Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 1, 1994 TAG: 9403010118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He's the one barking encouragement, giving high-fives and consulting with breathless players who've just sat down.
He's the one still wearing his warmup t-shirt with the team's "Refuse to Lose" motto on the back (although it would be a good bet there's an article of clothing underneath endorsing College of the Holy Cross basketball).
Blaney is one of six seniors on a Maroon team preparing for its opening game of the NCAA Division III national tournament on Saturday and his role is distinct: motivator.
"I've established my spot on this team and the players respect my part," said Blaney, who has been slowed by a back injury suffered in the summer of 1992. "It's not playing, it's leading the team off the court and in practice, preparing them because they're the ones playing. And I think I've done a pretty good job at that."
But it isn't what Blaney dreamed about while growing up in Holden, Mass., the son of Holy Cross head basketball coach George Blaney.
"From the time he was born through high school age, [Brian] was exposed to great young people," said George Blaney, who is in his 22nd year at Holy Cross. "And he was always around. I think he probably understood the game better than he understood his own game."
It's all familiar territory for Roanoke coach Page Moir, who grew up in gyms at Roanoke, Tulane and Virginia Tech where his father, Charlie, coached basketball. Moir was in a similar role as a player on the Tech teams his father coached from 1979-83.
"I think Brian was put in the role because of an injury," Moir said. "I was in that role at Virginia Tech, because that's how good I was. And I think the players look to Brian and say, `Hey, this guy's working his butt off trying to make everyone else better and giving it his all.' He's not getting the rewards . . . and that motivates those guys to do better."
Blaney is averaging 2.1 points and four minutes per game this season. Senior point guard Dustin Fonder, who has been Blaney's roommate for three years, said what Blaney hasn't been able to give the team physically, he makes up for with his knowledge of the game.
"He's very well respected because, one, he knows the game, but two, because you know he's grown up around the game and he's got a better background than a lot of us," Fonder said. "He's always throwing out a pointer here and there to everybody. It's kind of like having another assistant coach."
It wasn't until last year that Blaney started seriously considering getting into coaching when he graduates from Roanoke in May with a degree in sociology.
Blaney was still unsure about it at the start of this season. Then, a few months ago, something clicked and Blaney approached Moir with the idea.
"He already thinks like a coach in a lot of ways," Moir said. " . . I think he's far and above as far as thinking like a coach and knowing what to do. Growing up in a coaching family, you grow up around people and learn the skills you need to be a good coach.
"I've tried to give him some direction as far as what he needs to do. Brian is in a situation like myself where we have some advantage being a coach's son. . . . I've tried to push him toward using the contacts that he already has, all the coaches he already knows because of his father."
George Blaney, who is the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said his first reaction was to try and talk his son out of the idea.
"A lot of times, kids think of it as an extension of the game," the coach said. "They have to get it out of their system, because playing is not like coaching. So, I really try to make it hard on them.
"But Brian stayed persistent. . . . It finally started to sink in that this is really what he wants to do. And when he couldn't play [because of the injury] is when he found out that he really did love the game. And that was a good sign."
Blaney said he was hesitant at first about using his dad's contacts to find an assistant or graduate assistant coaching job. But Moir has changed his thinking.
"I never was a kid to say, yeah, I'm Brian Blaney, I'm George Blaney's son. Even when I was a kid at camps that's how I tried to perceive myself," he said. "As a player, that was fine, but as a kid trying to go into the coaching profession, now it is OK to be George Blaney's son. And Coach Moir, he's letting me know that it's all right to do that."
George Blaney said he saw nothing wrong with taking advantage of what was already established.
"[Brian] will have a name that is very recognizable. What he does with that is up to him," he said. "I hope some doors will open because of his name."
Brian Blaney is aware that his days as a college basketball player are numbered and he speaks about it with sadness.
But the melancholy doesn't stem from realizing his career is ending. As far as Blaney is concerned, it never really got started.
"My whole college career has been a big disappointment, playing-wise," he said. "Being part of the team has kept my sanity, basically. I was just developing a terrific work ethic [when he was injured] and the guys around here know that. They know I could have been better if I didn't have a chronic back problem.
"They respect what I'm saying and that's what has kept me on this team. They understand my situation and where I come from. I really get the impression that they do respect me and that means more to me than anything from these guys."
by CNB