Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 22, 1993 TAG: 9311220008
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Cost-of-living increases don't always keep pace with inflation, but Virginia Tech's basketball team is hoping for a better standard of living this season.
The Hokies have gotten deeper and more talented, but so has the Metro Conference - and Tech's schedule is stronger than it was last season, when Bill Foster's second edition finished 10-18.
"There's no question our schedule's a lot tougher in the conference and out," Foster said.
"That's OK, because I think we're better at every position."
That's not necessarily coaches' fluff. Tech's three-guard rotation features improving senior Jay Purcell and two sophomores, Shawn Good and Damon Watlington, who were erratic as freshmen. Two other sophomores - forwards Shawn Smith and Jim Jackson - have a year's experience. And Tech adds two athletic second-year freshmen, forwards Ace Custis and Delwyn Dillard, who could fill scoring and rebounding gaps.
Foster says 6-foot-10 center Jimmy Carruth has gotten better as a senior, and his backup is another sophomore, 6-8 Travis Jackson, who added more than 10 pounds in the off-season.
The Hokies' coach is a chronic optimist, but even his forecast hasn't been brighter as he enters his third season at Tech. The Hokies just signed point guard Myron Guillory, their highest-rated recruit under Foster, and the 26-year coaching veteran is ready to turn the page.
"The next thing we've got to do is win," he said. "That'll open a lot of doors for us.
"We need to put a product on the floor this year that gets us on the plus side. . . . I feel good about where we are."
Check with him in, say, early February. Tech hasn't had a winning season since 1987-88, and in the past five season, mid-year losing streaks have sent the Hokies plummeting out of sight. Last season, Tech was 6-4 before losing 14 of its last 18 games, including a 1-9 stretch from Feb. 4 to March 6.
Seven of those 10 losses were against Metro teams, including lowly South Florida, and the Hokies even lost at home to unknown Florida International.
This season, Xavier, East Tennessee State, Tennessee and Marquette are among Tech's non-conference opponents - and for a reason, Foster said. The NCAA men's Division I basketball committee, which selects at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament, is considering changing the way it looks at a team's schedule.
Committee member Ralph McFillen, the Metro's commissioner, said more weight may be given to opponents' won-lost records, and more importance may be attached to games played against higher-ranked foes. For example, in terms of the ratings-percentage index, a team such as Tech might be better off losing on the road at Xavier than winning at home against Morgan State.
McFillen said the committee will decide whether to make those changes late this month at its meeting in Seattle. Foster is convinced they're coming.
"A winning season has to be our first goal," Foster said. "If we do that with the schedule we've got, I think we've got a chance for the playoffs.
"[If your] conference is middle-of-the-pack, if you're playing a bunch of bowwows, you're not going anywhere with 18 or 19 wins. I can see a lot of teams in a given year going 14-14, 15-13 in high-profile leagues getting a bid."
A logical step for the Hokies would be winning 15 or 16 games and hoping for a National Invitation Tournament bid. But, as Foster said, there are "a lot of obstacles" in the way. Among them:
Scoring. Tech hasn't shot better than 44 percent from the field in a season since it shot 44.4 in 1987-88, and the Hokies have averaged 65 and 67 points per game, respectively, in Foster's first two seasons. The Hokies want to run more, and Foster hopes they get more patient in their half-court set. One new wrinkle: Foster said the Hokies may run some plays for Purcell, who says he shot "300-some" jumpers a day most of the off-season and says his offense has improved "like, 110 percent."
Rebounding. Tech averaged 34.6 rebounds per game last season, the lowest number for a Hokies team since the 1983-84 squad averaged 32. This is where Custis comes in. "I keep forgetting he's a freshman," Foster said. "He has these little spurts two or three times a game that make you smile."
Depth. Either Travis Jackson or bulky freshman Brandon Price must produce behind Carruth at center. At the moment, Tech is thin behind Jim Jackson at small forward. In Tech's first exhibition game, Foster played fifth-year seniors Don Corker and Corey Jackson and freshman Dillard there, in that order. Corker and Jackson have had inconsistent careers, and Foster was amazed that Dillard played only 11 minutes in the exhibition but took more shots (11) than any Hokie.
Foster hopes all the questions are answered in time to allow Tech to end its sub-.500 streak.
"This is the year to turn the corner and have a winning year," he said.
by CNB