http://www.timesnews.net/sportsArtic...toryID=3607198
By GEORGE THWAITES
Times-News
Twin Springs basketball coach John McCrary concedes that Macedonian transfer student Pance Kecev was a huge help in getting the Titans to their second consecutive Group A state tournament appearance.
But he stated for the record: Kecev was not recruited by his program. Nor did Kecev ever play professional basketball in Europe. Nor has Twin Springs paid Kecev to play in Nickelsville.
"Then there was talk that he'd had an agent. None of that stuff is true. It's a bunch of junk," McCrary said.
The Titans (18-9) will travel to Lord Botetourt High School to face Region C champion Glenvar (23-5) in a 7 p.m. Group A state quarterfinal game Saturday.
In other action, Region D champ Twin Valley (24-2) takes on Radford (19-7) at Clinchco Elementary School at 6 p.m. Saturday.
On Internet message boards and the good-old-fashioned grapevine, rumors have spread like wildfire concerning Kecev's name appearing on websites like Eurobasket and Global Sports.
McCrary readily admits Kecev's name shows up on overseas basketball sites in connection with his youth basketball career - as does that of J.J. Kelly exchange student Filip Mitik, who played for the Indians this season. This does not mean these kids ever played professionally.
"The exchange program would never have sent him over here if that were the case. There's documentation from the Macedonian Basketball Federation," McCrary said.
He noted that Twin Springs currently has a Vietnamese exchange student, Tuan Pham, who did some kicking for the Titan football team this past fall but does not play basketball. Since the early 1990s, Twin Springs has had eight or nine exchange students, only some of whom played basketball. By no means were all of those kids starting material, he said.
McCrary has a pretty thick skin when it comes to most talk outside the lines. Last year, Volunteer star forward Chucky Lindholm's transfer to Twin Springs stirred up plenty of negative chatter that included accusations of recruiting. McCrary vehemently denied the allegations and proceeded to ignore the "Tennessee Titan" jibes.
But the Twin Springs skipper points out that the one bearing the emotional brunt of these latest rumors - as well as opposing fans waving American flags or chanting "USA! USA!" every time he touches the ball - is Kecev.
"At first, I thought it was funny. But at the games and everything, it's been bad. It borders on harrassment," McCrary said. "And he's a super kid, one of the nicest kids I've ever met. He's humble. All he's ever tried to do is fit in.'
Fit in, he has. While no superstar, the midseason arrival of the 6-foot-1 Kecev was clearly a blessing, particularly with the loss of sophomore guard David Peters due to a broken nose. Kecev is scoring 12.5 points per game with a 3.4 assist per game average that is deceptive. Some nights, he looks like he could hit the open man on the other side of a pine thicket.
All the controversy surrounding Kecev has overshadowed the fact that he may be only the third best player on McCrary's roster. Wing Mark Dockery and guard Keith Warner have both played terrific basketball this season.
Dockery, a 6-4 junior, is averaging 20.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 assist per outing. Southwest Virginia's most-heralded player of the season, Dockery has lived up to the billing with some all-around shooting displays that left opponents deflated and Red Army fans elated.
"Dockery is not bashful to shoot it. He's got a feel for it no matter where he is," observed Glenvar coach Rick Crotts, who scouted the Titans' Region D title bout with Twin Valley.
"We've got some guys who are about his height. We've started working hard on contesting everything. As soon as he comes across half court, we'll see how that goes."
Warner, an exceptionally athletic 5-9 senior guard, appears to have successfully made the transition from hot-head to hot-hand. Much improved at keeping his cool, he's averaging 10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists, making opponents pay dearly for too much gimmick defense predicated on stopping Dockery.
Posts Tyler Estep (6-5, So., 7.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Jeremy Jordan (6-2, Jr., 4.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) have been solid role players down low.
Glenvar's chief offensive engine has been 6-4 senior guard Donzell Williams, an NCAA Division II signee with Catawba averaging 13.5 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and two blocks per outing.
After Williams the scoring drops off to 6-7 ppg per starter. But the height doesn't drop off.
Senior guard Jake Giardina (6-1) is the shortest guy of the Highlanders' first five, which includes posts Devin Chappell (6-4, Sr.) and Shawn Crawford (6-3, Jr.) and guard Cory Walkup (6-3, Sr.). Guard Hunter DeHart (5-10, Jr.) is the smallest of Crotts' three primary subs, which also includes posts Ryan Mowles (6-5, Jr.) and Ben Chester (6-5, So.).
Crotts did not fail to notice that the Titans stuck with their starting five in the Region D finals after riding their starting five in a triple-overtime win over Gate City the night before.
"I was impressed for them to come right back against Twin Valley and give them a game. Their conditioning is good. That tells me there's no quit in them," said Crotts, who hasn't faced Twin Springs since prevailing in the 1996 state quarterfinals at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum.
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