Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993 TAG: 9302060062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
OAK HILL BRINGS SPOTLESS RECORD INTO CLASSIC
More than a few college coaches have told Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith that he has the best boys' basketball team in the country.Smith just wishes they had a vote.
"This is my eighth year as head coach and we've finished third in the poll twice," Smith said earlier this week. "It looks like we're going to be [No.] 3 again."
Smith was referring to the USA Today Super 25, which isn't really a poll. The rankings are done by Dave Krider of the LaPorte (Ind.) Herald-Argus.
"I don't think he has anything against us," Smith said. "He's seen us play."
Oak Hill, bidding for its second undefeated record in four years, takes a 23-0 record into tonight's meeting with George Washington-Danville (11-5) at 7 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center.
Host William Fleming (12-3) will face 12th-ranked Rice High School (16-2) at 8:30 in the second half of the Quest for the Best Classic, sponsored by Newbern-Trane, which hopes to turn the double-header into an annual event.
Rice, from New York City, features one of the top juniors in the country in 6-foot-5 Felipe Lopez. Rice has a pair of Division I signees in 6-6 Reggie Freeman (Texas) and 6-7 Gerald Cox (South Carolina).
Oak Hill beat Rice 57-52 in Las Vegas, and also has a victory over No. 6 Prospect Hall of Frederick, Md. The Warriors are seeking a game with top-ranked Simon Gratz (24-0) of Philadelphia.
"It's a possibility," said Smith, who reports that both teams have open dates March 1-2, "but they have everything to lose. And I'm not sure how much we have to gain.
"When I talked to Dave Krider earlier this year, I asked him, `If we win in Las Vegas and we win in Hawaii [against Prospect Hall] and then we beat Simon Gratz, who's going to be No. 1.' He said, `Martin Luther King.' "
Second-ranked Martin Luther King (17-0) of Chicago can't play either Simon Gratz or Oak Hill, located in Grayson County, because of an Illinois rule that forbids trips of more than 500 miles.
Krider compiles one set of rankings in April or May for Street & Smith's magazine, then revises the rankings for USA Today. There is usually little difference between the lists, although Oak Hill, which has landed some of its best players during the summer, has made some significant jumps.
"I base a lot on experience and Simon Gratz has been under fire," Krider said. "It was an easy choice. If the No. 1 team goes undefeated, then it's going to stay No. 1, no doubt about it."
Oak Hill played and beat Simon Gratz in 1990-91 and the Warriors were ranked No. 1 for three weeks with a team that included Cory Alexander and Junior Burrough, currently starting at Virginia, and Ben Davis, who recently transferred from Kansas to Florida.
Alexander was sidelined by back spasms and Burrough had foul problems on the night that Dunbar High of Fort Worth, Texas, blitzed Oak Hill 84-58 in "the most disappointing loss of my career," Smith said.
Oak Hill has fallen no lower than fifth in the rankings while compiling a four-year record of 111-3. Smith thinks this may be his best team and not just because of its four Division I signees: forward Jerry Stackhouse and guard Jeff McInnis (North Carolina), center Makhtar Ndiaye (Wake Forest) and guard Jermaine "Sunshine" Smith (Nevada-Las Vegas).
"I think it probably is the best because of the depth," said Smith, who also has a pure shot-blocker for the first time in Ndiaye, a native of Senegal, who has 110 rejections in 23 games.
Ndiaye's back-up, 6-11 sophomore Marc Blount, has blocked 46 shots and combines with juniors Alex Sanders (6-7, 235) and Tavares Johnson (6-6, 235) to give Oak Hill the most talent it has had below the senior class.
"Who knows?" Smith said. "With four juniors back, maybe we'll get some consideration [for No. 1] next year."