Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 1995 TAG: 9511300020
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-14 EDITION: METRO ROGER HART/STAFF.
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
While all schools but two have at least one returning starter at guard, there is only one starter back who is taller than 6 feet. He just happens to be the district's 1995 player of the year, Chris Childress of William Byrd, who is a 6-3 wing.
Without any inside players of note, the Blue Ridge District might lose its place among the state's elite Group AA leagues. In the past five years, Northside has been a Group AA runner-up, a semifinalist two other years and was eliminated in the quarterfinal round in a fourth season.
During the same span, Salem won the 1994 Group AA title. The Vikings' four state entrants and the Spartans had an inside-outside game.
``It's too early to tell if this will hurt us for the tournament,'' said coach Billy Pope, whose Northside team will use five players whose skills are better suited to the backcourt than the frontcourt.
``I don't know that I like it better, but it's what we have,'' Pope said. ``We have to play to our strength. Each year you have a different look. That's high school'' basketball.
Pope says the Blue Ridge isn't giving up on the postseason. His returning guards, Justin Porterfield and Ben Peete, are among the finest pairs in Timesland, along with Liberty's Gregg Reynolds and J.J. Coles. Porterfield and Peete are strong outside shooters, as well as solid passers, who will create a lot of matchup problems.
Adam Wimmer, a 6-2 forward, is the biggest player Pope is depending on early.
Paul Barnard's William Byrd team has to be favored to win the district because the Terriers have the most experience and, besides Childress, actually have 6-4 Jason Bailey and 6-4 Jason Thomas as post-type players who can provide an inside game.
``It [lack of height] might hurt in a sense, such as rebounding and things like that,'' Barnard said. ``If a team like Northside gets to the regional and tries to make the state, it might have to shoot a high percentage. Meeting a team with a lot of height could hurt them.''
Barnard says having a returning player like Childress will take some of the pressure off his inexperienced big men.
``Hopefully, Chris will make the other people play better,'' he said. ``Our big people don't have to be the go-to guys. They have to play defense, rebound and score some points if we're to be successful.''
While Childress is Byrd's only returning starter, Mayo Wilson saw quite a bit of action as a backup point guard, and Frank English was a contributor at shooting guard.
Michael Berry also has experience and is one of Timesland's best athletes. However, a broken left hand suffered the first week of practice will keep him out of action at least until the NationsBank Holiday Hoops Classic, which begins Dec.26 in Salem.
Barnard hopes Thomas, Bailey or Kevin Stump develop to give Byrd an inside game. If they do, the Terriers might be able to play with anyone in the state.
Salem will be smaller than any other team in coach Charlie Morgan's three-year tenure as the Spartans' head coach. Morgan has plenty of returning guards, including 5-9 Herschel Thomas, who as a freshman stepped in to give Salem some stability at shooting guard .
``It could be a disadvantage if you don't have some height,'' Morgan said. ``Then you'd better have have one or two decent perimeter players. If this isn't the case, it could be a long year.''
So Morgan isn't that upset about the rest of the district teams being somewhat small.
``With our situation, it's better for us,'' he said. ``Plus, I don't have a lot of experience. I think our guys will be all right, but we'll be real good the following year.''
One guard who has little experience but will have a big role for Salem is sophomore point man Sam Lazzaro. He got a look last season and is part of a wave of young players, along with Thomas, who will make the Spartans tough for the next few years.
Height is a problem for new Lord Botetourt coach Ed Purdy, but there's a different sort of pressure on him. Purdy succeeds Don Meredith, who was the dean of Blue Ridge District coaches before retiring in the spring.
Besides being highly successful, Meredith was colorful and about as well known among his peers as any coach in Timesland.
Purdy was Meredith's longtime assistant and hand-picked choice as a successor. Besides working with the boys, Purdy is in his second year as a girls' assistant coach. As a result, he's doing double duty, with Lord Botetourt playing in the Group AA girls' tournament.
