Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 30, 1990 TAG: 9004300372
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Last season he attended Flint Hill Academy in Oakton, but because of the recent resignation of basketball coach Stu Vetter, Alexander has decided to complete the semester, then transfer to another school.
He said one of the reasons he wants to decide soon is because he is afraid that if he waits too long, college coaches might not know where to find him.
If that is his only worry, the smooth point guard from Waynesboro need not be concerned. Players with skills like his usually don't get lost in the shuffle.
On Sunday at Cassell Coliseum, Alexander scored 31 points, added several assists and directed his team with virtual perfection as the Augusta Heat beat the Piedmont All-Stars 113-103 to win the 19-and-under Amateur Athletic Union state championship.
In a tournament featuring many of the state's top players, Alexander, one of the younger competitors at 16, stepped to the forefront.
"I'm human and get frustrated sometimes, but when I concentrate and stay focused things come kind of easy," said Alexander, who scored 110 points in four games. "I had a good tournament, but I'm still not playing the way I should be. I've got a lot of improvement and hard work to do if I want to become the type of player I want to be in college.
Augusta, which also features six players from Group AA champion Robert E. Lee in Staunton, finished the double-elimination tournament with a 4-0 record.
Robert E. Lee's Reggie Waddy, the Group AA player of the year, scored 25 points with 15 rebounds. Lee teammates Jo Jo Stuart and Marcus Reed added 18 and 15 points, respectively.
The Piedmont All-Stars, which featured many of the top players from the Piedmont District, were led by Laurel Park sophomore center Odell Hodge, who scored 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.
Patrick County's Jeff Reid added 19 points, Martinsville's Travis Lee had 17 and Fieldale-Collinsville's Kevin Martin, a Roanoke College recruit, put in 16.
Piedmont, which lost its second game of the tournament but then fought to finals through the losers' bracket, had to play four more games than Augusta, including a semifinal game at 8 a.m. on Sunday to reach it to the final at noon.
The All-Stars led 75-66 with less than 15 minutes remaining when the extra games caught up with them. They started missing shots and making turnovers.
Paced by Alexander and Reed, Augusta outscored Piedmont 20-5 in a six-minute span to go up 86-80.
Piedmont regrouped to stay within striking distance, but with Augusta leading 98-95 at the 2:07 mark, Waddy slid by Hodge to score on a reverse layup. Then Alexander rebounded a miss and drove the length of the court for a layup.
Augusta used an 11-1 run to go up 108-96 and put the game away.
"Two days in a row we had to leave at 5:30 in the morning to get here for games," said Piedmont coach Mack Gordon. "That was hard on the kids. Their legs just gave out. Playing those extra games did us in. We were just playing on guts."
Augusta and Piedmont earned trips to the AAU National Tournament to be played July 28-August 4 in St. Petersburg, Fla., during the Junior Olympics.
In the 16-and-under tournament, Tony Jordan made two free throws with seven seconds remaining and Boo Williams of Norfolk beat Richmond Metro Gold 58-57 to finish the championships with a 5-0 record. Melvin Jones scored a game-high 19 for Richmond. Both teams advanced to the 16-and-under nationals July 8-15 in San Antonio, Texas. AUGUSTA HEAT (113)
Alexander 9 10-10 31, Waddy 9 7-12 25, Stuart 6 4-6 18, Reed 6 2-2 15, Scott 5 3-4 14, Edwards 3 2-5 8, Huffman 0 0-1 0, Smith 0 2-2 2. Totals 38 30-42 113. PIEDMONT ALL-STARS (103)
Hodge 7 8-9 24, Reid 8 2-3 19, Wells 4 6-8 15, Martin 6 2-2 16, Deshazo 1 3-4 5, Brandon 4 2-2 12, Pilson 5 1-2 11, Turner 1 0-0 3. Totals 36 24-30 103. Augusta Heat 5360-113 Piedmont All-Stars 5845-103 Three-point goals: Alexander 3, Stuart 2, Reed, Scott, Reid, Wells, Martin 2, Brandon 2, Pilson, Turner.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB