Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 6, 1990 TAG: 9003061785
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Yeah, great, but how's the foot?
The answer is less than thrilling for Hokies fans.
"We'll see on Thursday," said Coles, who has been on crutches since spraining his left foot Saturday in the second half of Tech's game against Memphis State.
On Saturday, the injury was not deemed serious enough to jeopardize Coles' availability for Tech's Metro Tournament opener Thursday against Southern Mississippi. But Coles said his foot is "real tender," and said Tech team doctor Duane Lagan cautioned him about playing and prolonging the injury.
"He knows I'm going to insist on playing, but he said, `You don't need to ruin anything,' " Coles said. "I'm going to think about it before I really play. But I'd hate to miss a game like this, and the other guys on the team will think I didn't really care about it."
Lagan said Coles won't suffer permanent damage if he plays Thursday. But Coles said his quickness and leaping ability likely will be affected.
X-rays of the foot taken Monday did not show any break, and Lagan said he'll wait until Thursday afternoon to decide whether to clear Coles to play. Tech and Southern Miss tip off at about 10:15 p.m. in Biloxi, Miss.
"I would hope for him to be at at least 80-90 percent efficiency," said coach Frankie Allen, who is hoping Tech can win its first tournament game since 1984. "I haven't panicked yet."
Coles, the 1987-88 Metro co-player of the year, was named to the first team Monday for the third straight year. He joined Southern Mississippi forward Clarence Weatherspoon, Louisville center Felton Spencer, Cincinnati forward Louis Banks and Louisville guard LaBradford Smith as all-conference picks. Named to the second team were Memphis State guard Elliot Perry, Southern Mississippi guard Darrin Chancellor, Cincinnati guard Andre Tate, Tulane freshman forward Anthony Reed and Florida State forward Irving Thomas.
"It's good," Coles said of the honor. "I wouldn't have been disappointed if I didn't make it, but I'm happy I did make it."
Somewhat surprisingly, Coles was not a unanimous first-team choice, and he was left off of at least one ballot. Weatherspoon and Spencer were the only players who appeared on all 75 ballots. The teams were selected by 67 members of the Metro Conference Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association, along with the league's eight head coaches. Players received two points for a first-team vote and one point for a second-team vote. Thus, a unanimous first-teamer would have had 150 points.
Coles' point total of 142 trailed Weatherspoon's 148 and Spencer's 145. Banks had 141 points and Smith 88. On the second team, Perry had 85 points, Chancellor 59, Tate 40, Reed 38 and Thomas 36.
"One thing that may have hurt him is somebody may have said, `This guy's on a seventh-place team,' " Allen said of the voting. "I think he's one of the premier players not just in this league but in this country."
The point total didn't concern Coles, who averaged 25.5 points per game while shooting about 40 percent from the field during the regular season.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "I didn't have an outstanding season this year; I can see why I wouldn't be a unanimous choice."
Coles was the only player to repeat as a first-team choice from last season. He joined Tech's Dell Curry, Louisville's Darrell Griffith, Tulane's John "Hot Rod" Williams and Louisville's Pervis Ellison as three-time first-team selections. Two players - Memphis State's Keith Lee (1982-85) and Tech's Dale Solomon (1979-82) - were four-time first-team picks.
"It makes me feel really good," Coles said. "It's a great honor to be up there with them."
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB