jeffpatterson
03-13-2008, 08:45 PM
Area raises profile in basketball
The recent run of state basketball titles on the Peninsula hasn’t happened in 50 years.
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com | 247-4648
Bethel boys basketball coach Craig Brehon thinks it’s a natural progression.
Heritage girls basketball coach Michael Gardner says it’s a credit to the individual programs. And Hampton girls basketball coach David Six says it’s the influx of community centers.
Whatever the reason, the Peninsula area’s recent dominance on the hardwood is far from coincidental.
Hampton’s girls won a state title last year and Jamestown’s girls won the year before that. Woodside’s boys went back-to-back in 2004 and 2005, the year Surry County’s boys also won.
Four years. Five Peninsula state basketball titles.
That hadn’t happened in 50 years.
Huntington’s boys won the Virginia Interscholastic Association Group I state championships in 1955 and 1956. Then, Newport News’ boys won three Virginia High School League Group I-A state championships from 1956-58.
“That’s a pretty good run, huh,” Gardner said. “We’re gonna try and make it a few more.”
He and Brehon, along with Surry boys coach Landon Pittman, will get the chance to extend the streak, while making history in the process.
Heritage (29-2) faces Forest Park (25-4) of Woodbridge for the Group AAA girls title at 7 tonight at the Siegel Center in Richmond. Bethel (30-1) follows at 8:45 p.m. against T.C. Williams (28-3) of Alexandria for the Group AAA boys title, and Surry (15-12) will play Nelson County (28-1) of Lovingston at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Group A boys title.
If Bethel wins tonight, it would be only the second school, playing under VHSL rules, to win 31 games in a season and the first AAA school.
Robert E. Lee, a Group AA school in Staunton, was 31-0 in 2004-05. Maggie Walker, now a Group AAA school in Richmond, had the most victories ever (39) in 1952-53, playing in the Virginia Interscholastic Association.
Heritage could become the first girls team in Newport News to win a state title. And if both Bethel and Heritage win, it would mark the first time in state AAA history that the same district has had boys and girls state basketball champs in the same year.
Brehon said that Peninsula basketball has caught up to football, in terms of being a “hub for talent.”
“Kids are playing more basketball,” he said.
And at a younger age, Six said.
Since moving to Hampton in 1985, he’s seen three community centers — Midtown, Northampton and West Hampton — open in Newport News and Hampton. And Tuesday, Boo Williams opened the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.
“We’ve caught up with the times,” Six said. “When I first got here, Northern Virginia was winning a lot, and they’ve got community centers everywhere up there. Now we’re getting them here. I think that Boo Williams has had a lot to do with that.”
Robert E. Lee girls coach Rudy Coffield conceded that Northern Virginia has “plenty of community centers,” but added that the strong AAU programs on the Peninsula have added to their recent run.
Most of the players on Heritage’s and Bethel’s teams play AAU.
Williams’ AAU program, the Boo Williams Summer League, is one of the most high-profile and successful — boys and girls — in the country.
“That’s the main thing, the AAU programs,” said Coffield, whose team won the Northern Region title this year. “When you’ve got kids on your team that play AAU, it’s definitely gonna make your program stronger.”
Forest Park girls coach Rebecca Tillett was an assistant at Jamestown in 1999. She said that she’s noticed a “boom in the interest of basketball over the last few years.”
“You can see that it’s a hotbed for basketball on the Peninsula,” Tillett said. “Their run just adds fuel to the fire for us. But you can’t discount the success down there. The standard is raised.”
The recent run of state basketball titles on the Peninsula hasn’t happened in 50 years.
By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com | 247-4648
Bethel boys basketball coach Craig Brehon thinks it’s a natural progression.
Heritage girls basketball coach Michael Gardner says it’s a credit to the individual programs. And Hampton girls basketball coach David Six says it’s the influx of community centers.
Whatever the reason, the Peninsula area’s recent dominance on the hardwood is far from coincidental.
Hampton’s girls won a state title last year and Jamestown’s girls won the year before that. Woodside’s boys went back-to-back in 2004 and 2005, the year Surry County’s boys also won.
Four years. Five Peninsula state basketball titles.
That hadn’t happened in 50 years.
Huntington’s boys won the Virginia Interscholastic Association Group I state championships in 1955 and 1956. Then, Newport News’ boys won three Virginia High School League Group I-A state championships from 1956-58.
“That’s a pretty good run, huh,” Gardner said. “We’re gonna try and make it a few more.”
He and Brehon, along with Surry boys coach Landon Pittman, will get the chance to extend the streak, while making history in the process.
Heritage (29-2) faces Forest Park (25-4) of Woodbridge for the Group AAA girls title at 7 tonight at the Siegel Center in Richmond. Bethel (30-1) follows at 8:45 p.m. against T.C. Williams (28-3) of Alexandria for the Group AAA boys title, and Surry (15-12) will play Nelson County (28-1) of Lovingston at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Group A boys title.
If Bethel wins tonight, it would be only the second school, playing under VHSL rules, to win 31 games in a season and the first AAA school.
Robert E. Lee, a Group AA school in Staunton, was 31-0 in 2004-05. Maggie Walker, now a Group AAA school in Richmond, had the most victories ever (39) in 1952-53, playing in the Virginia Interscholastic Association.
Heritage could become the first girls team in Newport News to win a state title. And if both Bethel and Heritage win, it would mark the first time in state AAA history that the same district has had boys and girls state basketball champs in the same year.
Brehon said that Peninsula basketball has caught up to football, in terms of being a “hub for talent.”
“Kids are playing more basketball,” he said.
And at a younger age, Six said.
Since moving to Hampton in 1985, he’s seen three community centers — Midtown, Northampton and West Hampton — open in Newport News and Hampton. And Tuesday, Boo Williams opened the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.
“We’ve caught up with the times,” Six said. “When I first got here, Northern Virginia was winning a lot, and they’ve got community centers everywhere up there. Now we’re getting them here. I think that Boo Williams has had a lot to do with that.”
Robert E. Lee girls coach Rudy Coffield conceded that Northern Virginia has “plenty of community centers,” but added that the strong AAU programs on the Peninsula have added to their recent run.
Most of the players on Heritage’s and Bethel’s teams play AAU.
Williams’ AAU program, the Boo Williams Summer League, is one of the most high-profile and successful — boys and girls — in the country.
“That’s the main thing, the AAU programs,” said Coffield, whose team won the Northern Region title this year. “When you’ve got kids on your team that play AAU, it’s definitely gonna make your program stronger.”
Forest Park girls coach Rebecca Tillett was an assistant at Jamestown in 1999. She said that she’s noticed a “boom in the interest of basketball over the last few years.”
“You can see that it’s a hotbed for basketball on the Peninsula,” Tillett said. “Their run just adds fuel to the fire for us. But you can’t discount the success down there. The standard is raised.”