Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993 TAG: 9304120233
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Last year, William Fleming's Carlos Rhodes rode the bench most of the time during one of the Colonels' most crucial late-season basketball games. The reason? He was reluctant to shoot and was weak on defense.It's a testimony to Rhodes that this season he improved his defense, kept on shooting and paced William Fleming to the semifinals of the Group AAA state tournament. As a result, Rhodes is Timesland boys' player of the year.
The 6-foot-3 guard, who played inside and outside, is joined on the All-Timesland team by Salem's Mark Byington, the only junior on the first team; Alleghany guard Michael Hunter; Laurel Park's Lonzy Robertson; and Martinsville's Maurice Spencer.
Joining Rhodes in taking top Timesland honors are North Cross coach Jim Muscaro and William Fleming player Derrick Hines. Muscaro, whose Raiders won the state championship for private schools, has been selected boys' coach of the year, and Hines is Timesland's "Sizzlin' Sophomore" of the Year.
The honorees are selected by the members of the Roanoke Times & World-News sports department who cover high school athletics.
Hines has a strong group to go with him on the Sizzlin' Sophomores list: Donnie Costigan of Covington Boys' Home, Laurel Park's Warrick Scott, North Cross' Monty Smith and Pulaski County's Eric Webb. Webb and Scott also earned the Sizzlin' Sophomores honor in football.
Hines and Webb also are included on the All-Timesland second team. They are joined by Fleming's Jemare Crump, Bassett's Art Wade and Alleghany's Todd Wheatley.
"Carlos shot less [32 fewer times], hit more field goals [37], got more rebounds [53] and had more assists [four]," said Fleming coach Burrall Paye, ever the perfectionist when it comes to basketball. "He was a better team player and played much better defense."
To Rhodes, there was no doubt he would.
"This year I had to pick up my defense," Rhodes said. "Coach Paye was getting on me about that."
The question is where Rhodes learned to shoot. When he hit his first shot in a game, especially if it was a 3-point attempt, it was time for the other team to head for cover.
"I practiced every day. I'm always at the park," Rhodes said.
Rhodes connected on 63 of 152 (41.4 percent) of his 3-point attempts. Despite playing guard, he was quick enough and big enough to go inside for the alley-oop, or even to rebound a teammate's missed shot.
"Everything was better about Carlos this year," Paye said. "His athleticism. He jumped a lot better. I think all our kids developed because they worked hard for 12 months.
"Remember the freshman team that Carlos was on won only nine games. They came in way down in the district. So hard work paid off."
Byington, the only junior on the All-Timesland team, led Salem to the first Region III appearance in the school's history. The Spartans also won the regular-season Blue Ridge District title for the first time. Byington was strong on the outside shot, and his height made him dangerous inside, where he was one of Timesland's better dish-off players.
Hunter was the Blue Ridge District player of the year and its scoring leader, averaging 22.1 points during the regular season. He paced an Alleghany comeback of sorts in which the Mountaineers ranked among the state's top 10 Group AA teams the entire season.
Robertson led a Laurel Park team that was ranked No. 1 in Group AA and swept through the Piedmont District unbeaten. Robertson was a No. 2 guard in the balanced Lancers attack, and he dominated games with his quickness.
Spencer sparked a Martinsville team that wasn't nearly as talented as past Bulldogs teams to the Group AA state semifinals. Spencer was an excellent No. 2 guard, and he is being recruited by Southern Conference teams VMI and East Tennessee State.
On the second team, Crump was Fleming's best defensive player and rebounder as the Colonels' inside force; Wade, who was difficult to stop despite having no other threat on his team, led Timesland scoring; Webb was part of what was Pulaski County's most physical team in years; and Wheatley was a big man who could shoot from 3-point range, rebound and pass for assists.
\ Hines paced one of the stronger Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomores teams, a group full of athletic talent. Paye insisted last year that Hines was as good a point guard as All-Timesland performer Troy Manns, who led Patrick Henry to the Group AAA state title a year ago.
That remains open to conjecture. What is more certain is that this year Hines was in a class by himself and had no problem in becoming Timesland's Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year.
The 5-foot-8 point guard averaged 8.3 assists, easily leading Timesland. He was the guiding force that propelled Fleming to the Roanoke Valley District regular-season and tournament titles, then helped lead the Colonels to the Northwestern Region title and a berth in the state semifinals.
"I think I could have played better," Hines said. "I raised my game some during tournament time, but in the state semifinals I didn't play as well. If I had played better, we could have done better."
The Colonels lost 76-68 to John Marshall, but Hines really didn't play that poorly. All year he was consistently good. One scout of high school talent took a look at him in midseason and pronounced him a big-time Division I prospect "because he gets the ball where it's supposed to go."
That's the duty of the point guard, but there's more to Hines. "He improved enormously as a shooter and a dish-off man," Paye said. "He'll be better next year in all those categories. He was also very good defensively, too."
Although only a sophomore, Hines took on an important role as Fleming advanced in the tournaments. "Toward the end of the year, he was the one they all listened to," Paye said. "You don't appoint leaders. Kids kind of accept who the leaders are, and he's definitely a leader type.
"He'll go out as the best point guard ever to play high school basketball in the Roanoke Valley. He'll get well over 1,000 points and have 1,000 assists, or right at it. I doubt if anyone else has done that."
The other Sizzlin' Sophomores had some fine moments. Costigan, Timesland's leading scorer last year, cooled this season but still made a phenomenal 81 3-point shots.
Statistics don't tell the story about Scott, a good rebounder and tremendous defensive player for Laurel Park.
Smith came off the bench for North Cross and injected life into the Raiders as he dominated inside.
Webb was the leader as Pulaski County made the Northwestern Region tournament for the first time since 1984.