Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 28, 1994 TAG: 9402280006
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It made my day," said Staples, who had known for about a week before the team became official Sunday on the CBS telecast of the St. John's-Syracuse game. "Actually, it made my career."
Staples, from Roanoke, averaged 23.6 points this season for Oak Hill Academy, which finished 30-1 after an 82-53 victory Thursday night at Concord High School, the No. 2-ranked team in North Carolina.
Staples had 29 points against Concord, hitting nine of 13 3-point attempts, and was 164-of-342 (48.0 percent) from beyond the arc this season.
"There may have been some kid in North Dakota or the backwoods of Kentucky who had 164 3-pointers, but no other big-time players," said coach Steve Smith, whose Warriors are ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today.
Staples is the 11th Oak Hill player make the McDonald's All-American team, which is considered the most exclusive of the All-America teams because only 25 players are on it.
"He's one who earned it during the season, and that's not the case with everybody," said Smith, who has coached 10 McDonald's selections. "You know that some of these kids have the team made as early as September, but Curt got it on merit."
Staples, a 6-foot-2 guard, was joined on the team by fellow Virginia signee Norman Nolan, a 6-8 forward from Baltimore. They will play in the McDonald's All-America Game on April 3 at Alumni Hall on the St. John's University campus, then travel to College Park, Md., for the Capital Classic on April 8.
"I remember when George Lynch [from Roanoke] played in the McDonald's game [in 1989] and I've been watching it ever since," said Staples, who in 1992 helped Patrick Henry of Roanoke win the Group AAA state championship, just as Lynch had done four years earlier. "It was my dream to play in it myself."
by CNB