Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992 TAG: 9201240187
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE LENGTH: Medium
CRAIG'S MCPHERSON SHOOTS FOR TOP
Craig County's David McPherson woke up nearly two weeks ago and discovered he had reached some lofty heights.The 5-foot-10 senior guard had surpassed 6-foot-8 Odell Hodge of Laurel Park to become the leading scorer in boys' basketball for Timesland.
All McPherson has done, with his 28.0 average, is to knock Hodge, who is scoring at a 27.7, clip, to second place Timesland point production. Last year, Hodge was named the Group AA state and Timesland player of the year while winning the scoring title with a 26-point average. Hodge never was second in Timesland until the first statistics were taken nearly two weeks ago.
While Hodge was dominating the Group AA and Timesland scoring a year ago, McPherson averaged 14.4 points. If one looked at his statistics as a junior, no one would have predicted that McPherson would nearly double his average this winter to become a threat for the Timesland scoring title.
In the next game after McPherson had taken over as Timesland's leading scorer, Hodge responded with a 38-point effort to reclaim the lead. Still, the Craig County star had at least had his moment of glory and it's not out of the question that he and Hodge could play hopscotch as the No. 1-2 scorers in Timesland this winter.
McPherson never realized he led Timesland scoring until his coach, Ron Hess, told him. "I had never even heard of Hodge," admitted McPherson.
The Rocket guard has a shooter's mentality. "I shoot all the time," he said. "Sometimes I'll stay out [at home on an outdoor goal] until 11:30 or 12 at night. I'll keep my parents awake, but they never say anything."
That's because his father, Danny McPherson, took David out as a youngster to start playing basketball. The elder McPherson had played basketball for old New Castle High.
With all the practice, McPherson seldom passes up a shot. Like any shooter, he has no conscience when it comes to firing up the ball. He even had a goal of averaging 28 points a game coming into the season.
"I didn't know that," said Hess.
"Coach, I told you that," said McPherson.
"Well, I never know whether he's joking or serious," said Hess. "I knew he'd have to score a lot of points because we're such a young team. The trouble is that every other team knows that, too."
Because he carries the Rockets' offensive load, McPherson is shooting only 42 percent from the field. That's one statistic that doesn't qualify him among Timesland leaders.
He was third in free throw shooting with 87.3 percent after the first statistics. He had also averaged more than seven free throws a game, a lot for a guard.
McPherson was connecting on 48.6 percent of his three-point attempts, good enough for second place after the first week.
Despite McPherson's output, the Rockets had won only once in their first nine games when they came up against unbeaten Glenvar last week. McPherson scored 24 points against the Highlanders in a 68-51 loss that turned out to be a strange game for the Craig County star.
"He had 13 points in the first quarter," said Hess. "They were man-to-man and we spread the floor. They couldn't stop him. Then they went to a full-court press and half-court trap so that we had a lot of turnovers. Then every time he got the ball, they had two or three people on him the rest of the night."
Hess recalls pulling McPherson up to the varsity three games into his sophomore season. By the end of the year, he was starting and he's been there ever since.
"If you don't get up close to him defensively, he'll shoot the three. If you do get close to him, he'll take the ball to the basket and shoot a short jumper. He's the best all-around kid I've seen here," said the Craig County coach.
After Craig County went 8-12 in the regular season last year, the Rockets played at regular-season Pioneer District champion Covington in the first round of the postseason tournament. It turned out to be McPherson's most memorable game.
The 32 points he scored (a career high at that point) told only part of the story. The Rockets, down 22 points, came back to tie the score with four minutes left before losing 69-65.
"That was probably my best game. The guy who was on me just couldn't handle me," said McPherson.
"I haven't seen anyone in two years who can handle him one-on-one," said Hess. "He has such a quick first step."
McPherson isn't a one-sport star. He played quarterback on the football team, but the Rockets have won only twice in the last two years so he hasn't been on a strong team in that sport.
In baseball, he's the Rockets' shortstop. "But I love basketball the best. I just love to play, to get out and practice every day," said McPherson, who makes no secret about which sport is his favorite.