Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 13, 1994 TAG: 9404130044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some things, he's figured out - such as that 40 teams rated lower than Tech in USA Today's Sagarin ratings made postseason play (including 23 NIT teams), and that Tech was the only one of the top 80 Sagarin teams that had a winning record but didn't make a postseason tournament.
Foster said he's sending each member of the five-man NIT selection committee a letter with observations about Tech's season, its schedule, its league, power ratings and other notes (including rumors, such as the Big East Conference influence swiped Tech off the board). Foster said he wants answers not only on behalf of this year's players, but to know how to lobby and what to tell players in future years.
"We did everything we knew to do," Foster said.
"I think I'd be remiss in not asking if there's something we didn't do. It's not one of those vindictive type deals."
One league, he said, sent an official to New York to lobby for a league member. To his knowledge, Foster said, the Metro Conference didn't lobby for any of its teams (three made it).
Would a tougher schedule have helped? Who knows?
NIT chairman Jack Powers cited schedule strength as one factor why the NIT chose UNC Charlotte over Tech; UNCC's opponents had a .627 winning percentage, and Tech's had a .480 mark. Still, many believe "quality losses" - losses to highly-ranked opponents - can help a team make postseason.
Foster, however, said he spoke with a member of the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee who said, "Don't believe that. That's stupid." From that, Foster discerns that a too-weak schedule can keep you out of postseason, but a too-tough schedule won't get you in.
"There's no answer," Foster said. "It drives me nuts."
\ OPPONENTS: An NCAA rule change makes it possible that Tech will play an off-the-mainland tournament in '94-95, either in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico, Foster said. Until the rule change, Tech's trip to Europe in the summer of '91 counted against the NCAA's allowance of one overseas trip every four years. Now, Foster said, it "looks promising" that Tech soon will find a spot in a three-game in-season tournament.
With three games left to schedule for '94-95, Foster said he's looking to set up a two-game, home-and-home series with a name opponent "who's attractive," then leave the last spot open "to see who surfaces."
\ PRESCRIPTIONS: Tech assistant coach Bobby Hussey is known for improving players' weak areas. Here are his thoughts for the '94 off-season for some of Tech's returning players:
Metro Conference all-rookie team member Ace Custis: "Gotta get stronger, develop bulk and learn how to run better."
Bulky sixth-man Shawn Smith: "Shawn's got to trim it up some."
Six-foot-eight reserve Travis Jackson, who must contribute to Tech's frontcourt next season: "Get a little more upper-body strength, learn how to use his feet [better]. He's got a nice future. He just got caught up in numbers [in '93-94]."
Reserve guard Damon Watlington, one member of Tech's productive bench: "He has a chance to be a great player here. He plays so hard and doesn't let mistakes bother him. There's an inner element of toughness about him necessary to play at a high level."
Starting point guard Shawn Good, whose numbers are a mystery but whose athletic ability isn't: "[He] just needs to develop that [what Watlington has]. It's hard."
Almost never-used Delwyn Dillard: "He still has an opportunity to step forward and really be a player. He's got great athletic ability."
\ ETC: The contract Foster signed when he became coach in 1991 called for his base salary to increase from $104,738 to $109,974 effective April 1 . . . Forward Dwayne Archbold has undergone surgery to remove a cyst that formed underneath impacted wisdom teeth, the latest in a series of maladies that included a broken finger that caused him to miss most of his senior year in high school and mononucleosis that forced him to sit out much of the '93-94 season. Archbold does not figure prominently in Tech's plans, and Foster said the coaching staff and Archbold are "exploring options" about his basketball future . . . Ace Custis had an enlarged gland surgically removed from his chest, a procedure that won't affect his off-season workouts . . . Forward Jim Jackson is said to be recovering well from back surgery late last season.
by CNB