DATE: Friday, August 15, 1997               TAG: 9708150924

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   67 lines

NORVIEW PLAYS WAITING GAME WHILE WILLIS, HALSEY JUST PLAY WHILE PILOTS REVIEWS HALSEY'S TRANSFER, THE TWO HAVE BECOME FRIENDS.

When All-Tidewater basketball forward Keith Willis learned Oscar Smith's talented Mydrione Halsey was moving from Chesapeake into Willis' Norview school zone, the Pilots star didn't give much thought to turning down a scholarship offer from basketball powerhouse Mount Zion Christian Academy.

``We're really close friends,'' Willis said.

Norview officals, however, must review documents relating to Halsey's transfer before he is declared eligible for athletics.

So although Halsey lives with his uncle next door to Willis, Halsey's transfer is on hold.

In the meantime, the 6-6 1/2 rising junior Willis and the 6-4 soon-to-be senior Halsey remain fixated on a future filled with blocked shots, power dunks and an Eastern District championship, just for starters.

``I'm the small forward, he's the power forward,'' Halsey said. ``The two of us together, we can't be stopped.''

Halsey would be a significant addition to the Pilots. He averaged nearly 21 points a game last season and also dominated defensively during the seventh-seeded Tigers' run past three higher-seeded teams on their way to the Southeastern District tournament title.

Still, Norview's biggest break may have been when the school didn't lose Willis. Primarily a junior varsity player as a freshman, Willis blossomed last season into a versatile inside and outside force. He averaged 12.6 points per game.

Willis' play caught the eye of Phil Crocker, the former Suffolk basketball star who was an assistant coach at Laurenberg Prep. When Crocker later accepted an assistant's job at Mt. Zion, the Durham, N.C., school that fielded one of the nation's best prep programs last season and produced NBA first-round draft pick Tracy McGrady, he invited Willis to come with him.

``I was definitely interested,'' said Willis, who spent the summer playing on Boo Williams' national championship 17-and-under AAU team. ``I went and visited the campus, met the head coach, toured the facilities. I liked what I saw. My mom and dad said the decision was entirely up to me.''

While Willis mulled his options, Halsey began packing his bags. His uncle, Corey Turner, had bought the house next door to the Willises. According to Turner, Halsey's mother has had a series of health problems and Turner has become the 18-year-old Halsey's legal guardian.

Willis says that an unwillingness to leave his family and a promise to Pilot coach Darnell Miller to bring him a title already had him leaning toward staying at Norview. News of Halsey's arrival sealed the deal.

``The day he told me he was coming, I told Coach Crocker I was going to stay,'' Willis said.

Halsey's not at Norview yet, though. The school is reviewing documents provided by Turner attesting to the legitimacy of the transfer. Complicating matters for Halsey is a new school board rule that allows transfer students in this situation to attend school but prohibits them from participating in Virginia High School League activities for a full year. Halsey may have to appeal his case to the school superintindent.

Regardless of the outcome, Willis and Halsey have become their own team.

``We hang around together 24 hours a day,'' Halsey said. ``We're getting a close relationship off the court, so when we get on the court, we'll know exactly what each other's doing.

``I can't wait to get started.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Mydrione Halsey lives next door to Keith Willis in Norview's area,

but Halsey's tranfer must be reviewed before he is declared eligible

for athletics.

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