THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 2, 1997 TAG: 9612290044
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 55 lines
JOHN FULLER is full of advice.
By day as a Lakeland High guidance counselor, Fuller gives students advice on their academic standings and their futures. When that final bell strikes 2:15 p.m., though, he's instructing people in a different manner. From the end of school until late in the night sometimes, the goals are scoring, playing defense and adding notches to the win column for Fuller and his boys basketball team.
Yet, while the victories are a given - Lakeland advanced to the State Group AA championship final game last season - Fuller takes nothing for granted. Talent is meaningless if a team fails to execute the X's and O's. And with Group AAA's Southeastern District play resuming this weekend, the former Bay Rivers powerhouse has not lost a beat. The Cavaliers are contenders.
Here are some responses from Fuller, who also coached at Windsor and the now-defunct Suffolk High, about his new district and Lakeland history.
There was and still is so much fuss about Lakeland going up to Group AAA this year. What are some of the perceptions or thoughts you had about AAA?
It's really not a big deal because every year we played four or five games against AAA schools. We also play against them in the summer leagues and fall leagues so it's really not a big deal to our kids because they don't fear them.
So much is made about the move from parents and fans. What were your players' thoughts about going into the new district?
Basically we play one game at a time. As long as we execute our game plan, it doesn't matter who we play.
With the legacy of Spencer Mayfield and Nansemond River, do you feel Lakeland is overlooked even though your squad did appear in the state AA final last season?
They won a couple of state championships (1992 and 1995) and we haven't. We've been to a couple of state championships but we haven't won. And there is a perception of Nansemond River being the basketball school of Suffolk. This is more so a perception of people outside of Suffolk than people inside of Suffolk.
With Damon Tillery returning from last season's runner-up squad, how does this team compare to your other Lakeland teams?
Basically, we're a young team - seven sophomores, four juniors and one senior. I hope some of these earlier games will give us the experience we need down the road.
Would anything other than winning the Southeastern District title be considered a successful campaign for the Cavaliers?
Every year our goal is to win the district, the region and the states. They haven't changed just because we changed districts. We still have the same goals. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
John Fuller is both guidance counselor and boys basketball coach at
Lakeland High.