ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610250014
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-14 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
Don't be fooled by Northside High School's girls basketball team.
It's true that Viking guard Amber Kern has a deadly 3-point shot, and forward Rosse Hopkins shines when the game is one the line. But 6-foot center Crystal Barrett is the main reason Northside (14-2 overall, 9-1 Blue Ridge District as of Monday) is second in Timesland.
``Crystal brings a lot of things to the game,'' said Marilyn Bussey, the Vikings' coach. ``She is just a good all-around player. She can catch the ball. She can pass the ball. Her shooting percentage is the best on the team. Of course, she has taken some close shots. But she has a pretty good long-range shot. And she does all of that while getting a lot attention from the other teams.''
Despite being double- and triple-teamed, Barrett averages 14 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and 1.8 steals a game.
``She also likes to block shots,'' Bussey said. ``But I don't try to get her into a shot-blocking situation because I think you can get into more fouling situations. So we don't stress that, although she can do it.''
No one thought, however, Barrett could lead the Vikings to a possible district title.
As a little girl, her favorite sport was cheerleading. The only reason she started playing basketball was that her older brother Sam played. When she first began playing, Barrett, now 16, would be on the court only going through the motions.
``I didn't really care about basketball,'' she said. ``I was at the age where I would just do whatever. And I was totally embarrassing to watch play. So I never played that much.''
Barrett started to take basketball seriously two years ago, during her freshman year in high school. She had just grown 4 inches over the summer.
``Since I was taller, I just wanted to make myself better,'' Barrett said.
Bussey, however, said she felt Barrett wasn't ready for the varsity team.
``She developed so much playing junior varsity,'' Bussey said. ``It was just more of a situation that I had two girls to look at. The other one [Laura Smith] seemed to be a little bit more mature. She wasn't necessarily better skilled. She was mature in handling playing varsity as a freshman.
``But Crystal had a really nice year being on the jayvee team. It was no question that she was going to start varsity her sophomore year.''
Last season, Barrett turned out to be more than the average starter. She was a finalist for the Sizzlin' Sophomore award. She set a Northside single-season record with 264 rebounds, and her average of 12 boards a game led the entire area.
``I just love rebounding,'' Barrett said. ``I just like the physical and difficult things you have to do to get the ball. I guess, I want to be like [Chicago Bulls forward] Dennis Rodman. I think he is pretty awesome. I don't want to be exactly like him. I don't want my hair to be three different colors. But I like the way he plays. He's rough and I love his defense.''
Unlike Rodman, Barrett is a consistent offensive threat. That's why she's been double-teamed all year. Opponents look to frustrate Barrett and force her teammates to take bad shots. So far, that strategy has backfired for teams, including twice for William Byrd.
During the teams' first meeting, the Terriers concentrated on Barrett as Hopkins' last-second bucket gave the Vikings the 40-39 victory. In their second meeting, Kern picked up the slack, scoring a game-high 18 points in a 50-38 win. On both occasions, Barrett had key assists.
``I think it is really nice that this is not just a one-person team,'' Barrett said. ``I like passing the ball knowing that they can make the outside shots and knowing that I don't have to do all of the work because they can shoot. I have a lot of confidence in everybody on the team. I have total confidence that they will make the shot.''
She doesn't get upset when she's not the leading scorer, either.
``It doesn't bother me because I know that it will open up some other people so they can score points,'' Barrett said. ``I really don't care about scoring points. I like to rebound. By me grabbing the rebound and getting double-teamed, that frees up other people. I can throw the ball to them.''
So while her teammates receive praise for scoring the points, Barrett knows that her key passes - and rebounds - won another game.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER/Staff. Northside's Crystal Barrett (right)by CNBtowers over Alleghany High School's Carrie Brown in the first period
of their recent game which Northside won 43-38.