THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501180170
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
IT'S EASIER TO look down the hall at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy now than it was a few months ago, but for Tim Dougherty it won't ever be the same.
``I'm used to seeing him in the halls talking to everybody, being friendly,'' Dougherty said of his best friend, Kevin Blanchard, who was killed in a car accident last August.
Dougherty and Blanchard had been pals since they were six, and it is always with a smile that Dough-erty, 18, recalls their adolescent days together.
``We were in first grade together, and we always would spend the night at each other's house, play Sega, just hang out together,'' Dougherty said, as well as pull some typical teenage pranks Dough-erty would rather not mention. ``But we had gotten over that stage.''
By October, Dougherty had finally stopped dwelling on what had happened and just enjoyed his memories of Blanchard.
``I was working on getting in shape (for basketball) and not thinking about it as much,'' Dough-erty said.
Then the Saints took the basketball court for the first time for practice and the pain roared to the surface again.
``It was just totally different,'' Dougherty said. ``He was a leader, he led by example.
``I remembered I talked with Kevin over the summer about winning the TCIS (Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools) and how we thought we could go to state.''
Now Dougherty was talking with a different friend about the same thing and winning the conference had a new meaning.
``Me and my other best friend, Paul Fleming, talked about playing without Kevin,'' Dougherty said. ``We knew that if he were in our situation he would go out and play as hard as he could.
``We wanted to win the TCIS at least and go to state and win that for him.''
The Saints have six seniors on the team, and Dougherty has no doubt that their maturity has helped the team work through Blanchard's absence.
``We were all there for each other,'' Dougherty said.
As one of those six and a co-captain, Dougherty has been looked upon for support as well as for 20 points per game.
``I have been rushing some of my shots lately,'' Dougherty said. ``The coaches try to tell me I don't have to score 18 to 20 points for us to win, so I don't think I need to, but I like to score.''
That is just what caused Dough-erty, an all-around athlete and golfer who shoots in the mid-70s, to concentrate on basketball.
``I used to play whatever was in season. I played everything. (Basketball) was fun,'' Dougherty said. ``I liked the sound of the crowd, the fame and attention it draws.
``I watched Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan. . . they redefined basketball. Watching them, that is what the game was all about.''
Dougherty also feels a great emotional responsibility for this team, especially of late when the Saints, while still in the thick of the conference battle, have started making uncharacteristic mistakes.
``We've had a couple of games where we have had the lead and lost it in the second half,'' Dough-erty said.
Dougherty pointed to a game when the Saints took a 17-point lead into the locker room at halftime against Peninsula Catholic and could only manage a one-point triumph.
``I think it will help us learn,'' Dougherty said. ``We get up at halftime big and then we just can't finish it.
``I think it is emotional. I don't blame the coaches, I blame the players. Right now the players are the ones who need to step up and get the job done, including myself.''
At least seven colleges are interested in having Dougherty join their team, including Radford, Charleston Southern and Randolph-Macon.
Dougherty isn't sure who the top contender is at this point, but as with most teens eager to strike out on their own, ``I wouldn't mind going far away from home,'' Dough-erty said with a laugh.
Once there, he plans to study either sports management or business management, ``whichever one is easiest.''
Dougherty hopes playing college ball will give him four more years to do the one thing he hasn't done in front of a crowd - dunk.
``Hopefully someday that will be me,'' Dougherty said. ``We don't really get a chance to try it (during games). Maybe if we are up by a lot and it's late in the game, I might try it.''
For now, the 6-3 guard leaves the dunking to 6-8 center John Dragseth.
``For now it's better if I'm on a break, its better to go for the guaranteed two,'' Dougherty said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Several colleges are interested in Tim Dougherty, a senior at
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy who is a scoring leader for the Saints.
by CNB