Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 10, 1993 TAG: 9303100042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
RADFORD SEASON PUZZLES COACH
Radford University's two-game basketball fizzle in the Big South Conference men's tournament last week was a photocopy of much of what has preceded it this season.At the tournament, Radford played hard and with heart and smarts in defeating favored Liberty in the quarterfinals, then fell flat as a punctured souffle in losing to Winthrop the next round.
One game, Radford looked as though it was going to win the conference. The next, you wondered if it would ever win another game.
What's the deal?
"It was like I never figured them out," Radford coach Ron Bradley said. "They were always a riddle to me in almost everything."
As illustrated by the 15-16 final record, it was a never-to-be-solved riddle.
"People ask me, `Did this team underachieve?' " Bradley said. "If I said that, then it would be putting the blame on the players. It was my fault."
Bradley identified a couple of critical problems:
\ Talent evaluation - "I think I miscalculated what the team could do, especially defensively," Bradley said.
The truth was, the Highlanders weren't as quick of foot as they needed to be to play the full-court defensive style Bradley favored. Eventually, the team pulled back into more of a half-court scheme, to its advantage. By that time, though, it was too late.
"Maybe toward the end of the year we were getting around to being the type of defensive team I thought we should be," he said.
\ The schedule - "The schedule was just too much this year," Bradley said. "We were on the road too much, and that tended to hurt the team's confidence. This team had a fragile confidence."
The Highlanders played at Wake Forest, at Virginia, at Tennessee, at Western Kentucky and at the San Juan Shootout tournament in Puerto Rico, where the first-round opponent was Southern Illinois.
Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois were their conferences' champions. Wake Forest and Virginia are from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Tennessee from the Southeastern Conference, two of the nation's strongest leagues. Wake Forest and Virginia are Top 25 teams.
The schedule next year figures to be more to Radford's liking. For one thing, the Big South expands again next year (the new member is North Carolina-Greensboro), and each team will play 18 league games out of a 26-game limit.
Radford will go to Louisiana State, VMI and Virginia Commonwealth and will play host to Richmond and George Mason.
"That's who we should be playing," Bradley said. "We can cultivate some rivalries and make some money."
The Highlanders also will be playing in what figures to be a much more balanced conference. The Big South loses some of the greatest players in its history, including four-time MVP Tony Dunkin of Coastal Carolina.
Another departure will Radford's Doug Day, the all-time NCAA leader in 3-point field goals made (401) and leading scorer in Radford history (2,027 points). Day received his share of criticism during his career for his supposed deficiencies, particularly his inconsistency.
"What's important is what he's done for the team," Bradley said. "Radford won 20 games twice while he was here plus won a regular-season conference championship, which it had never done before."
Also checking out of the program are point guard Brian Schmall and forward Tom Gallaher. Schmall leaves with a conference-record 563 assists. Gallaher was a steady offensive player who got better every year he was at Radford.
The team that is left figures to be built around forward Don Burgess, Radford's second-leading scorer at 14.5 points per game.
"Burgess is the only returning player who is going to be guaranteed anything," Bradley said.
Six-foot-6 Eric Bowens, a freshman, and 6-5 sophomore Chris Harvey, who had 16 starts between them, figure prominently in any Radford plans next year. Ditto for sophomores-to-be Johnny Watkins and Jason Lansdown, a point guard and wing guard respectively.
Also, 6-7 senior Tyrone Travis will be a factor. How much of one will be up to him.
"Tyrone is going to have to earn back his starting position," Bradley said. "I don't think he had the kind of year that guaranteed him anything."
Still, Travis wasn't bad. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game to go with a team-high 60 assists for the season.
Travis could combine with rising junior Antoine Dalton and 6-10 Jon Hunter, a transfer from James Madison, to give Radford one of its better inside rotations in years. Dalton fell in and out of favor during the year but was being used increasingly in later games for defense and rebounding. Hunter is said to be a skilled player who needs to develop his strength.
The guards will be deep. Radford is high on junior college transfer Damian Ingram and 6-3 Anthony Walker from Hargrave Military Academy, a player known in the trade as a "pure" point guard. Another transfer, Shane Weddle, also will be ready; he's a 6-3 guard and a talented outside shooter.
"I'm looking forward to Nov. 1 [the opening day of practice next season], I really am," Bradley said. "I think this next group will better be able to go back to what I want to do."