graduation of Doug Day. But when Purcell takes up residence at Virginia Tech, with whom he signed during the November recruiting period, it is expected that he will be a point guard.
And a fine one he should be. Purcell's ball handling, vision and passing ability were among the best seen in these parts in the past 10 years.
Further, he will be even more dangerous as a collegian because he has polished his scoring skills. Had he stayed at the point in high school, he might not have had the chance to perfect his perimeter game the way he did as his team's primary offensive threat this season.
Ramsey is an athlete, pure and simple. He'll be playing football at Wake Forest, which should give him a chance to be murder during off-season pickup basketball games around the Winston-Salem campus.
At 6-2, Ramsey was undersized for a post player but had the legs and quickness to pull it off. Perhaps the finest performance of his career was his 39-point effort in a win over eventual Region IV champion Marion.
Marion had a huge front line that included a 6-8 center, but nobody could keep up with Ramsey.
Christiansburg was a major surprise. After losing all five starters from the 1988-89 state tournament team, the Blue Demons were not given much of a chance in the district. They ended up beating eventual champion George Wythe and defending champion Blacksburg twice each and were in the race down to the final week.
Individually, you might not have been that impressed with Christiansburg starters Nathan Rush, Mike Royal, John Porter and Donnie Robinson. Collectively, they were very stout indeed.
The Demons finished poorly, dropping their last three games including a district semifinal match with Blacksburg, but that should not detract from a terrific season and a sound coaching job by Gerald Thompson.
Despite the loss of Royal, Rush and Robinson, the Demons figure to be as good or better next year. Sophomores Steve Gregory and Eddie Bentley and junior Scott Lucas are emerging stars. Christiansburg also will get substantial help from its junior varsity, which won the first regular season district title ever for the program.
Other stories of note included Patrick Lawson of Auburn and the first winning team Pat Burns has had at Pulaski County.
The addition of Lawson, a transfer from Pulaski County, provided a major boost for Auburn. However, the Eagles were weak defensively and suffered in the postseason.
by CNB