Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 29, 1992 TAG: 9201290049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: EMORY LENGTH: Long
E&H'S KIRTLEY MAKES CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
Even now, Ross Kirtley doesn't know exactly what inspired him to change his routine. He always could shoot a basketball. He worked very hard at it.But that was the only phase of the game on which he concentrated. While a sleek jump shot may have been good enough in high school, Kirtley realized it wasn't going to be enough at the next level.
So, shortly after arriving at Emory & Henry College in 1989, Kirtley decided to change a few things about himself and his approach to basketball.
"I've always worked hard," said Kirtley, a graduate of Martinsville High School. "I spent a lot of time in the gym working on my shot, but I decided if I was going to [play basketball], I was going to do it right."
Kirtley said his problem was simple. While he had solid skills and good height at 6 feet 5, his 220-plus pounds were too much for him to prosper in the high-intensity system of Wasps coach Bob Johnson.
"I was just a big, round ball," said Kirtley, a junior forward. "I was terrible. I don't even know how I got to college ball. I had 16 percent body fat, which is a lot. I wasn't quick enough or strong enough. I had to lose weight if I was going to play here."
Instead of just shooting around in the gym, Kirtley incorporated daily running and weightlifting into his routine.
In two years, Kirtley dropped his weight to 200 pounds and decreased his body fat to 5 percent. He also improved his upper-body strength, increasing his bench press from 180 pounds to 280.
"I really hit on to something," Kirtley said. "[Working out] makes you feel good. It's enabled me to build strength and stamina."
Consequently, Kirtley now does things he couldn't before.
He still likes the perimeter shot, but Kirtley no longer is only a jump shooter. He's quick enough to take advantage of screens, he can penetrate and he's strong enough to post up when necessary.
"It's like a metamorphosis," said Johnson, in his 12th year at Emory & Henry. "I knew [Kirtley] had a mid-range jump shot, and we thought he had reasonable skills inside, but he never seemed suited to the double-post offense we were running.
"But he changed himself physically. He's made himself into a small forward-type player and is now strong enough to play inside. It was just a question of strength of will from Ross."
This season, Kirtley has emerged as one of the top players in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Going into tonight's game at Roanoke College, he leads the league with a 23.7-point average and is shooting 51.8 percent. He averages 5.6 rebounds, and his 49.5 percent 3-point shooting leads the league.
"[Losing the weight] has allowed me to do things better," said Kirtley, who moved to St. Augustine, Fla., shortly after graduating from Martinsville. "I've improved my play a lot. I just wasn't the player I am now.
"It's just been hard work, and it's paying off. I'm a firm believer that if you work for something hard enough, you can get everything you want."
After averaging 5.8 points per game as a freshman, Kirtley finished second on the team in scoring (13.4) last year while coming off the bench. He set an Emory & Henry record with 61 3-pointers.
This year, with the loss of All-America swingman Leon Hill as well as two other starters, Kirtley was called to play a bigger role. He hasn't disappointed.
"I was expecting to score about 18 points a game," Kirtley said. "It's just seems so much easier to score. I've worked harder this season than I ever have. I know Coach Johnson expected more of me this year, and he yelled at me a couple times early on to let me know.
"I think one thing is I'm a smarter player. I'm moving well without the ball and can read the defense better, so I'm getting open more."
As important as the physical changes were, Kirtley's attitude adjustment was the key.
At Martinsville, Kirtley didn't have the best relationship with longtime Bulldogs coach Husky Hall.
"I thought he was a good coach, but I just didn't get along with him very well," Kirtley said. "I was always in his doghouse."
Hall said he and Kirtley had a running disagreement on what type of role he should play on the team.
"Even as a sophomore, Ross was a big kid," said Hall, who has won more than 500 games in 35 years at Martinsville. "He was the biggest kid we had, and we needed to have him play inside. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to shoot the 3-pointer.
"He wasn't a bad outside shooter, but as a high school coach, we have to play kids where they can help us the most. He was 6-4 in high school; I needed him inside. We had the kids outside. I had to tell [Kirtley] he was going to play the team concept."
Although he suffered through injuries to both ankles, which his weight helped cause, Kirtley scored 172 points in 19 games as a junior at Martinsville. He was third on the team with 256 points in a similar number of games his senior season.
"Ross' attitude was not the best as a freshman," Johnson said, "but he's come a long way personally as far as being a teammate, a team member and a friend. We're obviously happy with what he has done."
Kirtley is one of the Wasps' tri-captains, along with junior guard Jimmy Allen (Northside) and senior forward Rob Graham (Radford). Allen and Derek Elmore, another Northside graduate, are the two returning starters from last year's team that finished 25-5 and earned its second consecutive bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Wasps enter tonight's game 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the ODAC. They are one of three teams at the top of the conference with two league looses.