Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503280010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Ken Tilley, who is nearing the completion of his first year as the VHSL's executive director, slowly is bringing high school athletics in this state into the late 20th century. It's a process that will not be completed overnight.
Tilley's first big change involved trimming the number of people who determine the path the VHSL will take. A small body can govern more effectively than one of several hundred people, so an executive committee of 27 people will make the basic decisions instead of the principals of every school.
The next project Tilley is taking on is building up the state basketball tournament. It says a lot that the state wrestling tournaments draw bigger crowds than the state boys' basketball tournaments. Unofficially, that was the case this year.
The people running wrestling are smart. They combined the Group A and AA meets, then held those events in Salem, which is easily accessible to the rabid fans of Grundy and other schools in the far Southwest corner of the state. In Group AAA, the tournament was held in Chesapeake to take advantage of the Great Bridge's great following.
It's not that simple in basketball, but Tilley has a plan.
``Basically, we have four semifinal rounds'' in the winter, Tilley said, referring to the boys' tournaments and the Group AAA girls. ``I would like to play two semifinals in each classification on separate nights - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - in prime time. We'd still play the four championship games as we do now on Saturday.''
The state would still hold semifinals and finals at one site, such as Liberty University's Vines Center in Lynchburg, but there would be no weekday afternoon games.
Tilley also hopes to change the first round of the state tournament from a hodgepodge of sites put together at the last minute to doubleheaders at a civic center or college arenas. A model for this would be the first-round state matchups Region C and Region D play in Group A at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum.
This could present a problem in Group AAA, where the Northwestern Region is spread over an area from Danville to Northern Virginia.
``We might have to go back the last four or five years and see which schools are involved, and then we'd assign sites that would be fair such as [the University of Virginia] Charlottesville,'' Tilley said. ``We might also combine some classifications for doubleheaders such as Regions III and IV and C and D that have a common area.''
Then, there is the site of the final four, which will be played in Lynchburg for at least one more year.
``There were a lot of positives for Lynchburg,'' Tilley said. ``The facility was very well-received and there was tremendous hospitality from all the people involved. Those are two big factors.''
Hotel space wasn't a problem, and many people feel it's easier to get around in Lynchburg than Charlottesville, which has only a couple of main roads and a lot of traffic.
The question is whether the state tournament can draw fans in Lynchburg.
``The [championship game and semifinals] revenue is down, though we're not sure how much,'' Tilley said.
One reason for the decline in revenue was the lack of a local draw. When E.C. Glass lost to James Robinson in a Group AAA boys' quarterfinal, it probably cost the VHSL $15,000 to $20,000.
``Liberty [High School in nearby Bedford] was just in it for one round,'' Tilley said. ``Twin Springs and Douglas Freeman not making it hurt. They all have a good following.''
The Group AAA girls' final between James Robinson and James Madison drew few fans. Tilley said if that game had been played in Charlottesville, 90 minutes closer to those schools, it would have drawn more people.
BALANCING ACT: For now, the balancing of Region III and Region IV is in the hands of a committee formed by the VHSL to study the problem. A questionnaire will be sent to each school, and the committee will use that information to come up with a plan that pleases the most people.
Obviously, not everyone will be happy. Already, there is speculation that William Byrd might be moved from the Blue Ridge District to the Seminole District within Region III because of its proximity to the Seminole schools.
This is not to say Byrd will be moved. It's just an illustration of the kind of realignment that might take place.
``The schools should be looking themselves for what their preferences are for the future,'' Tilley said. ``They should be discussing with other schools what will make a good district. All schools will have a chance to respond.''
Suppose the Blue Ridge District agrees to move from Region III to Region IV, as was discussed during the summer? ``The executive committee would still have to approve it in regards to overall balance,'' Tilley said.
In other words, schools that could have made their own moves a few years ago no longer have the option of making a decision without seeing how it affects the rest of the classification.
GOOD DEEDS: John-Michael Deeds, the son of Northside athletic director Ed Deeds, recently won the Knights of Columbus state free-throw contest for 13-year-olds. He is the first Roanoke-area player to win that title. The younger Deeds made 23 of 25 free throws in Richmond to win the contest. Recently, he also canned 28 3-point shots in a row while playing in the Northside gym. At 6 feet 1/2 inch and with those statistics, John-Michael Deeds certainly has the potential to be an impact player for the Vikings.
HONOREE: Oak Hill Academy's Ron Mercer has been named the high school winner of the boys' Naismith Award, one of the top national honors a prep basketball player can receive.
Mercer is the first player from the Mouth of Wilson school to receive this award, but not the first player from Virginia to win. Alonzo Mourning won when he was at Indian River High School, and Dennis Scott received the Naismith Award when he played at Flint Hill Prep in Oakton.
Mercer and his coach, Steve Smith, will receive the award in a presentation CBS-TV will air at 1:30 p.m. today. Chamique Holdsclaw of Christ the King in Middle Village, N.Y., will receive the girls' award.
WRESTLING CLINIC: Liberty High School will hold a wrestling clinic Monday night featuring Ken Chertow, who was a three-time All-American at Penn State, a world champion and a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic squad. The cost of the clinic is $15.
by CNB