Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 4, 1993 TAG: 9311060113
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
What if the Floyd County High girls' basketball team didn't have a slashing and pressing point guard like Monica Lucas?
What if the Buffaloes didn't have a muscular and hustling inside-outside force such as Leigh-Ann Pursifull?
What if they didn't have a clever perimeter marksman such as Melissa Cantrell?
What if they didn't have a rebound magnet like Brennen O'Neill?
What if they didn't have a 6-foot-1 study in versatile brilliance such as Lynette Nolley?
How would the second- and third-teamers fare in the grueling Mountain Empire District wars?
"They'd win 'em," Lucas said.
"They'd win," Cantrell said.
"They'd win," Nolley said.
So there.
Who's to argue?
Certainly not the other members of the district, most of whom have been eaten up by the Buffaloes by some of the most hideous scores you've ever seen.
Such as 74-54, their closest margin.
Or 99-13.
Or 98-36.
Or 86-28.
Or 84-36.
You can bet your best pair of Air Jordans those butcherings weren't accomplished by leaving the starters in and the press on (although the Buffs do continue to scoot up and down the floor, no matter who's out there).
No, they're doing it with Nolley clones such as Carrie Chaffin or Laura Harman or any of the four sophomores besides Cantrell, or any of the rest. Essentially what coach Alan Cantrell has is a team that goes 15-deep, and most any of the 15 knows all five positions.
And they're killing opponents, absolutely strafing them.
So the starters sit. A lot. They don't mind. Too much.
"The other players are in there because they deserve to be in there," said Lucas, who averages 4.8 assists per game and has 58 steals.
Said Melissa Cantrell, the daughter of the coach: "We [starters] will be playing more in the district, regional and state tournaments, and they'll be sitting. This is their turn."
Perhaps these Buffaloes are getting a little ahead of themselves. They're talking about going to the Group A state tournament and they haven't even gotten out of Region C, much less the district tournament, yet.
Such sentiments tend to make a coach cringe.
"When you get to that level, one bad quarter and it's over," Cantrell said.
But if these Buffs are looking into the future, you can't blame them. The last time they lost to a Group A team was in the state semifinals last year when eventual state champion Wilson Memorial got them.
Heartbroken? The pieces of the Buffaloes' hearts were scattered all the way from the Salem Civic Center back to Floyd, 27-1 record notwithstanding.
"I was very disappointed," Lucas said. "I couldn't wait for this year to start."
Not one player graduated from the 1992 team. The only loss this year was in Floyd County's season kickoff invitational, when the Buffaloes fell in overtime to defending Group AA state champion Blacksburg.
The inevitable comparison arises between this year's squad and last year's.
"I haven't looked at the films lately, but Laura Harman's father told me he looked at the regionals and state about two weeks ago," Alan Cantrell said. "He works with our AAU team up here and he knows his basketball. He told me it isn't even close, that there's no comparison. This year's team is a lot better.
"I haven't seen it because I'm with them every day. But it makes sense. They've matured and they have so much confidence now."
Why not be confident? Floyd County's got it all because the players can do it all. That's the way Cantrell wants it. The state of the art Buff these days is Virginia Tech recruit Nolley, who is averaging 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and has 51 steals.
How is it that a 6-1 girl can run the point, pop the 3-pointer, post up down low and run the floor with equal flair?
"That's what [Cantrell] told me to do," she said. "I didn't have any choice."
The Buffs have little choice but to be optimistic.
by CNB