THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 11, 1994 TAG: 9407110154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
When Nansemond River's Howard Frier travels to the University of Colorado this fall, he'll be taking the hopes of a lot of people with him.
Suffolk's young basketball players will be eager to see how Frier, one of a handful of the city's many high school hoop stars to earn a Division I scholarship, handles himself.
``I know people will be watching me,'' he said. ``I never really thought of myself as a role model, but I guess in some ways I am.''
And then there are the Colorado coaches, who are bringing Frier in not as a project but as someone who can make an immediate impact.
``Oh, yeah, we feel like he can play right away,'' Colorado assistant Ricardo Patton said.
High expectations? Sure. But Frier said it will take a lot more than that to make his knees buckle.
``A long time ago, a friend told me pressure is having two kids and no job,'' Frier said. ``This is basketball, and basketball is fun. That's the way I've always looked at it.''
Frier, a 6-foot-3 guard, will will be out to have some more fun tonight in the Virginia High School Coaches Association all-star basketball game at the Hampton Coliseum.
``I'm familiar with most of these guys from playing with Boo Williams (AAU) teams,'' he said. ``Of course, you're trying to win, but I expect to have a good time, too. I'm looking at it as a first step toward playing at the next level.''
That Frier can talk about playing Division I college ball should surprise no one who saw him play for the Warriors this season. An explosive guard with exceptional leaping ability and signature dunks, Frier was good for more than 14 points, three rebounds, four blocks and four assists each game.
Two years ago, however, the only way to see Frier in action was to come to the pregame warmups. Although Nansemond River rolled to the Group AA title with a collection of stars as good as any in the state, Frier wasn't one of those stars. A late-season call-up from the junior varsity, Frier rarely got off the bench.
``I didn't get discouraged, though,'' he said. ``One thing I've always had is the idea that you can never work too hard.''
So Frier worked tirelessly on his game, playing in city recreation leagues and with Michael White's Lake Kennedy Clippers, a community squad.
The result, in just one year, was a startling change in Frier's skill level.
``He just blossomed,'' said Derrick Bryant, the leader of the Warriors' state championship team who now plays for Norfolk State. ``I came back from school and everybody was saying Howard this and Howard that. It was like in one season, he just exploded.''
Added Nansemond River coach Spencer Mayfield, .``He looks flashy when he's out there, but this kid's worked hard for everything he's got.''
Frier's friends had hoped he would select a local college, so they could watch him play. Bryant wanted Frier to join him at Norfolk State. But the idea of going away to college has long appealed to Frier. And when Colorado, a struggling program in a major (Big Eight) conference that had two guards transfer last year, expressed interest, Frier didn't hesitate.
``It's going to be good for me to get away from home,'' he said. ``Now I'll be able to grow up and mature.''
Frier knows that Bryant, the last Suffolk public-school high school basketball star to leave the area with a Division I scholarship, quickly changed his mind and returned to Norfolk State. But while he acknowledges that there may be a period of adjustment at Colorado, Frier doesn't foresee returning to a local college.
``I've thought about what could happen, but my whole idea is to go out there and do what I have to do,'' he said. ``I'm not feeling any pressure.''
Pressure, after all, is all in how you define it. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Where: Hampton Coliseum.
When: 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $5 at the gate.
Players to watch: Salem's Kelly Bradley and Deep Creek's Tennille
Smith represent Hampton Roads. Monacan's Tiffany Bowers, who signed
with Virginia, and Menchville's Misty Hart, who signed with Old
Dominion, will also play.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Where: Hampton Coliseum
When: 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: $5 at the gate.
Players to watch: Nansemond River's Howard Frier is the only
player from South Hampton Roads. Franklin's Ben Ricks represents
Western Tidewater. Headliners are Group AAA Player of the Year Tony
Rutland from Bethel and ODU recruit Brian Dunlap from Woodbridge.
Directions: From South Hampton Roads, follow Interstate 64 west
through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel into Hampton. Take the first
Mercury Boulevard exit and take a right at the first stoplight into
the coliseum parking lot.
by CNB