On paper, Thursday's match-up of 4-0 King's Fork and 5-1 Great Bridge appeared to be a good game. But on the court was a whole other story, with the Bulldogs pulling away with a 81-36 road win.

So what does that mean? Does that make Great Bridge's 5-2 start a fluke? I don't think so, but I do think it speaks to the talent gap between the Southeastern District's better teams and the others. King's Fork, Nansemond River ... heck, let's throw Deep Creek in there, mostly because of Corey Law -- they have athletes of a much higher caliber than the Great Bridges of the district, resulting in some of the results we've seen so far this season.

Great Bridge's other loss this year? An 84-40 drubbing at the hands of Nansemond River.

In the Southeastern District, it's not which team has the best stats or the best coach or anything like that -- it's going to come down to athletes. And the teams that have the best, quickest athletes are going to be the ones to contend for postseason play.

Which, having lost horribly to two of the district's best, I'm not sure Great Bridge is going to be one of those teams.

Jeff Cunningham

Booker T. Washington junior DeShawn Painter is the No. 3 center in the country for the class of 2009, according to Rivals.com -- but that doesn't mean the 6-foot-8 physical specimen doesn't have some growing to do on the court.

I was at the team's practice on Thursday to gather some info and first-hand accounts for the story on Painter (already on the front page of this site and within the next few days will hit the pages of the [I]Daily Press[/I]), and what struck me most was how unpolished Painter's game is.

Then again, this is a guy who wasn't asked to do much with Myles Holley on the court. Naturally, an increased role and an expectation of leadership requires a period of adjustment, and the hype surrounding Painter can't make it any easier.

More than once during Thursday's practice, coach Darren Sanderlin spoke to Painter, pointing to me and saying things like, "If you're going to become the player guys like him (him being me) want you to be, this is what you need to do!" I won't argue that I don't want Painter to be anything in particular -- anything that brings me and this site more exposure is a welcome thing -- but it speaks to the balance I touched on in the story -- Painter the pure basketball player and Painter the frontcourt stud that has Div. I heavyweights salivating.

"This is your paint!" Sanderlin told Painter after one drill. "You have to stand in here and make sure everyone knows this is YOUR lane. You OWN this lane! Act like it; I haven't seen your mean streak yet!"

All this for a guy averaging just under 16 points and at least six boards a contest. Again, that goes to Painter dealing with an increased role and the lack of Holley. Holley was the unquestioned leader of this team last year, taking the Bookers all the way to the state semis; now, it's on Painter and fellow junior Desmond Lee to make sure Booker T. makes its third straight state tourney appearance.

Talk about pressure.

Painter has all the skills; he's athletic, quick, strong and has a good head for the game. My suspicion is that as the season goes along, as he grows more into his new role with the team, we'll start to see more of what the scouts and college coaches see. And let's not forget: Painter's only a junior. It's not like he has to commit at some point during the season and then prepare to ship off to college in the fall. Sanderlin gets him -- and Lee, who is fast becoming a leader on this team in his own right -- back next year.

Is much of what everyone sees potential? Possibly; but I don't think those 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks a game last year were a fluke. Painter's only going to get better as time goes along, especially if he keeps his head on straight.

With or without blinders.

Jeff Cunningham

I.C. Norcom beat Churchland 56-48 Tuesday night to hand the Truckers their first Eastern District loss. Here are some musings from the proceedings:

*** As a team, the Greyhounds had 12 steals. Churchland turned the ball over 29 times, most of those coming in the second half once Norcom upped its defensive pressure. Not its scheme; the Greyhounds played man coverage the whole game. But in the second half, Norcom attacked passing lanes and hassled Churchland ball-handlers even more. And the full-court press, which Norcom used from midway through the third quarter to the end of the game, caused at least 10 turnovers.

*** Churchland coach Arthur Zeno said his guards -- all his guards, not just Terrell Diggs (four points, three steals, one assist), have to perform better, though he did assess the blame for the guards' performance on himself. He talked turnovers after last week's win over Booker T. Washington, and they were the topic of conversation again Tuesday.

*** Norcom forward Dominique Hunt had an ice pack for his left knee after the game. He injured it during the fourth quarter, though it did little to hamper his performance. Hunt only had two points, but his efforts on defense in the second half were a large part of the Greyhounds' comeback.

*** I've never received a "no comment" from the winning coach before, but that's pretty much what Norcom head man Leon Goolsby gave me. I was talking to a couple players when Goolsby approached me and Pilot writer Larry Rubama and said, "There's really no need use in talking to me; my players deserve all the credit for this." A somewhat refreshing take, to be perfectly honest.

*** Churchland had 19 rebounds in the first half to Norcom's eight. But the Truckers only managed three more in the second half. Why the disparity? Well, Norcom stopped taking three-balls in the second half -- a lot of early Churchland rebounds came off missed treys. The Truckers also couldn't attack the offensive glass because, in the words of Zeno, "we couldn't get a shot cause we were turning the ball over so much."

*** Churchland senior forward Ricky Grant was talking to a basketball coach from Virginia Wesleyan after the game. Grant led the Truckers with 16 points and seven rebounds.

*** Something that might interest only me: there were three officials at Tuesday night's game, whereas only two presided over the Churchland-Booker T. game last Friday. I wasn't the only one who noticed -- Bookers coach Darren Sanderlin wondered why only two showed up last week in his team's 64-61 loss -- but I've yet to receive an explanation for it.

