ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290043
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
Should you need to find Jon Hutchins, try catching him after he plays basketball in one of Blacksburg High School's games. No need to hurry. He won't.
He'll be the last one to depart the team's dressing quarters.
``I'm slow,'' he said.
Not entirely. The 5-foot-11 senior is speedier in some of his endeavors than he is in others.
When it came time to learn to be the quarterback of coach Bob Trear's disciplined offense, Hutchins was a quick study. When time comes to make a move and pass a foe on the way to the hoop, Hutchins is as quick as anybody in the New River District. He can squeeze off a jump shot faster than some people can think.
When it comes to the actual running of the offense for Blacksburg, though, Hutchins is slow as sixth period. The Indians' methodical offense demands it.
Following a long tradition of splendid lead guards at Blacksburg, Hutchins is the most recent example. In a season more up-and-down than a trampoline training video, Hutchins has been one of the reliable blocks in the Indians' foundation. It isn't only because he's one of the few seniors on the team, either.
He can play a little, too. Or so the New River District coaches believed when they named him, along with teammates Philip Klaus and Michael Davis, Christiansburg's Carlton Ashbrook, and Carroll County's Ryan Morris, to be the only five players to make the all district team. Klaus was the player of the year.
Hutchins' inside passing and outside jumpers had something to do with the years Klaus and Davis had. Hutchins did all right for himself as well. When he was on, which was more often than not, he was the motor on the Blacksburg boat.
Trear remembers in particular a game with William Byrd.
``He played one heck of a game against Byrd,'' Trear said. ``The entire ballgame, from start to finish, it was assist after assist after assist. Basically what it was one point guard [Hutchins] and four guys on the baseline. The whole time, he ran that offense the way it's supposed to be run.
``If I could have one film clip to show somebody how our offense is supposed to be run, that would be it.''
More of the same was evident as Blacksburg was beating Carroll County and Christiansburg in the New River District tournament. Klaus was outstanding - and the Indians' attack was as effective as it was all year - both games.
Should you have been picky enough to find a flaw in Hutchins' game, it was the two missed front ends of one-and-ones in the last 1 minute 8 seconds of the 49-43 victory over Christiansburg in the tournament championship.
``That won't happen again,'' Hutchins said.
Blacksburg would never have won the tournament or advanced to the Group AA Region IV playoffs, where it lost 67-60 at Grundy Tuesday, without Hutchins' contributions. Hutchins thought the Indians might be looking for a lot out of him last year. That's one of the reasons he beefed up his weight training and offseason playing schedule.
``My brother Mark, who is in the Navy now, had been on me to lift weights more,'' Jon Hutchins said. ``I didn't want to do it just because he ordered me to, though. And I didn't really want to do it at first because I had heard if you lift weights, that your shot would get messed up. That's just a myth, though. It really helped me when I started lifting. When I told my brother that, I got a big 'I told you so.'"
Because Hutchins is the only senior starter for Blacksburg, he been asked to assume what is, for lack of a better term, a prominent leadership role.
``That's the way the coaches like to put it,'' Hutchins said. ``I'm not the loud type, though.''
He's not the hurrying type either.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Alan Kim. Blacksburg's Jon Hutchins (left) guards Jesseby CNBMcHose during a matchup in Christiansburg. color.