ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Winning a state basketball championship involves a little skill, a little luck and, for Grayson County, a lot of heart.
The Blue Devils (19-5) didn't impress their coach, John Ayers, early, but they won the Mountain Empire District regular-season title, pulled off an upset in Region C and now face a tough Council team that has four starters who each have scored at least 1,000 points in their careers.
The Grayson County-Council game is the second half of a Group A tournament doubleheader at the Salem Civic Center tonight at 8. Glenvar, the Group A runner-up a year ago, plays J.I. Burton of Norton in the first game at 6:30.
Friday, in a Group AA quarterfinal at 7 p.m., Liberty takes on Gate City at Rustburg as the Minutemen try to make it back to the Group AA semifinals for a second consecutive winter.
``This team surprised me,'' Ayers said of his Blue Devils. ``We've had a lot more individual talent in the last two groups than this one. This one has more heart. They don't quit. They like to play basketball. They're not worried about playing baseball. They want to keep playing.''
Getting past Council (24-2) will be a major undertaking. The Region D champions had lost only to nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy before being upset by Garden. Since then, Council coach Rick Goodman says his team has ``picked it up a notch.''
The four who have topped 1,000 points for Council are a pair of cousins, 6-foot-3 Adrian Rasnake and 6-1 Neil Rasnake, and 6-3 Mike Ratliff and 6-0 Chris Tiller.
Because of experience and sites of first-round games, Liberty and Glenvar have the best chances to reach the final four among Timesland teams. Both teams have much of last year's squads returning. Liberty, ranked No.1 in the Associated Press Group AA poll, was beaten by Nansemond River 78-68 in a state semifinal last winter, and Glenvar lost to James Monroe in the Group A championship game.
In most years, Glenvar would have been playing Burton at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum, the usual site for the two first-round games between Region C and D teams. However, Cassell's roof is undergoing repairs, so the contests were moved to the Salem Civic Center, a site less than 10 miles from Glenvar where the Highlanders played three Christmas tournament games.
Liberty selected Rustburg as the site for its game with Gate City. The Minutemen played a regular-season game there, then beat Salem on that same floor a week ago in a Region III semifinal.
Judging by record, Burton (14-11) doesn't look that formidable against Glenvar (19-6). However, the Black Raiders played well late in the season and have one of the state's best point guards in Bud Campbell, who averages 22 points and eight assists per game.
``Teams have to play us straight up, because if they take away the outside, we can go inside,'' said Glenvar coach Art Lawrence. ``We have three kids in double figures and another just about there, so they can't key on anyone.''
Seniors Corey Willis (14.1 points per game) and James Williams (13.8 ppg) were the leading scorers last season. It is point guard Josh Williamson (13.4 ppg, 3.6 assists per game), who has given the Highlanders a third scorer.
Liberty (22-0), a team with no starter taller than 6-3, is facing its first opponent with significant height. Gate City (15-9) starts an imposing front line of 6-7 Josh Shoemaker, 6-8 Jason Haynes and 6-5 Chad Beasley, son of former Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh Steelers football player Tom Beasley.
``We're just going to try and turn up the heat a little,'' said Mark Hanks, Liberty's coach. ``We won't play behind them. We'll try to play in front of them, deny the entry pass.''
Most important will be the effect of Liberty's press on Gate City, which struggled against pressure defense during the regular season. Since Shoemaker plays some at guard, the Minutemen should have a decided advantage in quickness, thanks to guards J.J. Coles and Gregg Reynolds.
The big weekend for Timesland teams concludes Saturday when three squads hit the road for first-round games. The William Fleming boys and Pulaski County girls will be involved in a Group AAA doubleheader at Mount Vernon. The Colonels face J.E.B. Stuart of Falls Church at 9 p.m., and Pulaski County is matched against James Madison of Vienna at 7.
In a Group AA contest, Northside will take on Virginia of Bristol at 7 p.m. at Gate City Middle School.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB