Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 10, 1994 TAG: 9404110178
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"Winning the district would have seemed to be a goal back then. I didn't expect we could ever win the state, not even coming into this season. I thought we had a chance of winning the district and getting to the region," Byington said.
Because of what happened this year, Salem boys' basketball will now set the Group AA state championship as a possible goal. Led by Byington and a fine supporting cast, the Spartans went 25-1 and won the Group AA state crown.
Like Byington says, at the beginning of the year, Salem was a team looking for a place in the Region III tournament. By the time February finished, the Spartans were ranked No. 1 in Group AA circles and they lived up to the role of being the team to beat.
As the big player on the best team, Byington captures in the top honor as Timesland boys' basketball Player of the Year.
He's joined by Liberty's Gregg Reynolds and Salem coach Charlie Morgan in taking top Timesland hoop honors for boys.
Reynolds becomes the first athlete to sweep awards as the top Sizzlin' Sophomore in both football and boys' basketball. He has a chance to pull a triple if he can win the same award for baseball this spring.
Morgan, who returned to Salem last year, is the top coach after beating out some rugged competitors such as William Fleming's Burrall Paye, Northside's Billy Pope and Parry McCluer's Nelson Fox, who all took their teams to the state tournament in Charlottesville.
Byington is joined on the All-Timesland team by three other players from the Roanoke Valley - William Fleming's Derrick Hines, Northside's Nathan Hungate and Patrick Henry's Shannon Taylor. The fifth member of the All-Timesland is Martinsville's Michael Martin.
After the season, Byington was named Group AA Player of the Year for the state while Hungate (AA) and Hines (AAA) were first-team all-state selections. Martin (AA) and Taylor (AAA) were second-team choices.
Two RVD juniors - Pulaski County's Ty Hash and Cave Spring's Matt Matheny - are on the All-Timesland second team. Other second-teamers are Magna Vista's Tony Holmes, Parry McCluer's Mike McElroy and Alleghany's Todd Wheatley.
Reynolds beat out a tough field for top sophomore honors. The other Sizzlin' Sophomores are William Byrd's Chris Childress, Franklin County's K.C. Hancock, Northside's Justin Porterfield and William Fleming's James Stokes.
Byington signed with North Carolina-Wilmington before the start of the regular season. That out of the way, he went on to a great season in which he averaged 23.7 points a game and hit 41.7 percent from 3-point range while attempting 161 shots during the regular season.
Byington says the team came together in winning the Advance Auto Parts Classic at Christmas. "We thought we could win every game we played in after that," said Byington.
The contest that might have made Salem a state championship team was a 62-60 loss to Cave Spring in late January.
"I don't think we could have won the state if we had won that game," said Byington, whose last-second shot for a tie failed to drop.
"That brought us down to earth. It made us play harder. After that, we didn't want to experience losing again. We had to have a defeat to wake us up."
Despite Byington's brilliant year, Salem was more than just one star. Nathan Routt was tough at center and just missed making All-Timesland second team. Bryan Monroe improved at point guard, Matt Woolwine was the heart of the team with his inspired play as a 6-foot forward and 6-3 Kevin Garst at the other forward was the quiet one who could destroy a team with his outside shooting.
Hungate, who was always matched against Byington for top honors, had a tremendous year as he elevated an inexperienced Viking team into a state contender.
Hungate had eight outings of 30 or more points in the Vikings' final 20 games. His 35 points against Blacksburg in a Group AA first-round game propelled Northside into its sixth battle with Salem. Hungate averaged 23 points a game against the Spartans, which were one of the state's toughest defensive teams.
Hines, a junior, went from Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year in 1993 to the Group AAA state finals. He averaged nearly seven assists a game and helped turn a young Colonels team, with only two seniors, into one of the best Group AAA outfits because of his desire not to be beaten.
Hines, as he did last year, has left his future up in the air. Rumors have linked him trying to leave the Roanoke Valley for a school such as Oak Hill Academy. For his part, Hines said after losing 70-65 to Meadowbrook in the state championship game that he had some unfinished business such as winning the title next year.
Taylor is one of those rare athletes to make All-Timesland in football and basketball. He is better known for football, having signed a grant-in-aid with Virginia.
However, Taylor was dynamite as a sophomore basketball player when he was the sixth man for PH's state championship squad two years ago. This season, he led the Patriots to the Roanoke Valley District regular season title and a berth in the Group AAA Northwestern Region tournament.
