Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 20, 1990 TAG: 9004200049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Ward will graduate from Flint Hill Prep in June. His final day of school also will be the last at the Oakton school for coach Stu Vetter, who has built a national power with high school transfers like Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott, Villanova's Arron Bain and North Carolina's George Lynch, another Roanoker.
Where Ward will do his dribbling after that is uncertain. The former William Fleming High player still needs to reach at least 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test to qualify for a college grant-in-aid. But Flint Hill's future has been decided.
The school was purchased a few months ago by Northern Virginia real estate developer John "Til" Hazel. The changing administration wants to alter the image of its basketball program, which has been criticized for importing players from outside suburban Washington, D.C.
Vetter decided to resign rather than play a local schedule that would limit the scope of the program he built.
Vetter's 15 teams had a 343-58 record and won 36 of 44 tournaments they played. Flint Hill had a 115-7 record the past five years and was the only team to be ranked in the USA Today national high school poll each of the past eight years. This season, with Ward averaging 18 points and nine rebounds at power forward, Flint Hill (24-2) lost only to Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson and Washington Dunbar.
Flint Hill constructed its national reputation in the mid-1980s with Scott, who transferred from Loudoun County High after his freshman year, then played four years at Flint Hill before shooting his way to All-America status at Georgia Tech.
Next year, Flint Hill will begin play in the Interstate Athletic Conference, a grouping of Washington-area prep schools that play local schedules. Win Palmer will move from St. Stephen's to become Flint Hill's athletic director and possibly the basketball coach. Several Flint Hill basketball players who are underclassmen have said they hope to transfer and continue playing for Vetter if the coach finds employment elsewhere. Junior guard Cory Alexander of Waynesboro is in that group.
"People can criticize Coach Vetter all they want," said Ward, who visited his Northwest Roanoke home during last week's spring break. "He hasn't done anything but help me. I've grown up a lot.
"He's helped a lot of people, people who might not have had an opportunity or people that might have wasted their lives if it weren't for him. He deserves better than the criticism he's gotten."
Ward said he wasn't recruited to Flint Hill, that he made the initial inquiries of a former Flint Hill coach whom he met at a Five-Star Camp several years ago. Then Ward talked to Lynch, who left Patrick Henry after its 1988 Group AAA championship, about his experiences as a senior at the Oakton school.
"George said it was a good move for him, and it would be good for me, too," Ward said.
Vetter said "the biggest help" in Ward's move to Northern Virginia were Ken and Toni Belton, the player's brother-in-law and sister who live in nearby Herndon. Belton, a former Roanoke College player, is an Allstate Insurance manager.
"His sister and brother-in-law make it a lot easier for Mark," Vetter said. "Basically, they paid his way. Tuition for a senior is about $6,000. He didn't get any kind of scholarship from us.
"Mark's improved dramatically as a student and as a person. As a player, he improved, and he can be a good college player. But we have to make sure he finds a place where he can succeed academically."
Ward said his best SAT score has been 650. He is scheduled to take the test again in May and June. If he doesn't get a 700, he likely will go to junior college. Joe Gaither, Ward's Roanoke AAU coach, said Odessa (Texas), a national junior-college power, has contacted Ward, but a more likely choice is Hagerstown (Md.) Junior College.
When Ward went to Flint Hill last spring, he lived with the Beltons. When he returned in September, he moved into Vetter's home. Alexander is Ward's roommate.
"Trying to get transportation every morning to get to school made it tough when I lived with my sister," Ward said. "Moving in with Coach Vetter helped me. You tend not to miss school that way. I've only missed one day of school all year at Flint Hill. At Fleming, I know I missed at least one day a week, sometimes more. Other times, I'd show up at noon if I was tired.
"If you go up there, you have to have your head on straight. If you don't, they'll straighten it out for you."
Gaither said Ward "is stronger and more offensive-minded" than he was before his experience at Flint Hill.
"The biggest thing is, he's starting to grow up," Gaither said. "He's more serious about his opportunities now. "
Vetter said Ward, at 6 feet 5, 210 pounds, is "an in-between-type player" who has played mostly inside but won't be able to do that as easily in college.
"Mark has great instinct, but it could be very difficult for him in some programs," Vetter said. "In the right program, he could be outstanding.
"We want to make sure he finds a place where he can go and he can graduate. Our kids have done well academically after they've left Flint Hill. People talk about our basketball, but our kids get an education, too. Mark has become a better student and person while he's been here."
Ward wasn't always sure his move was the right one, however.
"When I first left Roanoke last year at this time, I got homesick a lot," he said.
"Sometimes I asked myself if it was worth it. But it paid off, and I'm glad I stuck with it."
by CNB