varsity.roanoke.com

Mallory Jones hopped an airplane and traveled to France this summer ... by herself.

So leaving her Blacksburg home for Oak Hill Academy in a month might not seem like such a big deal.

But it is.

Jones, the Region IV girls basketball player of the year, is transferring from Blacksburg to Oak Hill for her junior year, according to her father, Chuck Jones.

The 6-foot Jones, who led Blacksburg to the Group AA Division 4 quarterfinals, has accepted a full scholarship to attend the small boarding school in Grayson County better known for its national powerhouse boys program.

Leaving the nest should not be a major challenge.

"She's been to about 18 different countries," said Chuck Jones, a former University of Pittsburgh football standout. "She flew to Paris by herself and learned the Metro system. To me, that was kind of a test."

Jones already has passed a few.

She was named the Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year last winter after averaging 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and shooting 49.7 percent from the field.

Jones is not going to Oak Hill to beef up sagging grades. Rather, she will be able to obtain 18 college credits and could achieve Microsoft certification in hardware and software by the time she is finished.

"Her family values education," incoming Blacksburg head coach Roger Henderson said. "If it was just a place to go play basketball, I don't think she'd be going."

Jones' departure will be a blow to Henderson, who was hired in late June to replace 20-year veteran Mickey McGuigan.

"It puts us at eight girls," Henderson said.

Henderson and the Jones family have maintained a solid relationship.

"It's a shame they didn't offer Roger the job sooner," Chuck Jones said. "If they had, she probably would not have gone."

Jones also helped the Team Virginia 16-and-under Navy squad to a pair of championships in national tournaments earlier this month. Playing on a squad coached by former Liberty University men's coach Randy Dunton that also included Kayla Osborne (Hidden Valley), Brittany Bourne (Floyd County), Emily Richardson (Salem) and Salesse Stovall (William Fleming), Jones helped Team Virginia win titles at the Showtime National Championship in Atlanta and the U.S. Junior Nationals in Washington, D.C. The team also included Emilee Dunton (Brookville), Kirby Burkholder (Turner Ashby) and Christina Phelps (Heritage).

Hairston leaves Salem

Jerome Hairston, a member of the Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore boys basketball team last winter for Salem, has enrolled at North Cross for the 2009-10 school year, North Cross officials said. Hairston averaged 11.6 points per game last year for Salem.

Craig County hires coach

Craig County's new boys basketball coach is 23-year-old C.J. Crowder, a 2003 graduate of the school who once played on a Rockets team that ended a 72-game losing streak.

Crowder replaced Mark Wayne, whose lone year on the job produced a 4-18 record and eight losses by at least 40 points at Timesland's second-smallest public school.

Crowder, a UVa-Wise graduate who teaches at Craig County Middle School, was the Rockets' JV coach last year.

"We're looking to pull up a few kids we didn't have last year," Crowder said.

New PH staff firmed up

First-year head coach Brad Bradley's varsity football coaching staff at Patrick Henry this fall will include a former Timesland head coach, an ex-Division I player and one former member of Bradley's staff at William Campbell.

Former Lord Botetourt head coach Tony Hart (quarterbacks) will be on the PH staff along with ex-Glenvar and Ohio University star Anthony Hackett (wide receivers).

Coming to PH from William Campbell is John Earich (offensive line), who also will serve as the co-offensive coordinator and associate head coach.

Former Salem player Derek Sower and Stuart Belizaire (backs) are also new to the staff along with volunteer coach and ex-Lord Botetourt player Will Blaylock. Belizaire taught at PH last year but did not coach.

The lone holdovers from former PH coach Bob Gray's 2008 staff are Jay Phares and Brandon Kelley, who will be the Patriots' JV coach.

Bradley's father, former Grundy and Lexington head coach Larry Bradley, will run PH's middle school program.