The future and hopeful future of Virginia basketball took the floor at University Hall Saturday afternoon when top-ranked Oak Hill Academy took on the Blue Ridge School. The key high school matchup featured Blue Ridge's Jermaine Harper, a Virginia recruit, and Oak Hill's DeSagana Diop, the Cavaliers' top recruiting target for 2001-2002.
It seemed like U-Hall played nicer to the player already committed, as Harper put together a team-high 23 points as well as eight rebounds. The 7-foot, 290-pound Diop managed only four points on two-for-six shooting.
"It's not like him," Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said. "He's a much better offensive player than he showed."
But despite the sub-par showing from its star center and trailing for most of the game, Oak Hill showed why it is the nation's best high school team.
With only 15.5 seconds left in regulation, Blue Ridge led Oak Hill by one and had Harper at the line. Harper made his first free throw but missed the second, and Diop scored inside with 6 seconds left to make it 64-64. Harper missed a contested three-point attempt as time expired, and the Warriors pulled away in overtime for a 76-69 victory.
"That was one I wish I could just go back in time and do again," Harper said of his missed foul shot. "Normally I make all my free throws. To be honest, that was a nervous free throw for me."
Harper probably wasn't the only one. The Barons (13-7), who led by as many as 10 late in the third quarter, missed four of five shots from the line in the final minutes of regulation.
"I feel that we had it won, but we just missed our free throws," Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey said. "Tomorrow it will be a moral victory, but right now it's just a sad loss."
Ramsey was proud, however, of his team's efforts to silence Diop on offense. On the defensive end, however, the Senegal native did add 12 boards and six blocked shots.
A crowd of 3,344 came to cheer on Harper and persuade Diop into choosing Virginia. Diop has said his other options are going to North Carolina or entering the NBA.
Harper, who has already chosen his future, just enjoyed the crowd and the atmosphere, despite the disappointing outcome.
"I was really excited about the game and even a little bit nervous," Harper said. "I was surprised to see so much fan support and all those signs out there. It was a hard-fought game, and I'd feel a lot better if we had won, but I still really enjoyed the game"
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