Going from the Group A Tri-Rivers District to the Southeastern Conference, the top RPI league in women's college basketball, is a quantum leap, to say the least. But Vanderbilt freshman Cherish Stringfield, a 5-foot-7 guard, is handling the transition from country to city (Music City, Nashville, Tenn.) quite nicely. Stringfield, a Sussex Central High alumna from Wakefield, has played every game in the Commodores' 12-1 start, starting three times. She is averaging 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 20 1/2 minutes per game. She also is 13-for-27 (48 percent) from 3-point range. She's making a transition from a memorable high school tenure during which she was first-team all-Region A four times -- including her freshman year, when she attended Surry County High -- and was regional player of the year twice and first-team all-state twice. She also was a National Honor Society member and honor-roll student.

[Howard Brinker] was in the NFL for 26 years as an assistant coach. He was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns' championship teams of 1954, 1955 and 1964, working for both the legendary Paul Brown and Blanton Collier. Brinker worked for the Browns from 1952 to 1973 and with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1974 to 1979.