Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 7, 1994 TAG: 9401070159
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some basketball teams may have played 22 games this season before New Year's Day. Not any college teams, for sure, but the National Basketball Association is almost one-third of the way through its schedule.
Of course, the NBA season starts the first week in October.
Oak Hill Academy, arguably the nation's premier high school program during the past decade, didn't start playing until Nov. 25 and still squeezed in 22 games by Dec. 30.
Moreover, the Warriors didn't play a single game on their home court in Mouth of Wilson.
Oak Hill won its first 12 games and extended its winning streak to 54 games over three seasons before falling to Dominguez High School of Compton, Calif., 65-48 in the second round of the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic.
"Nobody thought it could happen," senior guard Curtis Staples said of the defeat. "When we lost, everybody was in shock. We're still in shock. But, when you look back, you can see that everybody was dragging."
USA Today reported this week that the Oak Hill team had traveled nearly 9,000 miles in the first month of the season, including a 20-hour round trip to Jackson, Tenn., on the weekend before the Las Vegas trip.
In this week's Sports Illustrated, Ned Zeman took Oak Hill to task for its cross-country journeys. Zeman is the same reporter whose alleged mistakes in a story about Bethel High School's Allen Iverson prompted a six-page letter from Hampton prosecutor Colleen Killilea.
"I could have written a six-page letter, too, if I wanted to," said Steve Smith, Oak Hill's coach. "They act like we're the only high school team that's gone for Christmas. They take us down to a volcano for a photo shot, then say we're out there volcano-worshipping. A real rip job."
Smith points out that 10 of Oak Hill's 22 games were played after the school's Christmas break began on Dec. 15. Another three games were during Thanksgiving recess and, while school was in session, the Warriors' only trip of any distance was for a Saturday night game in Cincinnati.
"I'd like to try not to travel as much as we have been, but it's been one weekend after another," Smith said. "Looking back on it, I would not have gone to [Jackson]. I might have flown, but that was a lot of time in a van."
Oak Hill, which was ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today before the season, fell to No. 6 after the loss to Dominguez. The Warriors are back up to No. 4, but will be hard-pressed to get back to the top of the poll.
"We lost, so I guess we got what we deserved," Smith said. "We'll try to win the rest of our [16] games, but it's not going to be easy. I'm sure a lot of people think, `You should win all the time. You're invincible.' "
Smith said Oak Hill got in trouble when Dominguez took an early lead. This season's team, with three frontcourt starters in the 230-pound range, is not known for its pressure defense and gets almost all of its perimeter shooting from Staples.
It was Staples who saved Oak Hill from potential embarrassment with three late 3-pointers in a 50-44 victory over St. John's of Frederick, Md., the boarding school Staples attended as a junior.
"It was a scary game," said Staples, originally from Roanoke. "I was looking forward to playing [St. John's], but I had to be careful not to be overanxious. I wouldn't have settled for a loss. It would have been a step down."
When St. John's took the lead early in the second half, coach Stu Vetter elected to hold the ball. Oak Hill trailed by as many as seven points before Staples' late barrage.
"You could see, from the way their bench was jumping up and down, that they thought they had it won," Staples said. "I ran into Coach Vetter after the game and he kind of grabbed me and gave me a slight hug, but he didn't speak to anybody."
Staples, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Virginia, leads the Warriors in scoring with an average of 22.7 points per game and has hit an astounding 97 of 204 3-point attempts. He has taken only 122 shots from inside the arc, including 27 dunks.
"I didn't pay much attention until my dad [Bruce] said that all I was shooting was 3-pointers," Staples said. "I don't have to create a lot of shots because Coach Smith calls plays for me a lot. He gives me my fair share of shots and even more."
by CNB