WHICH HOKIES PLAY AND WHEN? ONLY FOSTER KNOWS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 22, 1993                   TAG: 9301220058
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
WHICH HOKIES PLAY AND WHEN? ONLY FOSTER KNOWS
Fans and other Virginia Tech basketball watchers aren't the only ones kept guessing about who, when and how much the Hokies' players will play.
The players themselves don't know from game to game, because coach Bill Foster doesn't tell them.
"Why should I?" Foster said after Tech's game last week against South Florida. "Who gives a crap about who starts? That's not what it's all about."
Senior Thomas Elliott was benched at Tulane, didn't find out until just before gametime and had season lows in points (seven) and rebounds (two) and a season-high four turnovers.
"It affected me then," Elliott said recently. "It's old news now."
Corey Jackson had been first off the bench most of the season, but he didn't know that he would sit the first 13 minutes of the first half against UNC Charlotte. And Steve Hall said he didn't know he would enter early in the first half against South Florida.
Asked if Foster's unpredictability bothered the players, Hall said: "I'm not going to badmouth Coach. This is his team. He has the right to make any decision he wants to make. My role is to play."
That's how Foster sees it - and has seen it in his 25-plus years as a head coach. He was asked if changing substitution patterns ever leads to clueless players.
"Not if you've got the right kind of attitude. You don't worry about it," he said. "Kids are kids. They're always looking for crutches or excuses. The ones that are tough don't give a crap. The fragile egos or psyches worry about things that don't many any difference."
Foster admitted tough words can't make a player tough. He was asked what could.
"Time cures a lot of problems," he said. "Graduation, new faces."
That answer apparently targeted Tech's upperclassmen, none of whom were recruited by Foster. Freshmen rank third, fourth, fifth and eighth in minutes played this year; last week there were indications from some people close to the team that former coach Frankie Allen's recruits were jealous of the new players' playing time.
Corey Jackson denied there was any tension on the team. On Thursday, freshman Jim Jackson said, "Some players aren't happy, and I can see why," but he said rifts between players haven't developed.
Hall, a senior, was asked if he thought Foster was more committed to his recruits than to the upperclassmen.
"Anything's possible," Hall said. "He's never come right out and said that."
Foster said his substitution patterns depend on how the Hokies' undersized frontcourt matches up. Corey Jackson played 11 minutes against UNCC, a physical team, and 17 minutes against South Florida, where he would be matched up with finesse forward Jesse Salters. Carruth played 12 minutes against UNCC but 22 against South Florida, which started freshman Donzel Rush at center.
"Who can you get away with in the post?" Foster said. "We've got such an odd collection of post guys. We felt like we could use Jimmy a lot. We could play Corey and Thomas some on Salters."
\ HEAVY TANDEM: Jimmy Carruth (6 feet 10, 245 pounds) and Shawn Smith (6-6, 260) finished the South Florida game on the court, the first time they had played together for a long stretch.
"That chemistry is good chemistry," Carruth said. "We're both wide bodies who like to post up. He's a good offensive player, and I like to crash the boards. We can work together real good."
\ ETC: People might have a new name for the Hokies: Bill Foster and the Extremes. Through games of Jan. 17, Tech led the Metro in defensive field-goal percentage (.382) and free-throw percentage (69.9) but was last in scoring offense (72.8 points per game), rebound margin (minus 7.4) and field-goal percentage (40) . . . Carruth led the Metro in blocked shots per game (2.9) through Jan. 17 . . . Three Hokies were among the Metro's top seven free-throw shooters: Shawn Smith (83.3 percent), Jay Purcell (77.8) and Corey Jackson (76.7).

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB