By JOHN STF.C'K THE BUCCANEERS’ SHORT STAY AT VPI w;v no discredit to tlie lads on the squad toi to Coach bill IIupp A . events moved swift ly mnd ruthlessly, as always for District :rs representative! to Way nesboro’s claiming the Group II .tab- itle they proved that Buck ingham’s turn came in a bad year. W'e say ’ bad” advisedly, meaning a year in which the calibre of the state tournament teams was probably at an all-tune high. Almost all the existing records were written in a welter of fine individual and team scoring. Bob Sondej’s new record for a single game 34 points—in the Churchland win over Buckingham in the opening round lasted ex actly 24 hours until Clint wood’s 6'2" pivot man. Kelly Sutherland, bucketed 37 against Waynesboro. And so it went all through the tourney. It was only the second tintfe that a team other than a South western Virginia squad won in the 11 runnings of the big show The ether, like Waynesboro, a District 5 squad, was Harrisonburg in 1952. The result probably indicates that the Valley of Virginai is grow ing in basketball prowess as it grows in industry and population. The probable ranking in ability in schoolboy basketball area-wise in Vir ginia is. m order, the Southwest, the Valiev Tidewater. Central and Northern. It is too much to hope, except perhaps for some rare' future oc casion. that District 3 can compete qn an equal basis with the squads reaching the tournament The competing schools are too large, they have larger, more diversified coaching staffs and well established grade school, freshman, junior varsity and. of course, varsity pro grams working for them. Perhaps the best service performed for District 3 for the annual disappointment experienced by our lads at VPI consists of: «1 > re minding us that if we want to be a basketball power, we’ve got a lot of work and development ahead, and 12 > a nice, if rather disconcert ing reward for the District 3 team winning the district tournament. C hurch League Bound to Help

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