Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130336
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Twine hit 21 points in the Patriots' 80-68 opening victory at Alleghany. Last winter, Twine scored 13 points in his entire junior season. That made it appear as if his senior year might be very bleak.
Combs had 52 points as a sophomore last winter. He scored 10 as PH's top scorer in a 72-39 loss to William Fleming in the Roanoke Valley District tournament as the Patriots wound up a 4-17 season. After six games this season, Combs has 83 points.
Because of Combs and Twine, whom coach Woody Deans says are his two most-improved players, the Patriots are 5-1 going into Tuesday's game against William Fleming and rated one of Timesland's most-improved teams.
"Quinton worked very hard over the summer and has developed into a very consistent player for us," Deans said of his shooting guard whose 14.2-point average is second on the team. "He came up through the freshman and junior varsity programs but wasn't a standout on any of them.
"Chris is a relentless worker, a gym rat. These two are excellent examples of work paying off."
For Twine, there were a lot of long, lonely winter nights sitting on the bench as a junior.
"I understood. I wasn't that great a player last year," Twine said. "Coach Deans told me if I practiced hard and kept improving, I might get a chance. There were no promises."
So Twine went to all the open gyms and the team camps. It started coming together.
"I thought I could do it with a lot of hard work. My main goal was to be a starter," he said. "It was tough, but I had help from all my teammates. They told me to stick with it."
Combs recognized the hard work his teammate was putting out.
"He's by far the most-improved player on the team. I remember that first game at Alleghany," Combs said. "I wasn't that surprised at how well he did because I saw how hard he worked. He's only about 6 feet [actually 5-10], but he has one of the toughest shots to block."
That Twine had a difficult time earning his niche isn't surprising. Except for one year with the High Street Baptist Church team in a recreation league, Twine never played organized basketball before earning a spot on the junior-high team.
"Sometimes I saw myself not playing as a senior. But I would have stayed on the team. I love the game," said Twine, who says he learned more basketball from playing on the streets than he did in the recreation league.
Combs, at 6 feet 6, is one of the district's tallest players.
He is the youngest son of Glen Combs, who was a standout shooter at Virginia Tech and then a better-than-average player in the old American Basketball Association.
But "basketball was not easy at all," said Combs. "I wasn't born with very much athletic ability. I always tried to keep a ball in my hands. My dad helped me with shooting and ball-handling. We'd watch a lot of tapes and he'd make suggestions on what I was doing."
When it's all said and done, Combs might be a better college prospect in football rather than basketball. Combs credits football, where he plays on the line, as having a lot to do with his success.
"Coach [Ed] Scott's strength-and-conditioning drills made me faster and stronger," he said.
He won't say which sport he leans toward.
"I like them both. My father supports me in both. He helps me out even though he never played football because his high school [in West Virginia] was so small. He wants me to play football more than I can express," Combs said.
Combs learned his football in a way that has been traditional for so many Roanoke athletes.
"I got my first taste under `Guts' [coach Bob McLelland, who is an icon as far as sandlot coaches go in the city]. In college I have no idea which sport I'll play. I'll take any offer that comes along," Combs said.
Combs is known for working on his game long after practice is over. He constantly polishes his moves, his shots and anything else that can improve his game.
"Coming into last year, I had just gotten over an injury and I knew that I wouldn't start or play much on the varsity," he said. "Coach Deans wanted me to play junior varsity. Then I came up and got a chance to play a lot at the end of the year.
"I was never discouraged. I knew we had most of the team coming back."
What he didn't know was how much he and Twine would contribute to make the Patriots one of the contenders for this year's district title. Based on last year's play, anyone would have had a difficult time forecasting their success.
by CNB