THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607230119
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 115 lines
IF THE 4TH ANNUAL Rising Stars girls basketball summer league is any indication of how the Eastern Region competition will shape up in the winter, once again, place your bets on the Beach.
The pairings for the playoffs, which began Monday at Princess Anne, suggest that district powers Princess Anne, Kempsville and Salem will be in the thick of things again next year.
The talent already present has just gotten better, setting up another three-team race for the 1996-97 season.
The Cavaliers, who finished 9-0 in the regular summer season, were led by the Water Division's most valuable player Dominica Moody. Moody, along with mainstays Suwanna Taylor and O'Keisha Howard, were each selected to play in Friday's all-star game, which will precede the championship.
Named to the all-star team from Kempsville, which is still carrying players from the team that went 22-0 in the 1994-1995 season, were Erin Duckett, Carrie Heath and Toni Patillo.
Salem, which returned to the state playoffs after a year lay-off, will still be strong despite the graduation of two-time All-Tidewater Player of the Year Misty Colebank and two-time second team All-Tidewater selection Kelley King.
The Sun Devils have used the summer to regroup and establish new roles. Michelle Garcia, a rising sophomore, will replace Colebank in the back court. She's used the summer to refine her game from the point guard position. Garcia will still dump the treys, but the summer has proved that she's a serious threat to drive and dish off to 6-foot-0 forward Jenny Harmon.
Harmon, a rising senior, was in King's shadow last year, but she will be counted on to carry the scoring load in the winter. Harmon doesn't miss much inside the key and also has crafted a nice baseline jumper that will come in handy for the Sun Devils. Dwan Riddick, another rising sophomore who was a part-time starter last season, has shown her speed in summer league action and will be a key factor on defense.
There you have it. The same old talent and the same old teams out front.
However, the Rising Stars Summer League has given others who might not normally be in the spotlight a chance to shine.
Director Brian Miller has restructured the league to make it more competitive.
Stronger and weaker leagues were created in two divisions to prevent games from getting out of hand. Coaches, along with Miller, grouped teams in the Sand and Water divisions according to projected standings after the 1996 season. Friday night will feature championship and all-star games for each division instead of just one for both leagues like in past years.
``Teams that normally don't see the light of day are winning games,'' he said. Miller added that it's also helped the players' confidence levels grow, which in turn, enhanced their skills on the court.
Miller says the games, which comprise 20-minute halves with a running clock, were all close and have made the league more competitive. Regular scoring statistics were not kept. The league's focus was to improve skills, not track individual scoring leaders. Summer play, Miller added, equals success in the winter.
``People are seeing now that you've got to play summer league to compete,'' he said. ``And the private schools, they use summer league as their training camps. They don't use it to win or lose.''
The league also provided the Group AAA coaches a chance to evaluate the up and coming talent more closely than they'll be able to do in winter tryouts.
``It allows them to tune up,'' Princess Anne assistant coach and head summer coach Dan Brown said. ``We usually only have a week and a half during tryouts before the first game. It also gives the new kids a chance to get used to the veterans.''
Aside from the basketball factor, Miller said the league is also a place for the girls to build friendships.
``It's a family atmosphere here. We have a good time and everybody knows each other. Plus, at the same time, the girls are improving,'' Miller said.
The newly NCAA sanctioned league also provided players a chance to show off their skills for college scouts during the summer.
Under NCAA by-laws, college coaches were unable to attend nonsanctioned events. Miller appealed to the NCAA for status as a sanctioned event - the summer league already falls under AAU regulations - in order to get more college coaches to the gym.
Division I coaches had a three-week window - July 8 through July 31 - in which they could watch players in the Rising Stars League. Division II and III coaches can attend anytime.
In order to be an NCAA sanctioned event, Miller had to educate the players about NCAA eligibility rules and track the coaches who visit the league.
Not only did the girls gain more exposure, but they also got first-hand knowledge of what the recruiting process is all about and how it works.
But the best thing about the league, Miller says, is the opportunity the girls had to get to know their opponents.
Teams from the Southeastern, Eastern, TCIS and Beach Districts are competing, giving the girls the chance to meet players from all over. Since its inception in 1993, the Rising Stars League has grown from 17 to 28 teams. This year, the league added Hickory and Lakeland, which will both join the Southeastern District in 1996-97 season.
``Kids come in on nights they don't play and hang out and then go out with their friends after the games,'' he said. ``They're making friends. Sure, they rouse each other and trash talk on the court, but after the game, they're friends.''
NOTE: Also named to the all-star teams from the Beach were Cox's Catherine Dunford; Garcia, Riddick and Harmon from Salem; Amy White, Heather Kinstler and April Green from Tallwood; Mary Parker and Elizabeth Howard from Kellam; Princess Anne's Moody, Howard and Taylor; Bayside's Aretha Williams and Lakishai Johnson; Shanan Williams of Salem's ``B'' team; First Colonial's Kaszia Campos, Avery Willis and Melissa McDonald; and Green Run's Michelle Huzada.
Former Beach players Misty Colebank of Salem and Katie Walters of First Colonial, were selected all-star coaches for the Salt Water and Sand Pebble conferences, respectively. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
AT LEFT: Anne Marie Nash, left, of Norfolk Academy tries to keep
Elaina Stanton of Princess Anne away from the basket in the Rising
Stars Summer League game last Thursday at Princess Anne High School.
AT RIGHT: Norfolk Academy's Kendra Robins, left, drives the ball
down the court past Princess Anne's Shareese Grant. by CNB