Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060219
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HOKIES' ORDINANCE: ZONE CAVS
Bill Foster added a new chapter to Virginia Tech basketball history and nearly gave Virginia the boot.The Hokies, loyal to the man-to-man defense during the days of Charlie Moir and Frankie Allen, rarely came out of their 2-3 zone in the last 30 minutes Wednesday, taking the Cavaliers into double overtime before losing 61-57 at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Asked if he realized how weird it would be for Tech fans to see their team zoning, Foster smiled wryly and said: "Nah, not really."
Foster is a practical man. Although Tech's previous coaching staff recruited athletic types in part to play pressuring man-to-man, common sense led the first-year Tech coach to a simple conclusion: Virginia had had trouble against zones, so . . .
"It seemed like it'd be dumb not to play it," Foster said. "We told the players we'd stay with it as long as it was good to us."
Virginia's 33 percent field-goal shooting was enough reward for the Hokies, who, late in the game, looked as if they were doing jumping jacks while waiting for the Cavaliers to come downcourt. And, as Foster noted, Tech outrebounded UVa 46-36 - an oddity because players in zone defenses normally sacrifice rebounding position.
Tech's John Rivers, who has been around longer than any current Hokie, was schooled in man-to-man by Allen's staff and had played stiff one-on-one defense several times this year against opponents' top scorers.
He loved the zone. And he got a career-high tying 16 rebounds, 10 on defense.
"I look at it as being relief for the players," said Rivers, one of only seven Hokies who play regularly. "Zone is a whole lot easier to play than man-to-man. It's definitely a good break."
Foster said Tech chose the zone in part because it had no one to guard UVa's Bryant Stith. Rivers was the top candidate, but he isn't used to playing on the perimeter.
In the end, it was Stith who beat the zone and Tech. With the score 50-50 in the second overtime, Stith hit a 3-pointer from the right wing. On the next trip down, Tech's Jay Purcell, covering UVa's left-wing area, was picked. Stith was open, and it was 56-50, UVa, with two minutes left.
The picks on Tech's out-front defenders were nothing new.
"He just went a little farther out," Foster said of Stith. "It got to the point where he said, `I've got to get this thing done.' "
To that point, Rivers and fellow senior Erik Wilson had carried the Hokies. Rivers' 15-footer gave Tech its first lead in the second half, 28-26 with 11:36 left. Another hanging jumper by Rivers gave Tech another lead, 30-29 with 10:48 to go.
Rivers sent the game into its first extra period when he hit a right-baseline jumper with two seconds on the shot clock and 36 seconds left in regulation.
Rivers entered the game having made 12 of his past 31 field-goal attempts (39 percent). He shot 7-of-13 Wednesday night and finished with his 36th career double-double.
Rivers said he benefited from Foster's order to the Hokies: Quit being a perimeter team.
"Previously, I was just kind of hesitant to take a shot," Rivers said. "If it's going to go in, I'm going to keep shooting it. They tell me, `Go ahead and take the 10-foot jumper.' "
Wilson hit a hook shot and two free throws in the first overtime to put Tech ahead 48-46 with 56 seconds left. He and Rivers faded in the second overtime .
Memo: a different version of this story ran in the New River Valley edition.