Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 24, 1993 TAG: 9307240197
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
That's the way the whole week went for the Hawks at the 17-and-under AAU boys' basketball championship at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
"It was a struggle just to get out of pool [preliminary] play," said Hawks guard Derrick Hines, who will be a junior next year at William Fleming High School. "We never had the really good game to get our confidence up."
The Hawks were 2-4 for the week, with three of the losses by a combined six points. They trailed by as many as 10 points Friday before Hines and Curtis Staples fueled a comeback with 36 of Roanoke's 46 second-half points.
Staples had 22 of his 27 points in the second half, including 15 in the fourth quarter. However, his two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds were the only field goals the Hawks scored from outside 10 feet.
That put Roanoke at a tremendous disadvantage, considering the Hawks' lack of an inside game. Nobody over 6 feet 5 received substantial playing time, while opponent Indianapolis Metro used three players 6-9 or taller.
"Their size wore us down," Hawks coach Joe Gaither said. "Everybody here had size. There were no easy games. We played as hard as we could, but when you're not getting anything in the paint, you can't win at this level."
Indianapolis, coached by Indiana Pacers executive George Irvine, got 19 points from Brian Flickinger and 16 from Dan Reed, both 6-9. Irvine's son, Toby, is a reserve guard on the team.
Roanoke had defeated several of the top AAU teams in a tournament sponsored by Dell Curry, but Hines missed the opening game here and the Hawks were surprise losers Sunday night to Fayco (W.Va.) Speed, 74-72.
"That was a tough loss that kind of set the tempo for the week," Staples said. "It seemed we were playing catch-up the rest of the tournament. I think teams were gunning for us. Everybody knew about the Roanoke Hawks."
Staples, who will play his senior year at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, did little to harm his reputation as one of the top guards in the country. Hines, who had 19 points Friday, is quickly advancing to that level in his class.
by CNB