THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604140186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Sometimes it's not how well you play, but when you play well.
For Bayside's Kevin Yearwood and a host of other unsigned seniors, today's Hampton Roads High School Senior Basketball Classic at Virginia Wesleyan College is a last chance to impress recruiters during the spring signing period.
Yearwood (6-foot-4, 165) led South Hampton Roads Group AAA players in scoring this winter at 21.9 points per game. He scored 35 or more three times and was a first-team All-Beach District pick.
But a lack of exposure - he spent summers in New York and was ineligible the second semester of his junior season - made him a late target of recruiters.
Yearwood received his first home visit last week, from Charleston Southern, and has talked with coaches at Hampton University and South Carolina State, he said.
Marvin Terry, the promoter of today's game, said several coaches have told him they are coming to see Yearwood play.
They can expect to see a slightly different player than they would have during the season.
Yearwood's height required him to play small forward for Bayside, but with several taller teammates he hopes to alternate between point guard and shooting guard today.
``Shooting range and assists, that's what I'll be looking to show,'' he said.
Yearwood is qualified for freshman eligibility, despite his academic trouble last year. In the most recent reporting period he received five Bs and one D - in calculus.
Before he blossomed into a basketball star, Yearwood expressed interest in North Carolina State, South Carolina State and Virginia State.
``All three have majors in environmental sciences,'' he said.
Yearwood ultimately hopes to earn a master's degree in agricultural engineering.
``Basketball is just another way to get what I want,'' he said. ``It's a way to pay the bills.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Kevin Yearwood led Group AAA players in scoring this winter. He'll
try to impress recruiters today.
by CNB