ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
From the front lines of this year's Three Rivers District basketball conflict there are no shocking developments, unexplained happenings, or mysterious circumstances to report.
Everything is as it normally is. In other words, Floyd County is back on top of the standings.
Actually, looking at it another way, that is something of a surprise. Before the current campaign started, you could have made a substantial case as to why the Buffaloes would not return to the top of the Three Rivers heap this year:
* Giles had everybody back from a good team. All those returning players were somewhere between tall and quite tall.
* Radford had its most athletic team in years and was itching to make a move.
* All of Floyd County's players were young. Aside from senior post man Jesse Slusher, everywhere you turned in the Buffaloes locker room there was a junior or sophomore. Youth is marvelous in most instances, save when it dominates a basketball roster.
Those assumptions have all been rethought now. Floyd County capped off a 4-0 run through its last full week of action (before the latest round of foul weather) with victories against its two primary district competitors, the previously mentioned Bobcats and Spartans, and is now in the driver's seat with the finish line in sight.
Even better for Floyd County from a strategic standpoint, the return engagements with Giles and Radford will be in the Buffaloes' noisy home gym.
Radford and Giles won't go away, of course. The Bobcats and Spartans are still plenty threatening no matter where their record lands them in the standings. Still, Round One to the Buffaloes.
``Let's keep this in perspective,'' Floyd County coach Alan Cantrell said. ``We haven't won anything yet. This district always seems to come down to the last week of the season. Often it comes down to the last play date.''
And may do so again. If nothing else, though, Floyd County has established its big-game credentials, not to mention its ability to compete in hostile environments.
``It's really gotten us ready to play in back-to-back games and four games in a week,'' sophomore wing Jason Dalton said. ``It was just like playing in a tournament.''
Dalton is one of two sophomores who helped make a smooth transition from last year's senior-dominated unit (the stars were point guard Brian Harman and wing Jamie Warren) to this year's 10-2 edition. The other terrific 10th-grader is Travis Cantrell, the coach's son, who is leading the team in scoring (20.5 points per game), 3-pointers (32), 3-point percentage (40), assists (5.8 per game), and is among the leaders in free throw accuracy (79.4).
Cantrell saw a lot of playing time last year, as did Dalton, but he wasn't planning on being the team's offensive leader in so many ways.
``You want to do well, but you can't count on it,'' he said. ``It makes me feel pretty good. Any times I can help with some assists, playing some defense, I want to. A lot of times that makes me feel better than scoring.''
Dalton can score inside or out (10.4 ppg), rebound (3.8 per game), and play defense (3.9 steals per game).
``Jason just has good athletic sense,'' Alan Cantrell said. ``He could do anything and do it well. he's 6-foot-1, he's strong, he's aggressive, and he's very difficult to box out.''
``The young guys are just getting better and better, especially Travis and Jason,'' Slusher said. ``I just wish I were going to be around to play with them next year.''
Slusher and Derek Saunders have made the inside game go. Saunders played a lot last year but has blossomed as a starter, knocking down 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Slusher's coming in with eight points and 3.7 rebounds and an deadeye at the stripe (18-for-20).
Making all the components flow together is point guard Adam Harris, a junior and a first-year starter. Not only has Harris been the floor general that Floyd County has needed, he has also been a clutch player supreme. It was his winning shot in the closing seconds that beat Giles and snapped the Spartans' school-record 10-game winning streak.
``The thing that we wanted to make sure didn't happen was for it to work out so that as Travis and Jason went, so went Floyd County,'' Alan Cantrell said. ``We wanted an all-around inside-outside threat.''
Looks like they have one, which, for Floyd County, isn't a shocking development in the least.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Alan Kim. 1. Floyd County's Travis Cantrell passes theby CNBball in action against Giles on January 26. Brian Swortzel is No.
50. color. 2. Floyd's Adam Harris celebrates his team's 69-67 win
over Giles on January 26.