Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993 TAG: 9301140404
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HER BASKETBALL GAME IS A STYLISH AS HER HAIR
One never knows what kind of hairstyle Marqueetta Randolph will be wearing, but everyone realizes by now what kind of basketball player the William Fleming senior is.Randolph is a self-described basketball junkie who likes to change hairstyles and colors almost as fast as she scores points. Last year she easily won the Roanoke Valley District girls' scoring title and she's further ahead in this year's point race as the middle of the season draws near.
"Marqueetta works hard and has a good attitude about everything," said William Fleming girls' basketball coach Roland Lovelace. "She's really determined to do something that's positive and so far she's having a pretty good year."
Randolph is taking college-bound courses such as physics and trigonometry. She has more than the required 2.0 grade point average and has qualified on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (above 700) to qualify for a grant-in-aid should she get one for basketball.
Radford and Virginia Tech have shown an interest, as has Temple coach Charlene Curtis, a Fleming graduate and former coach at Radford. She called Lovelace to find out about his scoring phenom who is averaging 22.9 points a game. Randolph is a two-sport star, having made second-team All-Roanoke Valley District volleyball in the fall.
When the 6-foot Randolph isn't playing or watching a basketball game, she's usually busy changing her hairdo or that of one of her teammates.
"I learned that from my mom, Gay," said Randolph about her interest in hairstyles. "I'll do one tonight, and I might do another tomorrow."
At the present, Randolph is wearing a full bob. She likes braids. "But not during the basketball season. Coach Lovelace prefers that none of us wear braids except during the summer. I wore them at camp because then I didn't have to do a lot with my hair."
Randolph also likes styles such as finger waves, the bun and the beehive. She changes color from her natural dark brown to blonde and red.
Forget the hairstyles though because basketball is Randolph's main interest. She got into hoops as a student at Breckinridge Middle School and that forever changed her life.
"Basketball is my favorite over volleyball. I sort of got into volleyball just to keep myself in shape until basketball," said Randolph. Because of her height, Randolph became quite a front-line player and now likes volleyball as a sport rather as just a means of getting ready for basketball.
The Fleming standout, though, is totally into hoops. She plays basketball year round. Amateur Athletic Union basketball takes most of her time in the spring and summer while she plays in pickup games during the fall when volleyball occupies much of her time.
She also keeps up with basketball in the fall by going to Group AA high school girls' games. Randolph particularly remembers watching William Byrd beat Bassett in the Region III final that put the Terriers in the Group AA state tournament where they eventually finished as runner-up.
At home, Randolph has a Michael Jordan poster. "I really don't like pro basketball. Charles Barkley is my favorite player, but everyone has to have a Michael Jordan poster. Barkley is aggressive. I don't like his attitude, but I like the way he plays."
Still, college basketball is her game. "I'll try to watch at least two games a week on television," she said. "Sure, I'm a basketball junkie. But I'll even watch a volleyball game when they're on television."
All this comes naturally. Randolph's stepbrothers are Mickey, Angelo and Antoine Hardy. All of them starred at William Byrd in boys' basketball and played in college.
Randolph credits Lovelace with making her into a fine player. "He taught me to be more aggressive as a freshman. I became a [better] rebounder. I learned to hold my position," said Randolph.
This was a big help last year when Randolph averaged 10.3 rebounds to win the Timesland winter title over Cave Spring's Lisa Hodges, who had a 9.5 average and signed with North Carolina State.
There were other things she learned from Lovelace. Randolph credits her shooting (a creditable 41.8 percent on 347 attempts last year which was more than 70 shots taken by another girls' player in Timesland). "He also taught us things like man-to-man defense and the weakside, the different little things," Randolph explained.
Her eventual goal, beyond playing in college where she hopes to major in business, is a basketball career in Europe. That's down the road because for now Randolph hopes to take her team to an RVD title and her dream of one day playing in the Group AAA girls' state tournament.