CHESAPEAKE – The stars are coming out again.

Saturday, June 02, 2001

CHESAPEAKE – The stars are coming out again. A new constellation of stars will be showcasing their talents Friday, June 8, at Chesapeake High School when the fourth annual Ohio-West Virginia All-Star basketball game series tips off.

The girls game begins at 6 p.m. followed by the boys at 8 p.m.

Some outstanding current college players have participated in the previous games and Ohio game director and Chesapeake head coach Norm Persin said this year’s series looks just as promising.

"We’ve had some awful good talent in here in the past and the coaches have worked real hard to get some quality players this year," Persin said. "We get some good local players, too. This should be a very competitive game and the fans will get their money’s worth."

Local players are Chesapeake’s 6-foot-6 All-Ohio center Anthony Delimpo on the boys team and Ironton’s 5-10 All-Ohio guard Jessica Ensor on the girls squad.

Delimpo, who average 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds a game in leading the Panthers to the regional semifinals, has signed with Mt. Vernon College. Ensor, who average 19 points and 10 rebounds a game despite playing guard, is headed for the University of Central Florida.

The Ohio boys team will include (player, school, height, college):

Benji Hall, Ontario, 6-1, Mt. Vernon; Derek Fey, Willard, 6-6, Ashland; Donny Horace, Cin. Western Hills, 6-6, Miami; Damon Francis, Springboro, 6-2, Cincinnati State; Malcom Andrews, Western Hills, 5-9, Wright State; Bryan Hipsher, Akron Hoban, 6-3, Arkon; Kevin Martin, Zanesville, 6-5, Western Carolina; Tony Basalla, Euclid, 6-6, Mt. Union; Eric Smith, Glenville, 5-10, undecided.

Coaches are Joe Balogh of Ontario and Jack Greathouse of Lancaster.

The Ohio girls team consists of:

Kristal Tharp, Zane Trace, 5-11, Liberty; Jenni Bush, Alexander, 5-8, Ohio U.; Milissa Burke, Grove City, 5-10, Ohio U.; Leslie Kimble, Garaway, 5-8, Muskingum; Anetra Williams, Lorain Admiral King, 5-11, Cleveland State; Allison Bennett, Kenton Ridge, 5-9, Buffalo; Sarah Smith, Unioto, 5-11, Capital; Jenny Fruth, Holgate, 5-11, Ohio Northern; Elizabeth Burrows, Eastern Brown, 5-10, Northern Kentucky.

Coaches are Bruce Scholosser of Holgate and Dan Doseck of Alexander.

Some past stars in the series are Marshall’s Tamar Slay, Xavier’s Roman Sato, South Carolina’s Jamel Bradley, Marquette’ David Diggs, West Virginia’s Josh Yeager, Kentucky’s Eric Daniels, Virginia Tech’s Chris Exilus, Florida’s Brett Nelson, and football stars Tony Fisher of Notre Dame and Darrid Scott of Ohio State.

The Ohio boys lead the series 5-1 while the Ohio girls are unbeaten in six games.

Two games are played Friday at Chesapeake and two more Saturday in Charleston, W.Va.