Purdy, unlike his former boss, is low-key about a busy boys' season approaching while he tries to help bring the girls' season to a successful conclusion. To that end, Botetourt's boys won't open their schedule until next week.
``Before this year, I was just helping,'' Purdy said. ``The big difference for me is staying on the telephone, talking quite a bit about the team, which I hadn't had to do in years. That's because Don did an excellent job [promoting the team] because he's a good talker. That takes a lot of time.
``We'll do a lot of the same things that we did before. We don't have the experience and there will be very few changes.''
One change will be sideline demeanor. Meredith threw his coat when he was upset at an official's decision or the play of one of his Cavaliers. Often, Meredith would stand and stare at one area on the floor while play continued up and down at a furious pace.
``I get upset occasionally, but it has to be something big,'' Purdy said. ``I don't get upset every other play. I try to maintain my cool. If I lose it, I might lose sight of what's going on, so there won't be as much excitement on the sideline. I'll be sitting down more [than Meredith did]. But Don did a great job of getting the crowd involved.''
Lack of height in the district will be a help to Purdy. He has no returning starters, though several guards - including Michael and Robert Pauley, Chad Beck, Jamey Gilliland and Marcus Wilson - saw limited action.
Alleghany is another team without any returning starters. At least second-year coach Carl Watson is back. He came from Northern Virginia last season, but when he was unable to sell his house near Warrenton, he commuted each weekend.
``Hey, I put 30,000 miles on my car during the season,'' Watson said. Now that his old house is sold, he has purchased a home in Alleghany County, where he is setting about the task of rebuilding the Mountaineers' program.
Oliver Jordan, Alleghany's star running back in football, is the basketball team's best athlete, but Watson has only one other player who scored so much as a point last season. Like most other Blue Ridge coaches, he has a couple of 6-3 or 6-4 youngsters who will provide what little height is available.
``I think we're going to be competitive because we've got some young kids who are pretty good,'' Watson said.
Rockbridge County is looking for a victory after going winless last season under former William Fleming and VMI star Damon Williams.
The Wildcats have a couple of strong guards in Ricky Wright and Jaymie Terrell, who just missed making Timesland's Sizzlin' Sophomore first team. Both players had double-figure scoring averages.
The Wildcats also have 6-5 T.J. Pettis back. Pettis was out with an injury except for the last few games, but he actually has the most experience of any center in the district.
``The lack of height [in the district] will help us,'' Williams said. ``But it makes it tough on the perimeter game if you don't have good guards who can penetrate.''
Here is a capsule look at the Blue Ridge teams:
ALLEGHANY
'94-95 record: 12-9 overall, 4-6 district.
Coach: Carl Watson, second year.
Returning starters: None.
Other key players: Oliver Jordan, 5-8, Sr., G; Casey Burks, 6-1, Jr., G; Travis Davis, 5-11, Jr., G; Donald Downing, 5-9, Soph., G; Kevin Cook, 6-0, Sr., F; Ryan Crackel, 5-9, Jr., G; Randy Ellis, 5-11, Jr., G; Rob Lindstrom, 6-4, Jr., C; Chris Morris, 6-2, Sr., C; Jared Hayslett, 6-3, Sr., C; Jay Megginson, 6-0, Sr., F.
Outlook: The Mounties will be rebuilding with little experience, height or scoring. Oliver Jordan is a great athlete, but he saw very little playing time a season ago.
LORD BOTETOURT
'94-95 record: 10-11, 3-7.
Coach: Ed Purdy, first year.
Returning starters: None.
Other key players: Michael Pauley, 6-0, Sr., G; Robert Pauley, 5-11, Sr., G; Richie Jeter, 5-11, Sr., F; Michael Gates, 6-1, Sr., F; Chad Beck, 5-10, Sr., G; Marcus Wilson, 5-4, Sr., G; Wesley Cox, 6-2, Jr., F; Jason Hunt, 6-4, Soph., C; Mike Bissell, 6-3, Jr., C.
