THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 5, 1995 TAG: 9412310143
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Patti Walsh, Compass Sports Editor
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
LAKE TAYLOR'S Juritus Thompson has wanted to play with the bigger, older girls since she was a 7-year-old just starting her basketball career at Berkeley Recreation Center.
Now the 14-year-old freshman finally has her chance as the Titans' starting point guard. And even at 5-foot-1, Thompson is up to the task. Her 13.2 points a game average ranks among South Hampton Roads' leading scorers.
``It (her scoring average) doesn't make a difference to me,'' Thompson said. ``If they look for me to shoot the ball, then I'm going to shoot. But if somebody else is open, then I'm going to get them the ball.
``I'm the smallest and the youngest person on the court. They might be bigger than me, but I've got a bigger heart.''
Her coach, Teresa Jones, seems to think so, too.
``I think she just loves the game and she plays all the time,'' Jones said. ``She has a lot of natural talent. The other kids in Norfolk, most of them have never played before.''
Thompson, the third of nine children, is grateful to have a chance to play in the youth league, even though she couldn't play with her two sisters who were in the older division.
``The score used to be like, 10-2, and we'd win,'' Thompson said of the rec center games. ``But I had all the points.''
The next year she moved up to the older division and continued to be the league's scoring sensation.
``All I used to shoot were 3-pointers. I used to be scared to take it to the hole because I was so small and they were all bigger than me.''
After her stint in the recreation league, Thompson made Lake Taylor's junior varsity team as an eighth-grader. She was in the starting lineup of a team usually reserved for first- and second-year high schoolers. And with an 8-point average, she led the Titans to an 11-3 overall record and an 11-1 finish in the district.
Even at that level, Jones says she was good enough to play varsity.
``I would have played her as an eighth-grader if I had been able to,'' she said.
Though she's still just a half-pint, Thompson is no longer afraid of being the smallest girl on the court. She does it all - pulls up for the treys, drives through the middle, dribbles behind her back and through her legs and plays feisty defense. She uses her size to her advantage to rack up almost six steals a game and has the big girls running for cover.
``I think she's gained confidence as she's gotten older,'' Jones said. ``The way she handles the ball is incredible, especially for a ninth- grader.''
And now, she tries not to think about being a David among Goliaths.
``I just want to win so bad that I don't think about it,'' she added. ``I think if I can take 'em, I'm going. I just try my best.''
But because she's been so hot at the handle, other teams are starting to key in on her.
``She feels the pressure because people are already putting a box-and-one on her,'' Jones said. ``But she knows that she doesn't have to do everything.''
So what's in the future for a freshman who has already established herself as one of the top players in the area?
``Well, I'd really like to go to U.Va.,'' said Thompson, an honor-roll student.
Thompson's 13-and-under AAU team played in the Virginia state championship there and she said, ``I just fell in love with the court.''
But that's no surprise. Thompson has a history of falling in love with all of the courts she graces.
``I just love to practice,'' she said. ``I mean, I used to go to the court at the Berkeley rec center everyday.
``My Dad pushes me. He used to always help me when he had the time and take me up to the court. I just love basketball.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA
Lake Taylor point guard Juritus Thompson, a 5-foot-1 freshman, is
averaging 13.2 points a game.
by CNB