THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603200213
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JAMI FRANKENBERRY, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
LAKELAND COACH John Fuller consoled a distraught group of Cavaliers Saturday after Brian Baker's desperation three-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer giving Liberty High a 53-50 victory in the Group AA state championship game. Fuller walked to each of player, as tears streamed from several of them.
The Cavaliers had come so far. They were the first Lakeland basketball team to make it to a state tournament, and they wanted to take home a first place trophy like crosstown rival Nansemond River had done twice in five years.
``I'm just happy,'' senior John Ricks had said after his team beat Northside 64-54 in a semifinal Friday. ``I've been waiting four years for this.''
What the disappointed Cavaliers didn't realize as they watched Liberty players hoist the championship trophy was that they had just become part of a rich Suffolk tradition. A tradition that, though only six years old, had left an indelible impression on Group AA.
Saturday's game not only ended a remarkable season for the Cavaliers. It marked the end of six seasons of play for Lakeland and Nansemond River in the Bay Rivers District and Group AA.
Next year, both Suffolk high schools will move to Group AAA and the Southeastern District after clearly leaving their mark on Group AA.
Nansemond River joined Lakeland in the state semifinals, where it lost 59-58 to Liberty Friday. According to Bob Button, assistant director of the Virginia High School League, it was the first time in recent history two schools from the same city made the state's final four in the same classification. And most Group AA basketball teams probably won't miss Nansemond River and Lakeland when they move up in classification.
``That's definitely been the dominant area (in Group AA),'' Liberty coach Mark Hanks said of Suffolk. ``Now other teams in Region I are probably happy to get a chance to represent that region. They haven't been able to.''
Lakeland's appearance in the championship game was the first ever for a Cavaliers basketball team and marked the fourth time in the past five seasons that a Suffolk school made it to the state semifinals.
Surprising Lakeland, which finished 19-10, stunned a previously unbeaten Greensville County team on its home floor in Emporia in a Region I semifinal. A week later, the Cavaliers knocked off Fort Defiance, which had been ranked as high as sixth in the Group AA poll, in a state quarterfinal.
``It's our last year in AA, and we didn't want to go out like the other seasons,'' said Lakeland senior John Ricks, whose school had never made it past the regional tournament in basketball. ``It was a great feeling for us to be here. We just had to keep playing.''
``Our kids realized they had a chance to be successful,'' said Fuller, whose team beat Northside 64-54 in the state semifinal Friday. ``We may not have the best athletes or the standout players, but our kids always play hard and do their job.''
Before Lakeland's late surge into the state tournament this year, crosstown rival Nansemond River had led the charge for Suffolk schools in postseason. The Warriors won a state championship in 1992, the school's second year in existence. After a semifinal appearance in 1994, Nansemond River won its second state championship last season with an 84-57 win over Northside.
``It means a lot to be successful at any level,'' said Warriors coach Spencer Mayfield, whose team finished 24-3 this season. ``As a coach, it's one of the things you strive for. In double-A, we've been fortunate to get there and have a successful program. Getting to states is a big plus, but it's hard to get there.''
Now the question will be whether Nansemond River and Lakeland can be successful and get to the state tournament in Group AAA.
``What people don't realize is that we (Nansemond River and Lakeland) play a lot of triple-A schools every year,'' said Fuller, whose team went 2-2 against Group AAA teams this season. ``We'll be able to hold our own. I don't know if we'll compete for the top, but we'll be competitive.''
Said Northside coach Bill Pope: ``I think they're going to be fine. As opposed to them going out and lining up against teams that they can blow out, there are going to be less of those teams because the size difference (between Group AA and AAA) is incredible.''
That was evident at this year's state tournament. George Washington-Danville, which won the AAA title 73-71 over Hopewell Saturday to cap an undefeated season, had seven players on its roster 6-foot-3 or taller. Three of them weighed more than 200 pounds. Group AA champ Liberty had only one player that was 6-foot-3 or taller.
Mayfield, however, said that size doesn't mean success.
``The ability of the players is what's important,'' said Mayfield, whose team went 3-2 against Group AAA schools this season. ``You can have someone that's big and not so good and have small players that are better. In triple-A, you have more kids to pick from. There are good players at all levels.''
The Warriors and Cavaliers have been good players at one level. Tradition says that they'll also be good at the next level. MEMO: STORIES ELSEWHERE
Commentary. The teams did themselves - and their hometown - proud
last weekend. Page 6.
Sports briefs - Page 17. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos, including cover, by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Lakeland's Brian Baker, center, is covered by Northside High's Ben
Peete, left.
Lakeland players, from left, James Pruden, Amon Cross, Warrenton
Wilson, Aubrey Everett and Herman Knight contain their emotions
after losing the AA title to Liberty.
Nansemond River's Maurice Fofana (21) drives for a layup against
Liberty's Neil Roop.
by CNB