Outlook: Purdy steps in for the Blue Ridge District's dean of coaches, Don Meredith, with no returning starters and very few returning scorers. What height he has is inexperienced, so the Cavaliers are building for the future. Cox, a fine athlete, is out for basketball for the first time. Hunt is up from the junior varsity, and Bissell has worked hard to rejoin team after failing to make the varsity last season.
NORTHSIDE
'94-95 record: 21-8, 8-2 (Region III champion, Group AA runner-up).
Coach: Billy Pope, 10th year.
Returning starters: Justin Porterfield, 5-11, Sr., G, 12.7 points per game, 6.1 assists per game; Ben Peete, 5-10, Sr., G, 14.0 ppg.
Other key players: Spence Peters, 5-8, Sr., G; Wenslow Journette, 5-11, Sr., G; Adam Gray, 6-1, Sr., C; Adam Wimmer, 6-2, Sr., F; Eric Logan, 5-7, Sr., G.
Outlook: The Vikings have no height, but they do have one of the strongest pairs of guards in Timesland coming into the season in Porterfield and Peete. Pope, a college and high school guard, should know something about coaching a team of backcourt players.
ROCKBRIDGE
'94-95 record: 0-22, 0-10.
Coach: Damon Williams, third year.
Returning starters: Ricky Wright, 5-11, Jr., G, 11.0 ppg; Jaymie Terrell, 5-10, Jr., G, 13.0 ppg., 3.0 rpg.
Other key players: Seth Clark, 6-2, Jr., C; Chad Brown, 5-8, Sr., G; T.J. Pettis, 6-5, Sr., F-C, 5.7 ppg. (nine games); Jason Hannah, 6-2, Jr., F; Sam Stone, 6-1, Jr., F; George Pickeral, 6-1, Jr., F; Brad Hostetter, 6-2, Jr., G; Jonathan Haston, 6-2, Fr., G; Luke Serber, 6-4, Soph., C.
Outlook: Like most other Blue Ridge teams, Rockbridge County has strong returning guards and inexperienced inside players. The Wildcats have a chance to move up, but are not realistic threats to compete for the title.
SALEM
'94-95 record: 14-9, 8-2.
Coach: Charlie Morgan, fourth year.
Returning starters: Herschel Thomas, 5-9, Soph., G, 8.6 ppg.; Eric Millard, 5-10, Sr., G.
Other key players: Scott Hall, 6-2, Jr., C; Sam Lazzaro, 5-8, Soph., G; Kwam Lewis, 6-1, Jr., F; Eric Grinnell, 6-2, Jr., C; Andy Beach, 5-111/2, Jr., G.
Outlook: Salem has no height, but will be strong and deep at guard in what is a true rebuilding year for the Spartans. Thomas is the only returning scorer. Quickness will be an asset as Salem takes on another challenging schedule.
WILLIAM BYRD
'94-95 record: 20-5, 7-3.
Coach: Paul Barnard, 10th year.
Returning starter: Chris Childress, 6-3, Sr., F, 19.8 ppg., 9.3 rpg.
Other key players: Mayo Wilson, 5-7, Sr., G, 3.6 ppg., 3.2 assists per game; Frank English, 6-1, Jr., F; Michael Berry, 6-1, Sr., G; Chris Blackwell, 5-8, Sr., G; Kevin Stump, 6-5, Jr., C; Jason Thomas, 6-4, Jr., C; Jason Bailey, 6-4, Jr., F; Zack Bocock, 6-21/2, Sr., F; James Edwards, 5-9, Sr., G.
Outlook: Though there is only one returning starter, Byrd has a lot of key reserves from last season's Region III entrant. Childress is one of Timesland's best returning players and was district player of the year. The Terriers likely will struggle without senior guard Michael Berry for the first four to six weeks as he rehabilitates a broken left hand.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:1, William Byrd; 2, Northside; 3, Salem; 4, Alleghany; 5, Rockbridge County; 6, Lord Botetourt.
by CNB