Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9503180005
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In 6-foot-4 Lisa Bryan, 6-foot-2 Jaclyn Banks and 5-foot-11 Cheryl Rhodes, Long has the tallest and, arguably, the best front line in the Timesland area. Taking a peek into next year, Long knows she'll have quite an impressive trio. Bryan is a sophomore, and Banks and Rhodes are juniors.
``They'll have to learn to play without the Beightols,'' said Long, refering to twin starting guards Allison and Aimee Beightol. ``But I think we'll be OK.''
The first sign that the Knights were going to be OK this year came during the summer when the team was at a camp at Radford University. Banks, who had transferred from William Byrd High School during the second semester of her sophomore year, was playing with her teammates for the first time.
The arrival of Banks allowed Rhodes, who had played power forward, to move to small forward. Rhodes said it was a good move because Banks is a stronger inside player than she is.
The players said they got along from the beginning, and Long pointed out that Banks kept score and developed relationships with her soon-to-be new teammates when she transferred during the spring of 1994. But it was not known how the three would mesh on the court and in a big game until the camp at Radford.
How do you warm-up for a showdown with Pulaski County during the 1994-95 season? How about a summer showdown with Floyd County, the reigning Group A girls' state champions.
Cave Spring found it had a talented front line. It defeated Floyd County, which repeated as Group A state champion, in that summer camp contest. Cave Spring (12-3) can't go undefeated, but it may achieve a similar result.
``Floyd County is one of the best teams in the state,'' Long said. ``It was definitely a confidence builder. We were really pumped up to play them. We had a game plan and everything; it was pretty intense. They've [Floyd County] won two state titles; that's [state championship] where every team wants to play.''
Banks' competitive fire has rubbed off on her front-line mates. As a freshman at Byrd, she was on a team that featured her sister and current Virginia Tech standout Sherry Banks. That team lost in the Group AA state championship game. Jaclyn Banks said she didn't cry after the loss - her sister did - but that game is a good indication of her personal philosophy.
``I hate to lose, and I give it all I've got,'' Banks said. ``I just do it.''
In the first encounter with rival Pulaski County, power forward Jodie Hallett and center Kim Cruise dominated the paint as Pulaski County defeated Cave Spring 53-45 in a game not as close as the final score might indicate.
``We let Hallett and Cruise do whatever they wanted,'' Rhodes said. ``We kind of struggled.''
Coach Long said Banks played as if she was scared. Banks admits she was and vowed to do better, and Bryan said she was intidimated by Pulaski's Kim Cruise.
Banks played Hallett much tougher in the second meeting, and Bryan held Cruise to 3-of-12 shooting from the floor. Tougher defense and late-game heroics from the Beightol twins allowed Cave Spring to defeat its rival 35-33 and turn the Roanoke Valley District girls' basketball race from a Pulaski cakewalk into a pit bull fight.
``Last year, as a freshman, Kim Cruise sorta of intidimated me,'' Bryant said. ``I wanted to show her I could play with her.''
Rhodes, who supplied better weakside defensive help whenever Bryan or Rhodes needed it, added: ``I'm determined and a hard worker. I hate failure.''
Banks, 17, Rhodes, 16, and Bryan, 15, all hope to play college basketball one day. The front line is not looking for 1995-96 success - they're looking for team achievement in the present.
Before the season, Cave Spring set four goals: winning its Christmas Tournament, which it did; and capturing district, region and state titles.
Coach Long is hoping that the experience of tournament pressure in the likes of Banks and Rhodes pays off in her team reaching its goals.
``In a state tournament, it's a different level and a different pressure,'' Long said. ``We either win or we go home. Having been there has an advantage.''
by CNB