Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Kayla Osborne's Hidden Valley basketball swan song
Hidden Valley standout Kayla Osborne will play her finale as an all-star.
The Roanoke Times
File February Hidden Valley's Kayla Osborne (center) drives through Salem players last season. Osborne led the Titans in scoring.
The Roanoke Times
File February Kayla Osborne played on Hidden Valley's state championship teams as a freshman and sophomore.
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Kayla Osborne has been playing organized basketball at a high level for such a long time, it's somewhat surprising to learn that tonight will be her finale.
It would seem fitting for some type of Osborne heroics to be in order. During the past four years, dramatic endings for the recent Hidden Valley graduate have become somewhat common.
"Kayla's tenacious," Hidden Valley coach Randy Bush said. "Her intestinal fortitude got us through a lot of close games this year."
Osborne will join the West squad in tonight's Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star game at 6 p.m. at Hampton Coliseum.
Joining Osborne on the West's 12-player team will be two members of William Fleming's basketball team, post player Salesse Stovall and point guard Ti'Asia McGeorge. Another member of the West squad is forward Kirby Burkholder from Turner Ashby, a friend of Osborne from AAU ball.
Unlike Stovall (Marshall), McGeorge (American) and Burkholder (James Madison), Osborne, who turns 19 about the time she enrolls at Virginia Tech next month, decided to forego a college basketball career.
"I'm going to focus on my studies," she said. "I'm planning to major in interior design."
During her four-year career with the Titans, Osborne was an important cog in a very successful program. Hidden Valley captured Group AA titles in Osborne's freshman and sophomore seasons, when her teammates included center Kylee Beecher, guard Abby Oliver and forward Abby Redick, all of whom play Division I basketball. Osborne was a starting sophomore guard on the 2007-08 team.
During the 2008-09 season, without Beecher and Oliver who had graduated, Osborne and Redick led Hidden Valley through another memorable season.
After coach Brenda King was diagnosed with cancer and replaced by Bush, the Titans got off to a rough 5-10 start. But new players learned their roles and Hidden Valley finished with a 12-2 run, making it to the state semifinals. King died the night before Hidden Valley's exit from the state tournament. Bush shared the news with the team immediately afterward.
As one of the team's co-captains, Osborne spoke at King's memorial service a few days later. Osborne said speaking in front of a crowd of approximately 1,200 was not especially intimidating, but by then, performing under pressure had become almost second nature for her.
Last season, Osborne was her best statistically, as she was Hidden Valley's leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points per game, and a strong 3-point shooter. She was voted the River Ridge District player of the year, made first-team all-region and honorable mention all-state.
In spite of Osborne's 24 points, the Titans lost in the Region IV semifinals to Carroll County, 58-56. Hidden Valley finished with another banner season, 18-8, and was particularly effective in the middle of the season, winning 11 games in a row.
In an overtime loss to Franklin County, a Group AAA school, Osborne was fouled at the end of regulation as she attempted a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Osborne calmly drained all three free throws to force the overtime. She scored 25 points in that game.
During her junior year, Osborne went to the line at the end of regulation with her team trailing Northside 49-48. Osborne made both of her foul shots -- and 13 in the game -- to clinch the win.
She credits her father, former Radford High School star Johnny Osborne, for teaching her how to shoot free throws.
Bush, Hidden Valley's fifth coach in the seven-year-old school, has a long history with Osborne. He coached her during recreational basketball almost a decade ago. Tonight, he will join Osborne's parents as they escort her onto the court during pre-game introductions.
Osborne said she has no regrets giving up competitive basketball.
"I want to enjoy college life," she said.
