Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 7, 1991 TAG: 9104070064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Laurel Park's Odell Hodge, a 6-foot-8 scoring and rebounding phenom, is the Timesland boys' player of the year. He follows Patrick Henry's George Lynch and William Fleming's Mark Ward and Joe Fitzgerald in winning the honor as juniors.
Northside's Patti Fisher is the girls' player of the year. The Vikings' star beat out what is arguably Timesland's best group of girls' players ever.
Hodge led Laurel Park to the state's No. 1 Group AA ranking during the regular season and the Lancers made the state tournament for the second consecutive year. In the Group AA tournament, Laurel Park was upset by Southampton 75-72 in overtime but finished with a 25-2 record.
In the loss, Hodge scored 28 points despite being double teamed. He also picked off 26 rebounds, tying the Group AA Tournament single-game record set by Ralph Sampson at Harrisonburg.
Hodge, selected the Group AA boys' player of the year by The Associated Press, will have a chance to repeat as Timesland's top player as a senior, something Lynch, Ward and Fitzgerald didn't do. Lynch, now a starter at North Carolina, and Ward went to Flint Hill Prep in Northern Virginia for their senior seasons; Fitzgerald was academically ineligible this year.
Fisher, who plays forward and guard, led an average Northside team to the Region III tournament. En route, the Vikings upset Salem, which was the No. 2-ranked girls' team in Timesland in fall basketball. She also was selected Group AA player of the year by The Associated Press last fall and signed a basketball letter-of-intent with Radford University.
Hodge is accompanied on the All-Timesland boys' basketball team by another junior, Northside's John Baker, and seniors Troy Anderson of Patrick Henry, Thompson Lester of Blacksburg and Mike Fayed of Cave Spring. The second team consists of Sizzling Sophomore of the Year Timmy Basham of Patrick Henry, Marion's Shannon Archer, Northside's Chad Briscoe, Martinsville's Troy Brandon and Laurel Park's Lemont Wells.
Joining Fisher on the All-Timesland girls' team are Radford's Paige Martin, the only repeater on either squad, Blacksburg's Gereme Alvarez, Pulaski County junior Terri Garland and Patrick County's Sabrina Reynolds.
The second team consists of Marion's Robin Scott, William Fleming's Regina Fields, Cave Spring's Ali Colgrove, Martinsville's Cynthia Lee and Franklin County's Lottie Huffman.
Among the girls who failed to make either team because of the depth of quality are Timesland sophomore of the year Sherry Banks of William Byrd; Glenvar's Cammi Beason, a second-team choice last year; Salem guard Shaunice Warr; Galax's Nikki Moody, who led Timesland regular-season scoring in the fall; George Wythe guard Jamie Jackson; Gretna's Nicole Parker, third in fall scoring; and Cave Spring junior center Lisa Hodges, who played well during the postseason.
Hodge averaged 26 points and 14.5 rebounds. Because he played with four seniors, Laurel Park coach Frank Scott expects more from Hodge next year.
"He's going to have to carry more of a scoring load for us and pick up his rebounding," Scott said. "We're looking for 30 [points per game] and 20 [rebounds per game] out of him next year."
To accomplish that, Scott says Hodge might take some perimeter shots. "We're not looking for him to be a 3-point shooter, but we want him to help outside," the coach said.
Hodge was 6 feet 2 in junior high and struggled some at that height. "My skills didn't catch up to my height until I got to Laurel Park," said Hodge, who has scored 1,744 points in three years.
"There was a whole lot of improvement here. Last year, I did some things right and some things wrong. I wanted to improve my game for my junior year, which I did with the help of my teammates."
Hodge averaged four blocks, shot 62.5 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line. He also had 22 steals in 27 games.
Fisher beat out Patrick County's Reynolds for girls' honors because of her all-around game.
The Vikings' swing player averaged 3.5 assists, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 4.4 steals while running her career points total to 1,193 with a 19.6 average. The Blue Ridge District tournament was Fisher's showcase as she scored 21 points, including a last-second follow-up shot in a 47-45 upset of Salem, and had 18 points and 12 steals in a 53-50 loss to William Byrd in the championship game.
"Defense is the best part of my game," Fisher said. "I set my mind to it. I like defense better."
How does she get so many steals? "I just kind of watch the ball out of the corner of my eye. Other teams would look to see if I was watching. If they didn't think I was watching, they'd try to throw it inside and I'd steal it."
Vikings coach Marilyn Bussey has high regards for Fisher. "I think if she has the people to work around her and she can play a little truer to her position [shooting guard], she can be a great player. That's because of her ability to get the rebound, get down the floor and if she has someone to pass it to."
As for the rest of the boys' team, Baker, who will play with Hodge on an AAU team later this month, led his team to the state tournament and finished second to the Laurel Park standout in Timesland scoring at 24.7 per game.
Baker saved his best for the last, scoring 103 points in the Vikings' final three games - the Region III semifinals and final, and the first round of the Group AA tournament.
The 6-2 Baker led Northside in rebounding (7.5) and assists (3.2). He could shoot from the outside as he connected on 7-of-10 3-point tries in his 39-point effort as the Vikings beat Nelson County 84-75 for a trip to the state.
Fayed, who will sign with Winthrop College of the Big South, was the Roanoke Valley District player of the year as he averaged 21 points and 6.8 assists. He shot 53.9 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range, and connected on 85.9 percent of his free throws.
Anderson was the scoring leader for Patrick Henry with a 15.5 average. He was a 36.6 percent shooter from 3-point range and 70.3 percent from the free-throw line. Anderson had his best game against Cave Spring, scoring 30 points to help the Patriots win 95-77 on the Knights' floor as they locked up the Roanoke Valley District championship.
Lester (19.0 ppg) was the most consistent player for Blacksburg as the Indians won the New River District title. He shot 51.6 percent from the field and finished his career by scoring 26 points in a 65-48 victory against Carroll County for the New River title and 25 against Marion in a 73-70 Region IV loss.
On the second team, Archer guided Marion to its second consecutive Group AA tournament; Basham's hot hand late in the season helped Patrick Henry reach the Group AAA tournament; Briscoe was Blue Ridge District player of the year and his leadership keyed Northside's finest season; Brandon's ability to score quickly produced 31 points in a 74-71 victory against Bassett that gave Martinsville's Husky Hall his 500th victory; and Lemont Wells provided inside help for Hodge with 16.7 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.
For the girls, Reynolds finished strong as she paced Patrick County to the Group AA semifinals, where it lost 64-57 to Radford. She stepped up her scoring to 25.8 for the tournament, including a dazzling 32-point performance as the Cougars defeated William Byrd, No. 1 in Timesland, 51-39.
Radford's Martin, who received a scholarship to Central Connecticut State, saw her scoring average drop from last year's 27.3 to 19.8. It was a better season because Martin, on the urging of Bobcats coach Brenda King, was more team-oriented. Radford won its second state championship and made the Group AA final for the third time during Martin's career.
Alvarez was the New River District player of the year after averaging 18.3 points and 17.1 rebounds, leading Blacksburg to the Group AA final opposite Radford. Alvarez will attend Boston University.
Garland, the only junior on the team, almost single-handedly pushed Pulaski County to the Group AAA runner-up spot in the state tournament. Although she averaged only 16.1 points, Garland's toughness could be measured mostly in her defensive and leadership ability.
by CNB