Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504100021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In Timesland, the coaches who follow Martinsville's Husky Hall in basketball and Pulaski County's Joel Hicks, Parry McCluer's Bob Williams and Salem's Willis White in football will face a similarly daunting task.
Assistant Charlie Wheeler succeeds Williams as the head coach of the Fighting Blues. Williams won five state championships and 199 games during his tenure.
Replacing a man who truly was one of Virginia's finest coaches would have been difficult enough for Wheeler. What could make it harder is the fact that Williams also is a tremendous human being.
But it is Williams' caring quality that actually might make it easier for Wheeler.
Williams, who has been a principal at the middle school in Buena Vista the past few years, often spoke of retiring. He could have stepped down after Parry McCluer had another great season and made the Group A Division 1 semifinals in 1993. Instead, he stayed through a 1994 season in which the Fighting Blues had to rebuild after losing most of their starters to graduation.
Parry McCluer won just three games, one of the worst seasons ever for the Blues. Williams, though, was the head coach and Wheeler didn't have to take the heat. Even if Parry McCluer doesn't do well in the fall, Williams stayed long enough to relieve some of the pressure on his longtime assistant.
Martinsville's Hall steps down after his teams won seven Group AA boys' basketball championships. It would be a shame if longtime assistant Troy Wells didn't get the job, but he's no lock. Martinsville is taking applications through Wednesday.
Whomever follows at Martinsville won't hang up the record Hall did. Enrollment is down at all the high schools in Henry County and Martinsville, and the number of athletes aren't the same as in the period of 1960-90 when the Bulldogs are not the state football and basketball power they were from 1960-90.
Martinsville hasn't been a threat to win a state basketball title in the past few years, though the Bulldogs have made the Group AA tournament. Expectations won't be as great as they have been.
The toughest act to follow will be that of Hicks, who has hinted next year will be his last at Pulaski County. His Cougars have won only one state championship, but that's not his success cannot be measured only in titles.
No coach in Timesland oozes personality the way Hicks does. He isn't just a good coach, he is a politician and a promoter with few detractors.
When Hicks retires, the next coach at Pulaski County will be expected to run a program as open as the one Hicks has built. He had better be ready to discuss Cougars football with all comers, permit people to watch practice and be accessible to the community.
In Salem, White has stepped out of the shadow of Eddie Joyce, the longtime great head coach at Andrew Lewis. Until White came to Salem, Spartans coaches never could match Joyce's popularity.
White has been able to establish his own program and make the good old days of Joyce what they should be, a fond memory.
Still, not all has been smooth at Salem.
White doesn't mince words. He challenged the stuffed shirts who ran the Virginia High School League a few years ago by proving Richlands coach Dennis Vaught had cheated to win a playoff game.
White has heard criticism from the fans in Salem, where a 7-3 record and a trip to the playoffs almost was considered a losing season.
It won't be any easier for the man who follows White will have no easy task. Like Harrick at UCLA, there are some Timesland programs where fans just won't forget the past. Or for those who follow Hall, Williams and Hicks.
ALL-STARS: William Byrd and North Cross each had two players on the Elite 11 from Virginia at the recent Pepsi Cola-Arby's Bristol Soccer Showcase.
Terriers named to the team were goalie Mike Creasey and defender Matt Bryant. North Cross was represented by defender Brad Blum and midfielder Mark Wise, who also was named the most valuable player of the group.
Other Timesland selections were Franklin County goalie Brian Hurt, Martinsville defender Whitt Altizer, Patrick Henry midfielder Corey Evans and Salem midfielder Ryan Reeves.
GALAX SEARCHING: Galax is looking for a football coach and athletic director to replace Temple Kessinger, who retired after having an angioplasty procedure on his heart.
The deadline to apply for the football job is April 24, but Galax principal Doug Arnold said there is no timetable for hiring an athletic director.
Kessinger recently underwent angioplasty surgery for a heart condition and decided to retire.
NEW RULES: High school basketball is looking more and more like the college game. First, it was the 3-point shot. Then, it was technical fouls counting as personal fouls and coaches being ejected after two technicals.
Now comes two free throws starting with the 10th team foul of each half. That's the same rule as colleges uses.
The 35-second shot clock may be coming, too, but there are two reasons the high schools haven't adopted the clock yet. One is the cost of 35-second clocks. More importantly, though, is that teams don't usually hold the ball in high school, and the ones that resort to that strategy usually aren't talented enough to pull it off for a game, a half or even a quarter.
by CNB