THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080599
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The Tidewater Basketball Classic attempts each year to give the fans a thrill, bringing the best teams and best players possible to the three-day event.
This year, it brings another angle.
No. 1 vs. No. 2.
Bayside, the area's top-ranked team, meets No. 2 Booker T. Washington tonight at 9 in the last of four opening-night games.
This matchup of the area's top two teams is part luck and part tradition.
Bayside (1-0) and Booker T. (2-0) like to play each other. And with the Marlins using both of their available nondistrict games to play in the Tidewater Basketball Classic, it was the only opportunity for the rivalry to resume this season.
Nobody could have guessed in September when the pairings were made that these two teams would be ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason.
``Good early season matchups,'' Bookers coach Barry Hamler said. ``That's what the classic's all about. I feel that in having Booker T., Bayside, Indian River and Petersburg we have four of the six or seven best teams in the state. And I think we also have the best private school in the state in Atlantic Shores.''
Both Bayside and Booker T. are coming off come-from-behind three-point victories Tuesday: Bayside beat Green Run, 65-62, while the Bookers edged Great Bridge, 81-78.
While Green Run was expected to give the Marlins a battle, Hamler was disturbed by the Bookers' sub-par performance against Great Bridge.
``Although you coach your kids to play for that moment, that possession, that quarter and that game, there's a chance they were looking ahead to the classic,'' Hamler said. ``The classic creates a lot of pressure and notoriety.''
Particularly for the host team. The first two nights of the classic are played at Booker T. Washington. Saturday's eight-game slate moves to Echols Arena at Norfolk State University.
A key matchup tonight could come at small forward, where Booker T. Washington's Shaun Wilson (23.5 ppg) and Bayside's Lashawn Jones (21 points in season opener) will square off.
The Marlins have an inside size advantage with 6-foot-8 center Marcus Riddick. None of Booker T.'s starters is over 6-4. But the Bookers likely won't have to contend with 6-7, 240-pounder Thomas Bennett.
Bennett, a transfer from Houston, was still in limbo Wednesday while the Virginia High School League mulls over his eligibility and achievement. According to Bayside principal Mike Debranski the problem arose due to inconsistencies between the Texas and Virginia school systems' grading procedures.
Ironically, Bayside and Booker T. have already played this year, meeting for two quarters in a four-team jamboree scrimmage in Hertford County, N.C. Both coaches said it was a toss-up.
The Bookers have a new player on their roster, guard Ashley Berry, but he's not new to Bayside. Berry played previously at Green Run and scored 14 points in Green Run's 67-61 Beach District tournament final victory over Bayside a year ago.
``Ashley's a very exciting player and the best jump shooter I've ever had here at Booker T.,'' Hamler said. ``We're just excited that his parents relocated to the Booker T. Washington zone.'' by CNB