THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050583
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Maury coach Jack Baker has applied for the vacant athletic director's position at Lake Taylor and is considered a strong candidate by a source close to the interviewing process.
Baker, in his 20th season as a head coach, has won 370 games. The Commodores are 11-0 and ranked No. 1 in South Hampton Roads entering tonight's Eastern District opener against Lake Taylor.
``It's just something I want to look into,'' Baker said. ``It's a step up, but the drawback is I'll have to decide if I want to quit coaching.''
Baker confided in friends last spring that he wanted to do just that. But the Commodores' fast start, along with the positive team chemistry, is causing second thoughts.
``I'm having fun this year, and I might not be offered the job,'' he said. ``I honestly haven't decided what I'll do if that happens.''
CAPEL WATCH: South Hampton Roads has produced four Parade All-Americans in the past 11 years, and Indian River's Jason Capel, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, appears destined to be the fifth.
Capel leads area Group AAA schools in scoring at 21.6 points per game. That's more than a point higher than any of the All-Americans averaged as sophomores.
J.R. Reid averaged 20.5 points, Alonzo Mourning 18.3, Michael Evans 16.2 and Joe Smith 7.9. Reid and Mourning went on to become national players of the year as seniors.
Capel, whose ability to rebound, handle the ball and block shots makes him the complete package, has more than doubled the 9.8 points he averaged as a freshman.
``Last year was totally different,'' he said. ``Coming in with the big rep I just wanted to fit in, learn the system and contribute when I could. This year I feel like I have to step up.''
BULLDOG BEAT: Norfolk Academy's 51-48 victory over Granby in the Catholic Holiday Invitational was the Bulldogs' first win over an Eastern District team in coach Dave Trickler's 29 seasons.
Norfolk Academy finished December 7-4 and three of the losses came with leading scorer Bryan Duquette out of the lineup with an injury. The Bulldogs got a break when Croatian exchange student Yuraj Podvarac, a 6-2 guard, transferred from Oscar Smith in November.
Podvarac averaged 17.3 points in the Catholic tournament, including 31 in a victory over Nashua, N.H., in the fifth-place game.
Podvarac was ineligible to play at Oscar Smith or any public school because the service that arranged his transfer to to the United States is not certified by the Virginia High School league.
ELSEWHERE: Defending state Group AAA champion Potomac is 9-0 and riding a 32-game winning streak. Rolan Roberts, a 6-6, 225-pound forward, is the Panthers' only returning starter and leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game. . . . Kecoughtan's Marseilles Brown, who signed with Richmond in November, is averaging 35.4 points. . . . Menchville and Phoebus are tied for first in the Peninsula District at 7-2.
PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Maury's senior point guard Ike Richardson averaged 15.4 points, 7.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and three steals in leading the top-ranked Commodores to an 11-0 record in December. by CNB