Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 24, 1992 TAG: 9202240072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
LAUREL PARK, PH HAVE BEST CHANCES FOR STATE TITLE
Once again Timesland is poised with Laurel Park having a good chance to win a Group AA boys' basketball title.A year ago, the Lancers were ranked No. 1 and lost to Southampton in overtime in the first round of the Group AA tournament. All the boys' basketball teams from Timesland were eliminated before the championship games.
Laurel Park is joined by Patrick Henry, rated No. 1 in Group AAA, as the Timesland teams with the best chances of winning a state crown.
The Pulaski County girls were the only Timesland basketball team to make a winter state championship game in 1991. The Cougars lost to Madison after giving the Warhawks a battle for the first half. This was a good showing considering that Madison, nationally ranked by USA Today both this year and last winter, has one of the nation's top programs.
This year, Pulaski County and Cave Spring will try to repeat their trips to the Group AAA semifinals. They're considered the strongest Northwestern Region teams, though the Knights have not been playing well lately after losing at G.W. Danville and then by 13 points to the Cougars.
Both are favorites to reach the state again, but they'll have to win some road games in the region to do so. With Madison around, though, winning a state title will be tough.
The winner of the Blue Ridge District playoff game at Salem tonight between Lord Botetourt and Northside won't have a very good chance to win the state. But that team will be in a great position to reach the Group AA tournament since it will wind up in the bracket opposite Laurel Park and unbeaten Altavista in next week's Region III tournament.
The Lancers will have to get past Altavista if the Colonels beat the other Blue Ridge District team in a Region III first-round game. How strong is Altavista? Since Seminole District teams play only league games, no one knows for sure. But Altavista will have trouble against the Lancers' 6-foot-8 Odell Hodge, the Group AA and Timesland player of the year last season.
Laurel Park doesn't have many of the players it had last year, but the Lancers seem to be a more cohesive team. In 1991, Laurel Park was playing not to lose the state and this year the Lancers are having more fun and playing more relaxed.
"We haven't felt as much pressure as we did," said Laurel Park coach Frank Scott. "We lost 10 people from last year's team, but these kids have accepted the challenge and want to carry on what others started. They really have surprised me."
Hodge is the only returning starter. Scott says Hodge is playing better than a year ago, which might be hard to believe.
Hodge signed early with Old Dominion. As the nation's 62nd ranked recruit by one analyst, Hodge might have had a hard time concentrating on the season if he hadn't gotten his college decision out of the way.
"I think that took a lot of pressure off him," said Scott. "It would have been a tremendous distraction."
The Lancers don't have as much height as last year, but they have better guards. Hodge gives Laurel Park all the height it needs while Chauncy Strange and Ronnie Jackson have combined for more than 400 points from the guard spots.
Off the bench, 6-4 Ron Wilson and Warrick Scott, the coach's son, have provided the Lancers, who went unbeaten in the Piedmont District, with depth.
The Piedmont wasn't as strong as in other years, but for any team to go through that league without a blemish is amazing. The closest game the Lancers had was an 83-74 win at Magna Vista.
Patrick Henry's only loss was to Louisville Male, but the Patriots have had some scares in the Roanoke Valley District. One came just over two weeks ago when PH escaped with a 59-58 victory over William Fleming.
PH's biggest problem might be getting past either Woodbridge or Potomac in the Group AAA Northwestern Region. Those two are ranked in the top 10 and have no losses except to each other.
Is this PH team better than last year's squad? "We played pretty well last year," said Patriot coach Woody Deans, whose team was beaten in the first round of the Group AAA tournament and finished 22-5.
"Last year we had just gotten Troy Johnson back and we had Troy Anderson to give us another outside shooter. Our record (21-1) is better this year, but four of those [1991] losses came before Johnson came back."
The Patriots are deep with 6-7 Jonas Callis, 6-5 Shannon Taylor and 6-6 Timmy Basham giving PH a strong inside game and Curtis Staples and Troy Manns ranking as two of the state's better guards. Basham got hot late last season and it'll take another good effort from the junior for PH to match the 1988 team's Group AAA title run.
Is there pressure on the Patriots being ranked No. 1? "Probably the pressure that's on us is that everyone else gets up for the game against you more. That's the key. Last year, we weren't expected to win big coming off a losing year [in 1990]. This year we're expected to do more," said Deans.
In Group A, Covington and Floyd County have the best chances of any Timesland team to reach the state. Neither can be considered a favorite to win a title. Still, the same could be said of Lebanon last year, which was the second best Hogoheegee District team and won the state.