Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 24, 1992 TAG: 9201230311
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
HERE'S AN ALL-STAR TEAM TO PLAY ANYBODY, ANYWHERE
Now that most everybody is buried in schoolbooks or taking exams, basketball has slowed down just enough to scout around for some players who could play for most anybody.A few of those would include, in no particular order:
Kevin Alexander (Pulaski County), a lefty point guard who can penetrate or shoot the 3.
Fred Via (Floyd County), who uses an explosive first step and a sharp shooting eye to maximum advantage.
Jon Maher (Blacksburg), who can score, rebound and defend as a 6-5 forward. He also can take it out on the wing and pop the jumper, although this is a side of his game that is not widely known.
Brian Sale (Auburn), the designated machine-gunner (170 shots in 10 games) in a high-octane attack. Can also bash the backboards.
Chris Hairston (Radford), an all-around athlete who appears to be capable of playing any position with the possible exception of center.
Chris Burns (Pulaski County), who does a little bit of everything and knows the game the way a coach's son is supposed to.
Darren Morton (Blacksburg), one of the quickest point guards to play in these parts in a while. Sees the floor well, capable of the flashy move and can shoot the triple.
Kenny Dow (Shawsville), who has averaged 19.3 points and a Timesland-leading 15.7 rebounds despite the lack of a threatening supporting cast.
Duane Pierson (Radford), who is very quick and aggressive in the Bobcats' backcourt.
Travis Crawford (Floyd County), another player who can bury the three and out-quick most enemies.
The surprise team of the New River District may be Carroll County, which started the week 8-5.
The Cavaliers haven't been a surprise to their coach, Pat Sharp, however.
"We had one starter [Jason Stockner] back to go with two other guys [Ben Sumner, Joey Marshall] who played a lot," he said. "We also had some pretty good-looking younger players who we hoped would come along as the year went on. That's basically what's happened."
The Cavs have had some big wins, including a sweep of improved Salem and a victory over Northside, which cost the Vikings their ranking in the state's Group AA poll.
Carroll County also has had its disappointments. Notable among them was a loss to Christiansburg last week when the Blue Demons rallied from 14 points back in the fourth quarter.
Sharp said the Cavaliers pulled back and started playing conservatively when they should have continued attacking. Second-guessing is tough, but certainly it hasn't caused him to lose any sleep, right?
"Not much," he said. "Just three or four nights' worth."
Christiansburg's Gerald Thompson argued that the victory over the Cavaliers wasn't that big a deal, his team's sub-500 record notwithstanding.
"We're not that bad a team," he said. "We just haven't played all that well yet."
The main pain?
"This team hasn't responded as well when things go wrong. But when they got down to Carroll County, the players didn't hang their heads, but instead fought back."
. . . Radford, too, has jumped into the district campaign on an upswing. Although the Bobcats lost to Blacksburg at the end of last week, they're playing their best ball of the season. "It's always tough here in December with football players coming in late to practice, and this year they were even later than usual," Radford coach Brenda King said. "It's taken this long to lay some foundation. The players have continued to be optimistic and work hard. Hopefully, we'll be somebody people don't want to play when it comes time for the postseason."
. . . Blacksburg hit a rut in its loss to Franklin County last week. "The players weren't exactly complimentary of themselves getting on the bus," Blacksburg coach Bob Trear said. "They just didn't play with much enthusiasm. I don't know if they were tired or what."
. . . Radford's Chris Hairston is expected to be back Friday night after a one-game suspension for a violation of team training rules. To qualify for restored eligibility, Hairston has had to perform penance every day after practice.
The Floyd County-Auburn game won by the Buffaloes last week was a renewal of one of Timesland's hottest rivalries. There was standing room only at the Eagles' gym and fans reportedly were turned away.
"I saw people at the game that I'd never seen before," said Buffaloes coach Alan Cantrell.
Apologies to former Blacksburg baseball coach Bob Morton, who was overlooked in a note last week about new Indians coach Jim Shockley. Like Shockley, Morton is a teacher. As was pointed out, the team usually benefits when the coach is a teacher instead of a volunteer from outside the system.
. . .Malcolm Lewis, who transferred to George Wythe after troubles at Pulaski County, his former school, is thriving for the Maroons. Lewis scored a team-high 16 when George Wythe cranked Rural Retreat 73-46 for its eighth-straight victory Tuesday.
"He's done great for us," said Maroons coach Al Copenhaver. "He's helped us a lot in football and now he's helping us in basketball. He's not very tall, but he knows the game very well."
Ray Cox covers New River Valley sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News