*** Not related to the game, but local reports have Tallwood defensive lineman Charles Walls changing his verbal commitment. He committed to Kent State in August, only to this week switch to Old Dominion. The fledgling Div. I-AA program, which begins play in 2009, now has four verbal commitments, three from Hampton Roads players. Walls joins Maury defensive back Ricky Nichols and Kellam defensive end Andrew Turner in commiting to ODU.

Jeff Cunningham

It's often said you're the champion until someone beats you.

In the instance of Booker T. Washington, which won the Eastern District and advanced to the Group AAA state semifinals last year, that held true despite the loss of Myles Holley and the fact that coach Darren Sanderlin only returned two players -- DeShawn Painter and Desmond Lee -- this year with varsity experience.

But Churchland -- a team that won just eight games last year and features a first-year coach in Arthur Zeno -- beat the Bookers last night 64-61 in a wild finish. The Truckers have won six straight games, but had to overcome turnovers, poor free throw shooting and a second-half 25-19 disadvantage on the boards to do it.

The 35-point loss to Oak Hill aside, Booker T. has fought in every game this season. They overcame a 10-point defecit to beat I.C. Norcom last week ... they came back from seven down to beat Granby on Tuesday ... and Friday night were down 11 at halftime before Earl Norfleet finally tied the game with a floater with 13 seconds to go.

If it weren't for John Freeman, the Bookers might've pulled this one out too.

But let's examine the Truckers for a minute. This is a scrappy team -- not the most athletic in the district, but the kind of squad that's going to bug the heck out of you on defense and fight for every inch of the court and every sliver of orange leather they can get their hands on.

Even when the stars -- Terrell Diggs and Ricky Grant -- have off nights, this team isn't to be discounted. Grant did finish with 13 points, but didn't shoot well from the floor, while Diggs only put in six. Travis McClenny led all Truckers with 15 points, and Freeman was the one who hit the eventual game-winner.

So what does it say when a team wins in spite of turnovers, bad free throw shooting and being out-rebounded? A couple things: heart, toughness, an unwillingness to back down. Is Churchland the Eastern District's most talented team? No; that probably goes to Norcom or Booker T.

But the most talented team doesn't always win; sometimes it's the intangibles, the little things, that win ball games.

Churchland has another tough district test Tuesday at I.C. Norcom, while Booker T., after a Saturday trip to Petersburg, will face Norview and guard Kendrix Brown on Tuesday.

Stay tuned, hoops fans ...

Jeff Cunningham

Some observations from Tuesday night's Beach District boys showdown between Ocean Lakes and Tallwood (Ocean Lakes won 68-61, in case you haven't yet read my write-up on it):

*** Tallwood's even quicker and more athletic than I possibly gave them credit for, particularly on defense. The Lions would put on the full-court or 3/4-court pressure whenever they wanted to take momentum away from Ocean Lakes, but even when Tallwood wasn't pressing, its defenders hounded the ball, using long arms and quick moves to disrupt timing and clog up passing lanes. The result? The Dolphins turned the ball over 17 times.

*** The Lions also appear to be just fine without Darius James. The electric point guard, who now plays for Old Dominion, was the emotional leader of the team last year, and it was a question coming into the season how the Lions would react with him gone. Well, in spite of the loss Tuesday night, Tallwood seems to be just fine; Aaron Brown and Jarrett Jernigan appear to be taking up the leadership roles -- particularly Brown, who looks to be every bit as flashy and energetic on the court.

*** I couldn't help but notice that Ocean Lakes had forward Randall Dunn bringing the ball up-court on a few of the game's opening possessions. I'm not sure what that was -- Head's decision to use the taller Dunn to see over the defenders in the backcourt is a likely scenario -- but I don't think it's coincidence that the Dolphins got it together offensively once Justin Hunter and Chris Stokes took over the ball-handling duties.

*** The only reason I know Marcus Davis' ankle bothered him in the second half was because he told me after the game. With 22 points, at least eight rebounds and two critical blocks in the fourth quarter, he appeared to be the picture of health. So imagine my surprise when I see him hobbling toward the locker room, grimacing in pain and his ankle wrapped in an ice pack. He did miss six of his 10 free throws in the fourth qaurter -- and I even made mention to the clock operator at one point about how Davis needed to bend his knees more, get some elevation on the ball -- and later told me the knee was a big reason for that.

*** Davis, who drew a lot of Division I interest on the football field this past fall as Ocean Lakes' quarterback, told me he isn't even close to making a commitment. In fact, Davis told me, he might not make his decision until just before National Signing Day (Feb. 6, 2008 for those of you keeping score at home). Davis, who was a wide receiver before bing moved to quarterback this year, has received heavy interest from Penn State, Virginia Tech, Florida and North Carolina. Most schools are looking at Davis as a quarterback.

*** I wasn't able to get a hold of Dunn to guage his recruitment status -- he left while I was chatting with Davis -- but I did see him talking after the game with a couple of people from North Carolina. Remember, the Tar Heels have already snagged one stud wideout from this area in Oscar Smith's Todd Harrelson -- and now it seems they might be looking to add another.

*** Given all the attention Davis and Dunn have received from their gridiron performances, could colleges also be looking at the duo as potential basketball stars? Not according to Head. But it's not because they can't -- Davis and Dunn combined for 28.6 points a game last season. Head attributed it more to colleges being aware that Davis and Dunn want to play football in college, not basketball. "The word's out," Head told me. "These schools know what Marcus and Randall want, so they're not even asking."

Stick tight, guys ... more juiciness to follow in the coming days and weeks ...

Jeff Cunningham