Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 1995 TAG: 9511300016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Spartans reluctantly are being labeled the ``team to beat.''
``I figured we would,'' said John Howlett, Giles' coach.
Howlett is kind of thinking along those lines himself.
``This is my fifth year here, and until last year we had improved every year,'' he said. ``Last year, we hit the wall, to use a runner's term. We had a lot coming back from a 13-9 team that had reached the final of the Mountain Empire District tournament. Then we went 9-13. Last year was a disappointment.''
It is not unreasonable to assume Howlett has shared these thoughts with the Spartans.
Giles can work it inside or fire from the perimeter. In Anthony Myers, the Spartans have the kind of floor general who can pull it all together.
Myers' challenge is to make the right choices. He'll have some good ones inStephenson, Giles' leading returning scorer (14 ppg), brother Aaron Myers (13 ppg) and sinewy center John King (10 ppg, 8 rpg). Add forward Adam Jones (8 ppg, 7 rpg) to the mix and the potential is obvious.
Giles isn't big - King, at 6-4 is the tallest of the starters - but everybody else has that 6-2 he's-an-athlete look about them.
One switch for Giles: Howlett isn't waiting around for the football players to arrive. He's beginning the season without them, unlike in past years. The goal is to avoid Giles' typical slow start. Howlett thinks it may have something to do with the difficulty the rest of the team has working around the football players as opposed to the football players working around the rest of the team.
``There hasn't been a district basketball champion here in 35 years,'' Howlett said. ``Our goal this year is to make it the first.''
An able cast of contenders awaits to challenge those plans.
Among them is another team whose coach thinks he has his program back on the right track. Radford's Rick Cormany likes what he's seen so far from the Bobcats.
``We're going to have some athletes this year, and I think we're going to be playing more like I like to play - pressing and running the floor,'' Cormany said.
Radford will be well positioned to beat and bang inside with the likes of Kelly ``Bubba'' Underwood and John Dobbins to go with 6-6 whip Coley Thomas.
Additions who will help are basketball newcomers Larnell Lewis and Derrick Chapman. Both are football players and all-purpose types who are likely to be called on to do everything from running the floor, to handling the ball some, to hitting the backboards, to taking on an opposing scorer.
Underwood, Chapman, Lewis and associates give Cormany the kind of football toughness he likes.
Good players playing at the lower levels now will be on the way, too.
``I think we're getting into a period where things are going to be looking pretty good around here for the next several years,'' Cormany said.
They've been looking good at Floyd County, where the Buffaloes tied Auburn for the regular-season title and won the tournament before falling at eventual state Group A runner-up Glenvar in a Region C first-round matchup.
Only two starters are back, 6-3 senior post Jesse Slusher and 6-4 junior post Derek Saunders, but coach Alan Cantrell will be able to go deep down the bench with this group.
``Our boys' team has gotten to the same stage as the girls' team, in that we know we're going to be getting a lot of quality minutes off the bench,'' said Cantrell, who coaches both teams and has the girls in their fourth consecutive state final four.
Two guys who came off the bench as freshmen, 6-foot guard Travis Cantrell, the coach's son, and 6-1 swingman Jason Dalton, likely will start as sophomores. Both are in the same mold.
``Jason is strong, posts up well, is a very good rebounder, can play some tough defense,'' Alan Cantrell said. ``He and Travis are similar in the way they'll both be able to do a lot of different things for us.''
A key component of this latest edition of the Floyd County stampede is 5-9 junior Adam Harris, a slick ballhandler who will be stepping in at the point to replace graduated Brian Harman. Another good one lost to graduation was Peter Bucklin.
Nobody was hammered harder than Auburn in June. Seven of the Eagles' top eight graduated and 10 of the top 11 either graduated or did not return. Among the departed luminaries is Terry Millirons, whose jersey will be retired at the opener Friday. Only the second player to have his number (42) retired at Auburn (the first was Lowell Reed in 1966), Millirons scored 1,530 points, grabbed 741 rebounds and shot 59.3 percent for his career.
Also among the departed were All-Region C guard Jon Reed, a 24-points-per-game scorer, and hard-nosed guard Bradley Hudgins.
The one returning starter is 6-1 senior Kenny Wojiechowski, who contributed 10 points and six rebounds per game last season.
Others who will play include point guard Conrad Hughes, a transfer from Shawsville; 6-5 junior Phillip Morris; 6-2 guard Randy Teel; and 6-2 junior Brian Wright. All but Wojiechowski and Hughes played for last season's junior varsity.
``The important thing is to maintain a positive attitude and use the early part of the season as a learning experience and be a better team by the end of the year,'' said Kevin Harris, the Eagles' coach.
Shawsville has had some dark years, going 2-19 in the most recent campaign, but second-year coach Eric Altizer says things are looking up. Altizer gave indications he was looking to get out of coaching during the summer, but is around for another season.
