Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 2, 1992 TAG: 9202020051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: ROXBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
FUTURE CAVALIER IS OF BLUE-CHIP STOCK IN EVERY WAY
The superstar was a half-head taller than anybody else on the floor, positioned, oddly it seemed, outside the arc of the 3-point line.The superstar had company. Two of the opposing players also were there. Standing.
That left four to play three, but it wasn't working. The superstar's team trailed 7-6. There had been missed layups, an occasional air ball and numerous turnovers.
The superstar was 0-of-3 from the floor.
With 2:49 left in the first quarter, Person Senior coach Brenda Moore took a timeout. The superstar got into the action, immediately making a layup. And five more baskets by the end of the quarter.
At the end of three quarters, against a Northern Durham team that was just ahead of Person in the league standings (8-2 vs. 8-3), the Rockettes had an overwhelming 63-39 advantage. The superstar had scored 45 points, 20 in the third quarter on 9-of-10 shooting.
It's possible the only reason the state record of 60 points still stands is because Moore elected to play the clock, having her team hold the ball near midcourt, and Person scored only 10 points in the fourth, eight by the superstar, in the 75-57 victory.
Meet Wendy Palmer, future Virginia Cavalier. "Just what Virginia needs, another good player," said Duke coach Debbie Leonard, who played the Cavaliers on Saturday night.
The thought of Palmer playing on a front line with the Burge twins in 1992-93 is positively frightening.
Wendy Palmer is 6 feet 3, all-state in volleyball, two-time state high-jump champion in track and field. In basketball, she averages a smidgeon under 40 points and more than 18 rebounds after her best-ever game against Northern, 53 points and 26 rebounds. She made 25 of her last 30 shots.
Palmer scores mostly on layups, as you might expect, but not necessarily stickbacks. To beat the oppressive double-team, she has a nifty manuever. It is called grabbing the defensive rebound, spinning like a big cat and dribbling end-to-end faster than anybody else can run.
Palmer can shoot 3-pointers, she and Moore insist, and at heart she's really a guard. Those skills are obvious when she's on the move. She has an immediate high gear and then goes into overdrive on the way to the basket. She missed just one running layup all night, which went in and spun out.
Palmer runs the sprints on the track team, up to the 400 meters. "Anything they want," she said. She's also a drum major and president of the student council and a high-B student.
Asked if Wendy also washed the team uniforms, Moore said with a grin, "I could make her."
Wendy had no intention of attending Virginia when she made a visit. It took her 10 minutes to change her mind. Why? "The people and the atmosphere," she said.
Even good women's teams - like No. 1 (for the moment) Maryland - often have little fan support. Not UVa. You could get in a reasonable debate whether there's more interest in the team fielded by Debbie Ryan or the one coached by Jeff Jones.
It says here Palmer will love UVa, and UVa will love her.
Her father works in components at Eaton and also is getting another degree in business at Shaw University. Her mother is an administrative specialist and executive secretary. Academics are big in the Palmer family.
"My father is on me all the time about studies," Palmer said. "He wouldn't mind if I quit basketball."
Palmer said she understood early what the path was to college stardom. "In order to be an athlete, you have to have great grades."
Until the Northern game, Palmer's career high was 48 points. Her coach, a Person alumnus, once scored 50.
After the game ended, Moore learned of Wendy's prolific total. She let out a scream and rushed into the locker room. "I've been on her," said the coach, "and she finally beat Mrs. Moore."
Palmer greeted the news with a giggle, as she did the question if she would like to play the point. "I always wanted to be a guard," she said. "I'm always working on my ball-handling skills."
In her way, she is to girls' high-school basketball what a 6-8 sophomore is to the nation's No. 1 men's college team.
"Grant Hill is awesome," said Wendy Palmer, who "just loves" the way Duke plays.
It figures UVa fans may be saying the same things about Palmer in time. In the chip category, color her very blue.