ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070003
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
THE FORMER GLENVAR girls' basketball star could be an All-American as a player and a student at Longwood College.
Perspective is needed when judging the talents of Nikki Hall.
To some, she's a potential All-American in basketball and an anthropology student who once excavated the biggest find on an archeological dig.
To others, she's a potential All-American as an anthropology student and a big-time college basketball player who turned out to be a big find for Division II Longwood College.
Sometimes it seems Hall, the former Glenvar High School star who is tearing up the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference, is all things to all people. Even though she's double-majoring in biology and anthropology, the 5-foot-9 junior forward is grading well in statistics, too, as evidenced by her 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game and 3.8 cumulative grade-point average.
Hall, an enthusiastic 21-year-old overachiever, wants to lead the Lancers back to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Longwood, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, sits atop the CVAC with a 10-0 record. The Lancers are 12-5 overall.
When questioned about her All-America credentials, Hall laughs.
``I've heard rumors'' of being an All-America candidate, she said, ``but you know how people talk. I have no clue. I don't know anything.''
That's not true. How do you achieve a 4.0 GPA, like Hall did last semester, without knowing something? If anything, she's a quick study.
In high school, she learned to play center as a senior after spending most of her career as a guard or forward. In college, she has handled the basketball and played in the paint. One thing that never changes is her tenacious quality on the defensive end of the floor. She leads the CVAC with 68 steals.
``She does some amazing things,'' said Shirley Duncan, who has coached Longwood for 13 seasons. ``I've had some fine players in my time here. Nikki is probably the best all-around player I've ever had.''
She's also a candidate to be an Academic All-American. Hall began her academic career as a biology major, then she enjoyed her freshman anthropology class so much, she decided to major in that, too.
Hall's scholarly work habits were evident during her high school days, when it was not uncommon for her to stay up late studying after returning from long, late-night trips with the basketball team. Her parents, Dennis, a tire-maker at Yokohama, and Susie, a financial secretary at First United Methodist Church in Salem, made sure young Nikki's priorities were in order.
Well, sort of.
``She would come in from Bath County after a game and I used to say, `Why not go in late and miss that test and just make it up later?''' said Susie Hall. ``She was [studious] almost to a fault. There were times in high school when I wanted her to enjoy things a little more. She always put so much pressure on herself. Now that she's at college, she has much better focus.''
Hall feels she has to be the best at what she does. She outdid herself on one of her first archeological digs, when she excavated a 2,000-year-old arrowhead during a study of the Morris Field Prehistoric Indian Site near the Appomattox River in Buckingham County.
``That was so exciting,'' Hall said. ``Right after that, I told my parents that I really enjoyed anthropology, and my dad said, `What are you going to do? Dig in dirt all your life?'''
When Duncan signed Hall out of Glenvar in 1993, she probably felt the way Hall did after discovering that arrowhead. Duncan thought Hall looked like a Division I prospect.
Hall averaged 13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists a year ago, as Longwood compiled a best-ever 21-8 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was named the team's co-captain this season - the school's first in the CVAC - even though she's a junior.
Hall had no serious Division I offers out of Glenvar. She contacted James Madison and Appalachian State, to no avail. Longwood came through with a partial academic and athletic scholarship.
``I always thought she was a Division I[-caliber] player,'' said Dennis Layman, Glenvar's coach. ``She could play defense like you wouldn't believe. She was so unselfish on offense. We almost had to beg her to shoot more.''
Then there's the asthmatic condition that frustrated her in high school and forced her to leave the floor for spells during her high school career. One of the worst episodes came when Glenvar was playing William Byrd and Hall was matched against Terriers star Sherry Banks, who now plays at Virginia Tech. Hall had to leave the game for several minutes while she regained her breath.
Asthma hasn't troubled her in college, where she works with a team physician and takes treatments via an inhaler several hours before games.
``I wanted to go Division I like everybody does,'' she said. ``Back then, I thought [Division I scouts] would come to me. Looking back, I wasn't ready for that at all. It was kind of like, `Look, you're not as good as you think you are.' I'm pretty sure I could have played Division I. I probably would have redshirted, but I'm sure I could have played. Now, I'm glad I'm here. Longwood is the place for me.''
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff. 1. Former Glenvar Highby CNBSchool star Nikki Hall is a standout on the court, and in the
classroom, at Longwood College in Farmville. color. 2. Nikki Hall
hits the books in her dorm room after hitting some shots for the
Longwood College women's basketball team.