THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170690
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
For a young Indian River squad, this has been a coming-of-age season.
How young are the Braves?
Their top four scorers include junior Terry Rouse, sophomores David Selby and James Boyd and freshman Jason Capel.
Now, they will find out just how far they've come.
The last time Indian River faced a nationally ranked team, Paul Robeson of Brooklyn, the Braves were on the short end, 74-50. It was Indian River's second game of the season back on Dec. 9, and Robeson was ranked No. 22 by USA Today.
This time, the Braves (20-7) will meet 25th-ranked Potomac High (26-1) in tonight's Group AAA boys semifinals at Liberty University. Game time is 7 p.m.
``I don't know a whole lot about them other than if they got this far they must be good,'' said Indian River coach Freddie Spellman.
But how good?
If you believe The Washington Post, the Panthers are the best team that Washington's greater metropolitan area has to offer. Potomac had been ranked No. 1 in The Washington Post for two months. And that area includes more than 150 schools.
``With the DeMathas and Dunbars we are ahead of in that poll, it's nice to see,'' said Potomac coach Kendall Hayes.
This is Potomac's second trip to the state tournament under Hayes. The Panthers bowed out in the first round in 1990, losing to a South Lakes squad led by current Detroit Pistons star Grant Hill.
Both head coaches have been rather clandestine this week, saying little about themselves or the opposition.
But James Robinson coach Charles Thompson, whose squad plays in the night's second semifinal against Kecoughtan, wasn't bashful.
``Potomac's very talented,'' said Thompson, who led Lee of Springfield to the title in 1981. ``There's nobody on that team that you can't guard. You just can't say, `We'll take a chance on him beating us.' ''
Potomac is led by 6-foot-4 forward Tinail Harris, who averages 20.8 points and nine rebounds.
Fortunately for the Braves, they've developed into an outstanding defensive team. In three of their last four postseason games, the Braves have held the opposition's leading scorer to less than his seasonal average. by CNB