``We'll do this one and see what happens,'' he said.
The Shawnees are going to be young and tall. The only returning starter is Mark Akers; the only other returning player of any note is 6-5 senior Givens Ryan. Between them, they averaged seven points and seven rebounds.
Chris Graham, the football quarterback, is out for the team and he's an athlete. Larry Smith, a 6-foot junior, also will play, as will 6-2 sophomore Barnett Carr and 6-1 junior Jason Horne. The talk in the preseason has been about 6-5 freshman Simon Jones.
``He's 14 years old and the whole family is big,'' Altizer said. ``He's going to be the man here. If things go right, it'll happen this year.''
RADFORD
94-95 record: 9-13 overall, 3-5 in Three Rivers District
Coach: Rick Cormany (third year)
Returning starters:Kelly ``Bubba'' Underwood, 6-2, sr., center, 4 ppg, 5 rpg; Coley Thomas, 6-6, sr., forward, 3 ppg, 4 rpg.
Other key players:Larnell Lewis, 5-11, sr., forward; John Robertson, 5-7, jr., shooting guard; Derrick Chapman, 6-1, jr., forward; Scott Turner, 6-6, jr., center-forward; Jason Porter, 5-8, soph., point guard; Andrew Crowder, 6-2, fresh., point guard; Tony Hash, 6-0, soph., forward; Bud Redden, 6-1, soph., forward.
Outlook:Radford is on the way back from some lean years. The athleticism of the team will be better, as will the size of the players. The Bobcats will be able to run and press more than the past couple of years. The depth is better than it has been, too.
GILES
94-95 record: 9-13 overall, 3-5 in Three Rivers District
Coach: John Howlett (fifth year)
Returning starters: John King, 6-4, sr., center, 10 ppg, 8 rpg; Anthony Myers, 6-2, sr., point guard, 6 apg, 8 ppg; Aaron Myers, 6-2, shooting guard, 13 ppg; Josh Stephenson, 6-2, sr., guard, 14 ppg; Adam Jones, 6-2, jr., forward, 8 ppg, 7 rpg.
Other key players: Jason Edwards, 6-3, soph., forward; Ben Brown, 5-11, jr., guard; Lanson Cassidy, 6-0, jr., guard-forward; Jason Butler, 5-9, jr., point guard.
Outlook: Five returning starters make the Spartans the pick the win the district. The Spartans will be able to score, defend, and rebound. The challenge will be to overcome 35 years of history and win the first district basketball championship.
AUBURN
94-95 record:16-8 overall, 6-2 in Three Rivers District
Coach: Kevin Harris (eighth year)
Returning starters: Kenny Wojiechowski, 6-1, sr., forward, 10 ppg, 6 rpg
Other key players: David Alderman, 5-10, sr., guard (eligible second semester); Conrad Hughes, 5-9, sr., point guard; Phillip Morris, 6-5, jr., center; Randy Teel, 6-2, jr., point guard; Brian Wright, 6-2, jr., point guard.
Outlook: The Eagles face a major overhaul after losing 10 of their top 11 players from a year ago to graduation and attrition. The goal will be to use the early part of the season as on-the-job training and aim at putting together a February surge.
FLOYD COUNTY
94-95 record: 17-7 overall, 6-2 in Three Rivers District)
Coach: Alan Cantrell (fifth year)
Returning starters: Jesse Slusher, 6-4, sr., post, 5 ppg, 3 rpg; Derek Saunders, 6-3, jr., wing, 4 ppg, 3 rpg.
Other key players: Travis Cantrell, 6-0, soph., guard, 10 ppg, 4 apg, 3 rpg; Jason Dalton, 6-1, soph., wing, 7 ppg, 6 rpg; Adam Harris, 5-9, jr., point guard.
Outlook: The Buffaloes don't have a tremendous amount of varsity experience, but they do have good players and they will be deep. Floyd County will press and run, using 10 or more players per game. As usual, the Buffaloes will be contenders in the district and Region C.
SHAWSVILLE
94-95 record: 2-19 overall, 1-7 in Three Rivers District)
Coach: Eric Altizer (second year)
Returning starters: Mark Akers, 5-10, sr., guard, 4 ppg, 4 rpg; Givens Ryan, 6-5, sr., center, 3 ppg, 3 rpg.
Other key players: Chris Graham, 6-2, jr., forward; Larry Smith, 6-0, jr., guard; Simon Jones, 6-5, freshman, forward-center; Barnett Carr, 6-2, soph., forward; Jason Horne, 6-1, jr., forward.
Outlook: Shawsville is low on seasoned players, but things have been looking up with some promising new players coming into the program. The work ethic of the players has been good as has the athletic ability they've shown. Thirteen players are on the roster now. If most of them stick around for the entire season, there is reason for optimism.
by CNB