Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993 TAG: 9304110108
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: HIGH SCHOOLS LENGTH: Medium
ANOTHER SIZZLIN' SOPHOMORE CONSIDERS LEAVING TIMESLAND
Will the Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year jinx strike again?Four of the past seven boys' basketball players picked as the year's top 10th grader have left the area to play for Stu Vetter at either Flint Hill in Northern Virginia or Prospect Hall in Maryland.
George Lynch (1988), Tim Basham (1991) and Curtis Staples (1992) of Patrick Henry, and Mark Ward (1988) of William Fleming, all left their home programs to play for Vetter in what is getting to be a habit despised by Roanoke area high school fans and coaches.
Only Laurel Park's Odell Hodge (1990) and co-players of the year Dontel Arrington of Fleming and Troy Johnson of Patrick Henry (1988) finished their careers at a school in Timesland.
Sad to say, but 1993 Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year Derrick Hines of William Fleming admits he is trying to decide whether to follow Roanoke's band of gypsies and join Vetter at Prospect Hall.
Hines says he doesn't want to go and enjoys the other players at William Fleming. He also admits to receiving pressure from some community people to make the change.
"Right now, I want to play at Fleming," Hines said. "I want to try and upgrade Fleming's program and set an example for other athletes [to remain in Roanoke].
"There's a lot of pressure because everyone wants to know if I'm going to Prospect Hall. But I like Fleming and I get along with Coach [Burrall] Paye."
Hines says he is aware of the success Basham and Staples had. "But it's my decision. Right now, I'm going to finish the academic year and then make a decision."
Paye says Vetter's recruitment hurt Ward. "I had 10 college coaches ask if Mark Ward didn't play No. 3 [small forward] for me and they said Stu Vetter was playing him underneath the basket, that they couldn't recruit a 6-foot-4 post player. Stu Vetter is interested in Stu Vetter. I'm interested in the kids."
Ward never got a college scholarship out of playing at Flint Hill.
Lynch, of course, went to North Carolina after playing for Vetter. What Lynch found out by going to Flint Hill was that he didn't like the Washington area. He passed over Georgetown as his No. 1 choice to attend North Carolina.
Lynch could have gone to any college he wanted whether he attended Flint Hill or Patrick Henry.
Basham may or may not get a scholarship out of his his move to Prospect Hall, but the colleges and universities are not knocking down the doors to get his services.
Staples, a junior, will land anywhere he wants to play next year. He could have done the same staying at Patrick Henry.
"Derrick assures me he's not going," Paye said. "We've got all kinds of things going for him academically, but we did the same thing for Mark Ward. He went and it hurt him."
\ KING MOVING?: Radford's Brenda King, who became the first woman to coach boys' basketball in Virginia when she took over the Bobcats' program two years ago, might be moving.
King said she applied for a job as girls' basketball coach - and possibly athletic director - at Christiansburg.
"I talked to them, but they said they didn't have a position open in teaching," King said. "I wasn't going to apply if it was a waste of time, but George Porterfield [Christiansburg principal] said they'd like to have an application on file."
So King, with a master's degree in athletic administration, applied for and expressed interest in the athletic director's job if Gerald Thompson, current AD and boys' coach, decides to step down.
Thompson was not available for comment because of spring break. Reports have been going around that he might give up his AD duties. As for the girls' basketball job, that will depend whether there's a teaching vacancy.
King coaches both girls' and boys' basketball at Radford.
"I kind of hate to leave Radford if it comes to that," King said. "because the boys' program is just about to turn the corner."
\ DEJA VU: Cave Spring boys' coach Jim Huffman stepped back on the Knights' track for the first time in 19 years this past week and thought he was reliving the past.
Ronde Barber won four individual events and was on a winning relay team for the Knights, who beat Franklin County in Huffman's debut as Cave Spring coach.
"The last time I was on that track was in 1974 when I was at Northside," Huffman said. "I won five events that day just like Ronde."
Huffman won the long and triple jumps, and the two hurdle events. He was supposed to run on the mile-relay team.
"But my coach scratched me and put me in the 200-meter dash just to get third place [points]," Huffman recalled.
It was a big move because Huffman didn't merely finish third. He won.
Last week, he saw Ronde and twin brother Tiki combine for 38 points against Franklin County.
"That was one of my prouder moments being here to see those two guys do that well," Huffman said. "Those are fond memories for me and I hope it is for them."