Martin was the Piedmont District's Player of the Year and returns next season to help give Husky Hall a big sendoff in what is probably going to be the veteran coach's final year.
Martin's best game might have been his final one this year in the Region III semifinals when he scored 33 points only to see Hungate lead a Northside rally that ended the Bulldogs' season.
On the second team, Hash is part of a strong group of athletes who should make Pulaski County one of the state's better Group AAA teams next year; Holmes led a good Magna Vista team that ran into Salem in the Region III semifinals; McElroy was part of a balancing act that helped Parry McCluer make the Group A state championship game; Matheny stepped up his game as a young Cave Spring team challenged for the Roanoke Valley District crown; and Wheatley turned in another top year by being both an inside and outside player for the Mountaineers.
Reynolds found points hard to come by early in the season for Liberty as he played point guard and averaged 6.7 assists per game. Then he averaged 17.2 points the last six games of the season when Liberty won the Seminole District tournament and made the Region III tournament.
"He's so unselfish and that's good," said Liberty coach Mark Hanks. "He's a great passer. He also has something you can't teach and that is he wants to win so badly. Against Northside, he realized he had to become a shooter."
Reynolds took a look at the scoreboard when the Vikings had a big lead at half and started throwing in 3-point shots during the second half of the Region III game between the two teams. He ended up with a career-high 25 points and Liberty's rally just missed catching the Vikings.
"It doesn't matter - assists or points," said Reynolds. He also says it doesn't matter which sport he plays because whatever is in season is his favorite one.
"I don't know that he'll grow," said Hanks of the 5-foot-10 Reynolds. "I feel like his best chance at a college scholarship will be in baseball because he has such quick feet."
Reynolds leads a talented group of Sizzlin' Sophomores. Stokes got better as the year progressed to become a dominant inside player for Fleming; Childress showed that by the time he's a senior he might be better than his brother Donald who was one of Byrd's leaders this year; Hancock was part of a youth movement that should make Franklin County a tough Roanoke Valley District team next year; and Porterfield, as the other guard, is the heir apparent to take over Hungate's role next year when the Vikings return most of their squad.
\ SIZZLING SOPHOMORES\ TIMESLAND'S TOP 10TH GRADE BOYS\ FIRST TEAM\ Chris Childress, 6-foot-3, 14.5 points per game, William Byrd\ K.C. Hancock, 6-1, 12.1 ppg., Franklin County\ Justin Porterfield, 5-10, 11.2 ppg., Northside\ Gregg Reynolds, 5-10, 12.1 ppg., Liberty\ James Stokes, 6-4, 11.0 ppg., William Fleming\ \ OTHERS TO WATCH\ J.J. Coles, Liberty; Jeff English, Staunton River; James Fisher, Craig County; Scottie Forbes, Covington Boys' Home; Rob Hoyles, Rockbridge County; Jeff Lang, Cave Spring; Aaron Myers, Giles; Jason Peery, James River; Bryan Pruett, Narrows; Jermaine Simmons, Magna Vista; Jeff Ross, Galax; Sterling Tate, William Fleming.\ \ SOPHOMORE OF THE YEAR Gregg Reynolds, Liberty
\ ALL-TIMESLAND BASKETBALL\ 1993-94 BOYS\ FIRST TEAM\ Mark Byington, 6-foot-3 1/2, Sr., 23.7 points per game, Salem\ Derrick Hines, 5-8, Jr., 16.8 ppg., William Fleming\ Nathan Hungate, 6-1, Sr., 23.3 ppg., Northside\ Michael Martin, 5-11, Jr., 22.2 ppg., Martinsville\ Shannon Taylor, 6-5, Sr., 20.1 ppg., Patrick Henry\ \ SECOND TEAM\ Ty Hash, 6-4, Jr., 18.2, Pulaski County Tony Holmes, 6-5, Sr., 18.2 ppg., Magna Vista Mike McElroy, 6-3, Jr., 15.7 ppg., Parry McCluer Matt Matheny, 6-4, Jr., 21.8 ppg., Cave Spring Todd Wheatley, 6-4, Sr., 17.3 ppg., Alleghany\ \ PLAYER OF THE YEAR\ Mark Byington, Salem\ \ COACH OF THE YEAR Charlie Morgan, Salem
by CNB