THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601230100
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: Vicki L. Friedman
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
The Norview boys basketball team had the night off last Friday, so coach Darnell Miller took the time to do some scouting. First up was Maury and Granby and afterward, Booker T. Washington vs. Lake Taylor.
The Pilots (8-6) meet top-ranked Maury in the Commodores' gym at 6 p.m. Friday, and Miller was planning a little strategy.
``I think what makes a team really good is to have a floor leader like Ike Richardson and a big man down low like Ricardo (Trevisan),'' Miller said of the Commodores. ``You're not going to stop Ike's penetration, but you try to contain it. Same with Ricardo in the low post.''
After a dismal 1994 season when Norview finished 6-14 and 1-7 in the Eastern District, the Pilots are making some noise this year, having broken into The Virginian-Pilot's Top 10 last week. The Pilots are led by Andray Jones, a 6-foot-3 forward, who Miller says can play every position. Freshman David Corprew is at the point.
``He's only 5-4,'' Miller said, "but he's really quick and he does a good job on both offense and defense.''
Jones, incidentally, is being recruited for football by East Carolina and Appalachian State, but Miller said he is receiving basketball letters as well.
Some players take a little longer than others to emerge.
This season, Lake Taylor's Juritus Thompson has taken her time. Not that she hasn't played well - the 5-foot-1 sophomore guard is the team's second-leading scorer with an average that has hovered around eight points a game.
However, Thompson showed her true colors in the last few weeks. After lulling opponents into a comfortable sense of who she was, Thompson unleashed her offensive talent two weekends ago, scoring 24 points against First Colonial. And then last weekend, she nailed a last-second, game-winning layup against Booker T. Washington. She finished that game with 10 points, three assists and three steals.
``She stepped up her game and played with confidence,'' coach Theresa Jones said. ``The last three days in practice, she has been showing some real confidence.''
With the Beach District fielding swim teams for the first time this winter, the first-ever girls Eastern Region meet will be coming up next month, and Maury, which returned 16 Eastern District is among the favorites for the team title. The Commodores have won every district crown since 1975, and coach Ann Laughner says this year her team is psyched about extending the season past districts.
``I've noticed a big change as far as the kids' attitudes in practice,'' she said. ``It most definitely gives them something to push to.''
Among the Commodores' standouts: freestyler Alison McPhee, one of four seniors on the team, who is undefeated in every meet this season. Alison's younger sis, Anne, is also on the team, and they swim the same events and are both part of the 400 freestyle relay team.
Freshman freestyler Carrie Richardson is also 7-0 in her events this season. ``She's improved each meet,'' Laughner said. ``I'll probably swim her in distance at districts.''
Junior Ashley Austin, who swims the 100 butterfly and the medley relay, has only been beaten once this year.
After tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season, Booker T.'s DeTron Short is back on the floor for the Bookers.
``He's back as far as playing time,'' said first-year coach Jarrell Wilkerson. ``He might be a step or two slower. But he's cutting well and jumping off of it better.''
Benched? Nah, says Maury principal Mike Spencer about Tim Sweeney, the former Granby High varsity boys basketball coach. If you were at a Maury game earlier this season, you might have noticed Sweeney sitting on the team bench. Sweeney, the principal at Northside Middle School whose son, Tim, plays for the Commodores, said he was helping out at the earlier games to stress the importance of parental involvement in student activities.
But he's on the bench no more. Spencer said Sweeney's bench time was for non-district games only. ILLUSTRATION: File photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA
After a slow start, Lake Taylor's Juritus Thompson is cranking it up
now.
by CNB