Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 23, 1993 TAG: 9301230273
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TOP BASKETBALL TALENT ON COURT TONIGHT IN ROANOKE
The matchups and the teams aren't exactly the way Patrick Henry boys' basketball coach Woody Deans lined up this year's Crestar Classic several months ago.Still, there will be quite an array of high school talent tonight at the Roanoke Civic Center when two of the nation's top 10 high school teams, according to USA Today's rankings, take on Roanoke Valley teams.
The first game of the tripleheader matches Cave Spring against Logan (W.Va.) at 5 p.m. Oak Hill takes on William Fleming at 6:45, and Dunbar of Washington, D.C., goes against Patrick Henry at 8:30.
Oak Hill (19-0) is ranked third in the nation, and Dunbar (19-1 before a Friday game against Woodrow Wilson High of Washington) is rated ninth.
Logan was 6-3 going into a Friday night game and was not ranked among West Virginia's top Group AAA teams.
When Deans lined up the tripleheader, he counted on having a fairly strong Patriots team. Then two top players - Tim Basham and Curtis Staples - transferred to Prospect Hall of Frederick, Md., over the summer, and the Patriots were 1-11 before Friday night's game against G.W. Danville.
The Dunbar-PH game appeared to be a mismatch, so Deans, the organizer of the Crestar Classic, toyed with the idea of trying to match the Washington team against Oak Hill.
"We kind of wanted to get it done," said Dunbar coach Mike McLeese, "but because Oak Hill isn't a member of the national [high school] federation, our sanctioning body wouldn't let us play."
Said Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, "I was kind of looking forward to that, and the players would have enjoyed playing another team ranked nationally."
Fleming beat Oak Hill when the teams played in Roanoke in 1989.
"I just hope they don't hold the ball," Smith said, referring to Fleming coach Burrall Paye. "I'm sure he'll slow the pace and try to keep it to a half-court game. We'll try to do some things to speed it up."
There are all kinds of college prospects playing for Oak Hill. Forward Jerry Stackhouse, averaging 23.0 points per game, and point guard Jeff McInnis, with 15.5 points per game and 177 assists this season, have signed with North Carolina. Wake Forest has signed 6-foot-8 1/2 Makhtar Ndiaye, and Nevada-Las Vegas has signed shooting guard Jermaine Smith, who averages 8.8 points. Alex Sanders, a 6-7 junior, is being looked at by colleges from coast-to-coast.
Dunbar's leading scorer, 6-3 Nathan Langley, averaging 22.4 points, has committed to South Carolina. With the muddled coaching situation there, McLeese says that commitment might not hold.
Dunbar's 6-3 Claude Green, at 19 points per game, is being recruited by Southern California and St. Bonaventure, and 6-1 point guard Earl Tyson, with 15 points and 6.7 assists per game, is talking to George Washington and St. Bonaventure.