The sounds you don't hear this January night are two, three, perhaps four basketballs bouncing in an empty high school gym and the voices of several players breaking down their game.
It's late on a school night at North College Hill (NCH) High School, and the varsity's practice ended two hours ago. The forecast of snow by morning matters not to these players pursuing something unfinished.
They crave to improve shots and moves. And when you crave to develop some skill, any undisturbed time is a gift.
NCH is this night ranked No. 1 in both the city and the state in boys' Division III basketball. Still, here are some of the guys, with snow in the forecast, craving.
At 11 p.m., they're shooting. Jump shot No. 200. It's started to snow. Once they shot until midnight. This self-initiated late practice is meant to help shatter the memory of a 2-18 season in 2002-03.
And that memory is indeed gone, replaced by a magical season that ended short of a state title this spring but still produced a glittering 21-1 won-loss record. The magic seems to have trickled down to help renew community spirit among the 11,000 residents of North College Hill, who are pushing toward a heightened cultural and commercial potential as never before.
There are two other reasons for this potential: O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, NCH freshmen and two of the country's premier high school basketball players. Last year they transferred from Rose Hill Christian Academy in Ashland, Ky., where Mayo -- playing varsity as a seventh-grader -- averaged 23 points per game.
You can often find Mayo and Walker in the NCH gym shooting at night with their teammates. Walker is trying to get back into playing shape after knee surgery last summer that made him miss 20 regular season games this season.
Still, at 6-feet-6-inches, Walker won't rest on his laurels. His and Mayo's futures as potential college and pro basketball stars are there for the taking, if only they'll work hard enough.
They're not the only people in North College Hill dreaming of better things on these late nights.
....
And then there was the Division III tournament game against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, when Walker finally got to flash his potential for the NCH faithful. In the first 30 seconds of the game, he hoisted the ball high en route to the first of several slam-dunks. Then he sprinted down the court on defense for his first, then second, blocked shot of the season. Did I mention it was 30 seconds?
You did not want to be under the basket on his first dunk.
At a critical moment late in the sectional final, NCH faltered in the fourth quarter, allowing Reading to get several key scores and win 58-47, spoiling its pre-season goal to win the state championship.
http://www.citybeat.com/2004-04-14/cover.shtml
