Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 30, 1993 TAG: 9305300101
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Salem basketball coach Charlie Morgan is starting a tournament next season that probably will be called the Salem Holiday Hoops Classic.
Other than North Cross throwing a post-Christmas shindig last year for Group A and private schools, the Roanoke Valley has been without a holiday high school tournament since the old Salem tournament went out of business after the 1990-91 season.
Morgan, who was an assistant at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn., before coming to Salem last year, saw his team play in the famed Arby's Classic in Bristol, Tenn.
Morgan was on hand to watch the Arby's tournament grow from a small regional event into one of the East Coast's better holiday tournaments, drawing teams from several states. He hopes to model Salem's after that one and mix outside teams with local competition.
For the first tournament, set Dec. 28-30 at the Salem Civic Center, Morgan has commitments from William Byrd, Northside, Franklin County and Fieldale-Collinsville. Bassett and Laurel Park probably will participate, too, if they get permission from school officials.
Morgan also has one strong outside team. A.C. Flora, from Columbia, S.C., will participate as the eighth team. A.C. Flora is the alma mater of Xavier McDaniel, who went on to star at Wichita State and in pro basketball with the Boston Celtics.
Morgan has approached the Salem Sports Foundation about providing help with the tournament. He also hopes to start the tournament, featuring four games daily, at 2 p.m., so it finishes early.
"The old tournament started a game as late as 9:45 p.m., but I'd like to get our tournament over by 10 p.m., so that a team that has to come back and play the first game the next day won't be playing late at night," Morgan said.
As for building the tournament, Morgan says: "The Arby's Classic started small. Now they give [outside] teams $2,000 and six rooms."
\ TOURNAMENT UPDATES: The Virginia High School League has voted to bring the Group A and AA state wrestling meets back to the Salem Civic Center next Feb. 18-19.
The Crestar Roundball Classic, with host Patrick Henry, is moving from the Roanoke Civic Center to the Salem facility on Jan. 22. Salem replaces Cave Spring as one of the three local teams along with PH and William Fleming.
The Group A and AA girls' state basketball tournaments also return on Dec. 3-4. Depending on how the voting goes on moving girls' basketball to the winter in those two classifications, this could be the last fall tournament at Salem.
\ FRANK-LY SPEAKING: The All-Timesland banquet, featuring former Virginia Tech basketball coach Frankie Allen as the main speaker, is set for Sunday, June 13, at the Holiday Inn-Tanglewood.
The banquet honors All-Timesland football, basketball and wrestling teams as well as athletes and coaches of the year from all other sports. The Timesland athletes of the year will be announced at the banquet.
Anyone not receiving an invitation who wishes to attend the banquet may do so by sending a check for $20 per ticket to Nancy Hughes at the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va., 24010 by June 5.
\ LEFT OUT: The fax machine that some schools use to send Timesland statistics each week failed a couple of times this past week, causing some noteworthy performances to be left out of the final listings.
Rockbridge County pitcher Norman Vest finished with a 2.49 earned run average and 78 strikeouts. He was second in strikeouts in Timesland baseball.
Salem's Tommy Lee had a 1.60 ERA in baseball, good enough for fourth place.
Michelle King of Patrick Henry had 88 strikeouts in softball, good enough to finish third.
\ FIRSTS: Last year, Glenvar won state titles in softball, golf and boys' tennis. This year, the Highlanders remain in contention for state titles in softball, boys' tennis and baseball.
Regardless of what happens, the Highlanders have filled some longstanding vacancies in their trophy case.
Glenvar won its first district baseball championship since 1974, a year the team finished second in Group AA behind the pitching of Tony Caldwell and Vance Price.
The football team, in winning the Pioneer District title, ended 20 years without a district championship.
The boys' basketball team ended 17 years of district-title frustration by winning the Pioneer District this winter.
\ GREAT COMEBACK: That Salem's tennis team made the Group AA state tournament, which starts Wednesday in Salem, is no surprise. It's how they did it that defies explanation.
"It's the greatest comeback we've had. I've had some good wins in 20 years [of coaching], but few equal with what we did the other day," Salem coach Dave Petersen said.
The Spartans trailed Brookville 4-2 going into the doubles and needed a sweep. The Bees' No. 1 team of Fabio Pinto and Todd Williams took the first set 7-5 from David Arnold and Jeff Henley. Arnold and Henley, though, fought back to win the last two sets 6-3 and 6-4 while the other two doubles teams rolled to straight-sets victories.
"Most teams that lose 7-5 to a team the quality of Brookville's [Pinto won the singles title and is a strong entry in the state tournament] will usually fold. It was the old adage of `It ain't over until it's over.' You see that in the movies all the time, but you have to experience it to believe it," said Petersen.
\ NEW COACH: Goochland, coming off a 1-20 season, has hired Debbie Taylor as its new boys' basketball coach. Taylor is the third woman in the state to coach boys' basketball, joining Radford's Brenda King, the first since World War II, and George Mason's Lori McConnell.
\ NEW ASSISTANT: New Lord Botetourt football coach Andy Ward is reaching back to the days when the Cavaliers were the power of the Blue Ridge District: He has added John Roberts to his staff. Roberts, who will coach defensive ends, was on the staff of Doug Ward, who turned out winning teams at Botetourt in the mid 1980s. He also is a former defensive end at old Andrew Lewis.
by CNB