THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505140269
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
They won their opening game and now stood savoring their accomplishment and wondering if this might be a weekend to remember instead of just a couple of sunny days without homework.
The Dream Team of Virginia Beach - coach/point guard Ehsan Heidari, shooting guard Joe Neely, forward Rob Shibley and top reserve/swingman Nick Sicignano - disposed of V.Magic, 17-11, in the first round of the 3-on-3 Hoop It Up competition. Next were The Terminators, a team they knew nothing about - other than what they were told by the team the Terminators beat:
``Those guys are really good.''
Not exactly your in-depth scouting report.
Not that they cared.
It had only been a short time since Heidari approached Neely, Sicignano and Shibley in the halls of Independence Middle School and asked if they wanted to form a team, pony up $80 - $20 per man - and Hoop It Up with 600 other teams this weekend at the Norfolk Naval Station.
Heidari, who wore a jersey with ``Mourning'' stitched on the back even though his favorite player is Michael Jordan, went so far as to design four plays that the boys, all 12 or 13 years old, briefly practiced.
When he put one finger in the air, he and Sibley or Sicignano swept to the right side of the court, drawing the defense, while Neely swung left. Heidari would whip a pass across court and Neely, who played on Independence's basketball team, would pop a jumper from 15-20 feet.
Anyone could call play No. 2, as long as he had the ball. That was a signal that he wanted someone to pick off his defender so he could either pop a jumper or drive to the basket.
Play No. 4 was an option off play 2. The player setting the pick would roll to the basket and receive a pass from Heidari. Oldest play in the book, and the one used most successfully in the victory over V.Magic. Six baskets.
Play No. 3 called for Sibley or Sicignano, the two tallest Dream Teamers at slightly more than 5 feet, to post his defender down under the basket, using his body to shield the defender from the pass. Once the ball came inside, he could turn and shoot or drive past his man to the hole.
Heidari and Shibley were Hoop It Up veterans. Shibley played on a team two years ago; Heidari's team, The Sharpshooters, won its division a year ago.
``I got that bag over there,'' he proudly told a visitor, pointing to a bright blue duffel bag with an NBA logo.
Hoop It Up is many things to many people.
The shooter could try his hand at a 3-point contest sponsored by AT&T. (This is not a good event for Hampton Roads. To qualify for the finals, a contestant had to hit eight shots. By 3 in the afternoon, no one had come close - for the second year in a row.)
The one-on-one freak could test his skills against others with a like mentality. Simple rules. Win, you keep the court. Lose, you go home.
But the biggest crowd, as always, turned out for the slam-dunk contest. Corey Etheridge of Virginia Beach is a four-time champion - and showman - in this event.
On his first attempt, he borrowed a chair from one of the judges, positioned it under the basket, had a friend (?) sit in it, then jumped over both to pound the ball through the goal.
Later, he took four small boys from the audience, bunched three of them under the hoop, draped the fourth across their backs, and hurdled them on his way to a thunderous slam.
But with the title on the line, Etheridge performed the extraordinary. A tournament official parked a car under the basket. Etheridge, taking a running start, vaulted the front hood of the auto, hurled the ball through the ring, landed softly and safely, grabbed a pen and instantly began signing autographs.
The winner, and still champion.
For The Dream Team, Hoop It Up was a chance to celebrate basketball.
``I like the game because you have to have a lot of endurance to be good,'' Sicignano said.
``I like to shoot 3-pointers; it's thrilling,'' Neely, who is deaf, said through his father. ``I like basketball because I can practice it by myself. I have a hard time getting enough kids together to play baseball. This, I can do alone.''
The rest agreed. The game is fun. But there was another motive for playing.
``To win means more,'' one Teamer said, earning nods of agreement from his teammates.
The Terminators, dressed in San Antonio Spurs uniforms, were led by guard John ``Bubba'' Gilchrist, age 9, so accomplished a player that last summer he was invited to a camp run by Utah Jazz star Karl Malone. Gilchrist was the shortest Terminator, but slightly taller than Heidari. The other Terminators - C.J. Fayton, Antonio Johnson and Franklin Studivant - all were about the same height, giving the Terminators an advantage under the boards.
The Dream Team started fast, with Sicignano tossing in a hook shot from the right wing for a 1-0 lead. But the Terminators countered with three consecutive hoops - a back-door layup, a follow of a missed jumper and a layup set up by a crisp no-look pass from Gilchrist.
That turned out to be the script. Each time The Dream Team made a run, the Terminators countered. When Shibley hit a layup to cut The Dream Team's deficit to 4-3, the Terminators reeled off three straight baskets.
There was some moaning and groaning on both sides about fouls, called and uncalled, and a suggestion that even at this level, the tournament would be better if the games had officials. Not that it would have altered the outcome. For what it's worth, in the end, the better team won.
The only thing left for the The Dream Team to look forward to is this morning's 9:30 meeting with The Fab Four. But Joe Neely Sr. saw value in places the boys on The Dream Team couldn't be expected tolook.
``I think it teaches good team-building skills and gives them an opportunity to work together,'' he said. ``They can be a part of something that goes beyond themselves. All too often, it seems kids can't play something unless there's some adult supervision. This is good, clean fun.''
Neely addressed The Dream Team.
``And besides, don't you get all the Gatorade you can drink? Sounds like a great deal to me.''
No one argued. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
John ``Bubba'' Gilchrist, left, drives on Ehsan Heidari during their
3-on-3 game, which Gilchrist's Terminators won, 16-11.
Slam-dunk artists, 3-on-3 teams, 3-point sharpshooters and
one-on-one aficionados entertained a crowd at the Norfolk Naval
Station at the Hoop It Up tournament Saturday.
by CNB