Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 25, 1990 TAG: 9004250195
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 19-and-under and 16-and-under tournaments take place during a so-called "dead period," when NCAA rules prohibit coaches from observing or contacting potential recruits.
Beginning Thursday at Cassell Coliseum on the Virginia Tech campus, many of the state's best basketball prospects will test each other for the right to represent Virginia in the national AAU championships this summer.
The games, which begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, will be played on the main court and the two auxiliary gyms at Cassell Coliseum.
"Usually, they are held in a number of high school gyms in an area," said Chris Wise, a member of the Virginia Tech athletic department and one of the tournament organizers. "By having them in one building, fans can see a number of games without having to run all over the place.
"We thought it would be a good recruiting tool for the entire campus. It'll expose Blacksburg to a lot of potential students. Only a few are going to go on to college to play basketball, but a lot of them might come here as regular students."
The 19-under tournament begins with three games on the main coliseum floor. At 5:30, Radford AAU, featuring VMI signee Jamie Lee of George Wythe and Wake Forest football recruit Lewis Ramsey of Radford, plays the Mountain Empire All-Stars. That will be followed by the Roanoke Hawks against the Western Stars at 7 p.m. and Roanoke Star City against Charlottesville/Albemarle.
Other teams participating include the Augusta Heat, comprised of Group AA player of the year Reggie Waddy and several others from state champion Robert E. Lee of Staunton; and Boo Williams out of Norfolk, which includes Virginia signees Corey Stewart and Aaron Mundy.
An interesting 19-under team should be Richmond Metro 17 Gold. Only one player on the roster is more than 17 years old, and the team features top juniors Jason Williford of John Marshall High in Richmond and Luther Bates, who starred for Group A champion Fluvanna.
The 16-under tournament gets under way on Thursday in Back Gym I with the Pulaski County Rockets playing the Western Stars at 5:30 p.m. That game is followed by Franklin County against the Staunton Hoyas at 7, and the Spotsylvania Trailblazers and Larry Bell BB Club at 8:30.
In Gym II, the Roanoke Bulls play the New River Valley All-Stars at 5:30, followed by the Waynesboro BB Club against Charlottesville (CAABY)
Both tournaments will continue Friday with games starting at noon. On Saturday and Sunday, play begins at 8 a.m.
The 19-under AAU National Championship will be held from July 28-August 4 in St. Petersburg, Fla., as part of the Junior Olympics.
The 16-under Nationals are July 8-15 in San Antonio, Texas.
by CNB