ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290035
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Did Neil Roop dare dream that he would be a starting post player for Liberty, the No. 1 Group AA boys' basketball team in the state?
First, his height (he's 6-foot-1) was against him playing center or power forward.
Worse, Roop couldn't make the junior varsity as a freshman, didn't start for the JV team as a sophomore, and last year played sparingly off the bench for the varsity as the Minutemen made the Group AA semifinals.
"Going back to ninth grade, the kid really wanted to play," said Liberty coach Mark Hanks. "We knew he could shoot the ball, but that was the only thing he appeared to want to do. Maybe it came from not playing anything but rec league basketball. He didn't have a clue on defense."
So, Roop was cut as a freshman. "When that happened, it kind of upset me," said Roop.
"He was right on the bubble to make the team, but when you have 50 kids out, some fall through the cracks. You can always tell the ones that are still interested. They come and talk to the coaches. We'll tell them where their weaknesses are, and they can work on them," said Hanks.
Roop did just that. Hanks told him to work on defense, which is hard to do playing recreation league basketball. "We wanted him to put more effort on defense and learn to play without the basketball in his hands," said Hanks.
"I went home and practiced really hard," said Roop. "Then I came out the next year and made it."
Well, he was back on the junior varsity. Roop wasn't starting and he was still a long way from the state tournament and all the glory that goes with playing for a No. 1-ranked team.
"I had him in class and we'd talk. He was very sincere," said Hanks. "I knew by the time we started playing intramurals that spring, his effort had gotten better. That summer he went with the JVs to summer camp and did fine. He didn't start as a sophomore, but he was in the rotation."
By Roop's junior year, it was time to make the varsity or give up basketball. It was sink or swim, and Roop proved he knows how to freestyle with the best of them when it comes to basketball.
"I knew how frustrated he was from his last year. He knew we'd be good and it would be hard for him to get much playing time," said Hanks.
That didn't matter. Roop had other ideas.
"I was happy to make the [junior varsity] team. Of course, deep down I wanted to start. The following summer [heading to his junior year] I worked as hard as I could so I could make the varsity."
So when Roop made the varsity, playing wasn't the biggest item on his list.
"We had such a good team. I can understand the coach's decision. As much as I would [have] liked to have been more involved, I was happy with the performance," said Roop.
His break came in Liberty's Region III championship game against Northside at Roanoke College. The Minutemen were out of the contest in the latter stages of the game and in came Roop. He looped in a couple of long shots that caught Hanks' attention. The Liberty coach knew he'd have to find a couple of starters for this year's club.
"We hadn't been able to throw it in the ocean. When he hit two 3-point shots against Northside, we said, `Who is this kid?' Maybe it was a sign of things to come," said Hanks.
"Coming off the bench, I figured no one else was scoring that much, especially from the outside. I know I can shoot the ball, so I figured I'd let them go. Luckily, a few of them went in," said Roop.
"This past summer Neil didn't have a good year at camp. I wasn't real sure he'd be a starter. We knew he'd be with us because we knew he could shoot the 3-point shots. He plays the No. 4 spot [power forward] for us. The first scrimmage he went out as a starter and he's been there ever since," Hanks added.
In 20 games, Roop has scored 189 points. He's the only nondouble figure scorer for the Minutemen who will play in the Region III tournament Friday with a 20-0 record.
Despite his lack of height, Roop has no trouble playing inside or outside.
"When I was little and played rec league ball for my dad, instead of playing me inside, he made me take the ball down the floor and shoot it outside. He knew it would benefit me even though I was then the biggest kid for my age," Roop explained.
"I'm not scared going up against bigger guys. I've played against big guys in the district and I have to use my body and keep them off the boards. But I know my teammates will help me out."
Roop hopes to play college ball. "I was talking to a Division III coach the other day, and Neil would have to be a No. 2 guard," said Hanks. "He's not a slow kid, but compared to others, he's not as quick. He'd have to work on his perimiter skills as far as moving his feet."
But hey, Roop can do that because he believes and has shown that nothing is impossible for him with a basketball.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JAY CONLEY/Landmark News Service. Cut as a freshman andby CNBused to riding the bench as a sophomore and junior, Neil Roop
refined his basketball skills, defense in particular, to become a
valuable part of the top-ranked Group AA team in the state.