THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080596
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Tidewater Basketball Classic
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Javier Crespa was in the United States just a few days when some of his teammates from Cardinal O'Hara High in suburban Philadelphia took him into the city, to a North Philly playground.
Crespa, an exchange student from Spain, knocked heads with some of Philly's top players, from perennial powers Simon Gratz and Franklin Learning Center.
``He got a good dose of physical basketball,'' O'Hara guard John Gallagher said. ``It was good for him. He got pushed around pretty good.''
Since then, Crespa's been doing most of the pushing. The 6-foot-8 forward from Madrid - who is being recruited by Boston College, Minnesota and West Virginia, among others - should be one of the top players in this weekend's Tidewater Basketball Classic.
``Javier's just what we needed,'' Gallagher said. ``He's a welcome addition.''
Crespa is one of two welcome additions to O'Hara, which returned four starters and figured to be pretty good anyway.
Also joining O'Hara from abroad is Alexander Belov, a Russian exchange student and son of the Russian national coach, Sergei Belov. Belov's uncle, the late Alexander Belov, is the man whose layup gave the Soviet team its infamous 51-50 win over the United States in the 1972 Olympics.
Crespa and Belov are the latest in a long line of foreign transfers in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Adonal Foyle, the highly touted freshman at Colgate University, came to O'Hara from the Caribbean island of St. Martin three years ago, before finishing his high school career in Hamilton, N.Y. Rafal Bigus, a 7-foot center from Poland being recruited by Duke, plays at Archbishop Carroll High.
O'Hara coach Bud Gardler, sensitive to allegations of recruiting, says he had nothing to do with the enrollment of either Crespa or Belov.
``I didn't go out and get these guys,'' Gardler said. ``Both came to us through recommendations from other people. And both were sight unseen.''
Crespa was tipped off to O'Hara by Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, who had recruited another Spanish player, Ricardo Peral, and is a friend of Gardler's. Belov came to O'Hara after his father's team trained at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Belov may have the better pedigree, but Crespa's made the bigger impact. While the slender, 6-5 Belov has had trouble adjusting to a more physical style of play, Crespa, at 230 pounds, has thrived in it.
``Javier's very physical, which is a good thing,'' Gallagher said. ``His adjustment was pretty easy.''
Crespa, who played on Spain's Junior National team, had 18 points and eight rebounds in O'Hara's season-opening win over Penn Charter Friday. Gallagher, a three-year starter at guard, describes him as ``an inside/outside player, with a body, who can run the floor.''
Gardler says Crespa defies easy description. He can't be slotted as a small forward or power forward.
``He's just kind of an old-fashioned forward,'' Gardler said. ``Like something from the 1960s.''
Gardler's team, too, is a bit like something from a black-and-white newsreel. O'Hara, often overmatched physically in a tough league, plays a slow, deliberate style. That's been Crespa's only complaint.
``It's very slow,'' he said. ``Maybe we could play a little faster?''
Crespa speaks good English, but during an interview, Gallagher, a certified gym rat, jumps on an extension to act as interpreter. Gallagher, a 5-foot-11 senior, has also served as something of a tour guide to American basketball.
When Gallagher heard Crespa was coming, he volunteered his family as host.
``I said yeah, 'cause my sisters are away,'' Gallagher said.
Gallagher's sister Joanie is the point guard for Boston College's women's team. His other sister, Annie, is the point guard at LaSalle. Gallagher himself is a low Division I prospect.
``He's staying with a good basketball family,'' Gallagher said.
An even better one now that Crespa's in the household. by CNB