Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9411030026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors has agreed to ante up $1.5 million for architectural and engineering fees so planning can begin for a new high school in the Cave Spring area. Tied to this is a recommendation by Roanoke County Administrator Elmer Hodge that there be a $10.1 million bond sale to build the high school and a new gym at Northside. After the plans are drawn, the proposal must pass votes by the county school board and supervisors, but that is considered a formality.
Northside's new gym could rightly be called the ``House that Pope Built,'' a reference to Billy Pope, the Vikings' boys' basketball coach. If Pope hadn't made Northside a Group AA power that has attracted crowds far too big for the school's gym, it's doubtful there would be a new structure in the works.
While a new gym is a positive step, Roanoke County might not be doing everything it should. Donna Henderson, Northside's principal, says the plans for the new gym include only 2,500 seats and do not include the indoor track facility that was requested.
The county needs an indoor track facility. More importantly, it needs a gym that seats 3,000 to 4,000. Otherwise, the supervisors and school board will be making the same mistake that was made years ago when the city and county governments built gyms that seated 1,200 or fewer for basketball.
Northside isn't the only school that needs a bigger gym. Patrick Henry and William Fleming have had to play some games at the Roanoke and Salem civic centers because their gyms are considered too small for regional events, though administrators have allowed Fleming to hold Northwest Region tournament games the past two years.
The gyms at Cave Spring and William Byrd in Roanoke County also are inadequate, though not quite as small as the one at Northside. Glenvar's facility would be too small if the Highlanders still were a Group AA school.
If Roanoke County builds a gym seating 2,500 or so at Northside, itlikely will have to deal with the same problems again in 20 years or less.
Northside officials also want a gym that will be adequate for the Blue Ridge District tournament, and 2,500 seats aren't enough.
The Blue Ridge and Roanoke Valley districts play their tournaments together at the Salem Civic Center and split the receipts. Yet, the Blue Ridge usually draws bigger crowds.
``We've talked about this at the district meeting,'' Henderson says. ``There are a lot of things to be considered, such as the rental fee of the civic center. Other districts are clearing more money than we are when they have their tournaments at high schools.''
If the Blue Ridge shifts to Region IV in two years, as has been discussed, having a big gym in the district will be advantageous for the regional basketball tournament. While Region III has been content to play host to a tournament at a civic center, schools in Region IV are not used to paying fees to civic centers when school facilities are available.
The other good news in the bond proposal is that a new Cave Spring high school will have a new gym. The Group AAA school should have a gym that seats at least 3,000. Otherwise, county officials will be making the same mistakes they appear to be making at Northside.
Cave Spring also might get a football field with a new school. If Roanoke County does it right, it can bring its sports facilities up to date.
COMING BACK: Charlee Taylor, one of the top returning players for the Radford girls' basketball team, underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last week at the University of Virginia. Without Taylor, a sophomore who averaged 13.4 points a game as a freshman for the Bobcats, Radford has struggled despite dropping from Group AA to Group A.
In one game, the Bobcats committed 48 turnovers and in another had 41 miscues. With Taylor, Radford might not have challenged powerful Floyd County in the Three Rivers District, but the Bobcats wouldn't be facing the prospect of a losing season.
The good news for Radford is Taylor might be back in five weeks. That would give her a week or two before the tournaments to get her game together. The Bobcats' challenge is to finish as high as third in the five-team district to stay out of Floyd County's bracket.
TOUGH QUARTET: The Crestar Roundball Classic, put on by Patrick Henry coach Woody Deans, will be a four-game affair Jan.21 at the Salem Civic Center. It is loaded with boys' basketball teams that had state championship potential last season or figure to be contenders this season.
Northside, which made the Group AA semifinals, takes on Group AAA power GW-Danville in the opener at 4 p.m., followed by 1994 Group AA champion Salem against 1994 Kentucky state champion Fairdale at 5:30 p.m.
Host Patrick Henry takes on perennial North Carolina power Page of Greensboro at 7 p.m., with Group AAA runner-up William Fleming meeting West Virginia state semifinalist Woodrow Wilson of Beckly in the finale at 8:30.
Fairdale was supposed to play in last season's Roundball Classic, but was unable to travel to Salem because of an ice storm that closed roads in Kentucky.
This will be one of the most talented fields to play basketball in the Roanoke area in years. Fairdale has four starters back, as does Woodrow Wilson. Fleming has three returning starters, and Northside has most of its team intact from a season ago.
GW-Danville, which also played in the Group AAA tournament, has much of its squad returning. The Eagles should join Fleming as the preseason favorites in the Northwest Region.
STATE PAIRINGS: There was good news for Floyd County and Buffalo Gap girls' basketball fans in the latest issue of Virginia High School League notes.
Last year, those teams met for the Group A championship, with Floyd County winning a thriller. They've split two state championship games over the years. Both teams have a lot of players back this year and figure to be contenders for the title.
According to the state pairings, if Floyd wins the Region C title and Buffalo Gap takes the Region B crown, they won't be in the same bracket in the state tournament. It might make little difference, though, because Buffalo Gap star Sarah McNett - a 6-foot-1 center - injured a knee recently and could be out for the rest of the season. In the state championship game last fall, McNett scored 19 points.
by CNB