Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 3, 1994 TAG: 9403030125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harold Deane Jr., Virginia's freshman point guard, didn't grow up whizzing up and down Williamson Road. But Tinker Mountain was a familiar backdrop to Harold Deane Sr., and on Wednesday he watched the young man he calls a "grandson of Roanoke" help Virginia beat Virginia Tech 70-61 in a college basketball game.
Fifty-four-year-old Harold Sr. retired as coach of Virginia State's basketball team on Wednesday, and he has a clipboard full of things he's going to do: Teach at Virginia State, write on coaching and officiating and perhaps become an active official again.
But it was no coincidence that the Roanoke native had a courtside seat - along with his mother and maybe a dozen other relatives - to watch his son.
"He told me I come first, before anything else," Harold Jr. said.
Harold Jr. wasn't the No. 1 reason the Cavaliers beat Tech on Wednesday, but he wasn't far behind. His only field goal was a 3-pointer over Tech's 2-3 zone that thwarted a second-half rally by the Hokies.
Tech had closed from 42-26 to 46-41 with 13 minutes, 6 seconds left. Deane's long 3-pointer the next trip down made it 49-41 Cavs, and Virginia's lead dipped below eight points only twice thereafter until a Hokies push cut it to six with 34 seconds left.
"I think it gave them a big lift," said Bill Foster, Tech's coach. "If he misses that one . . . all of a sudden the zone gets to looking pretty big."
Harold Sr., as a coach would, examined all parts of his son's game and couldn't complain. Deane had two turnovers in 35 minutes against a Tech defense known for its perimeter pressure.
The Hokies were distracted, though, by 6-foot-8 forward Junior Burrough's 10-for-15 field-goal shooting.
"It opened up so much," Deane Jr. said. "Them having to guard Junior down on the inside, that took a toll on them and softened things up on the perimeter."
The Cavaliers made five of eight 3-point attempts; Deane was 1-for-3. He finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.
Virginia played together, Deane Jr. said. In light of his bloodlines, it's not surprising he contributed to that.
Harold Sr., who was saying hello to old friends even after the game, credits his upbringing (and that of his wife, Thelma, of Baton Rouge, La.) with influencing Harold Jr.
"He knows where his family is and he respects them," said Harold Sr., who left Roanoke in 1956 to attend Virginia State in Petersburg, where he still resides. "That's embedded in him from his Roanoke heritage. I learned about togetherness and unity."
Agreed, Harold Jr. said.
"Him being brought up the right way, he wants me to come up the right way," Harold Jr. said.
And don't think Harold Jr. didn't know he had a private rooting section among the 9,286 at the civic center.
"Rarely during basketball season does your whole family and where you come from get to see you play," he said. "A lot of my folks are older, and [the Cavs] don't travel around Roanoke that much. You try to put it out of your head; you've always got a job to do. But at the same time [you know] they're there for you."
by CNB