Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411220064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This could be another banner year for Roanoke in men's basketball, too. It's a bit much to expect a repeat of last season's 26-2 record, but although 57 percent of last winter's scoring and minutes played have graduated, it shouldn't be a rebuilding winter, either.
Coach Page Moir's program won its fifth consecutive regular-season tournament on its floor Sunday, outlasting Ferrum 104-90 in the final of the 11th annual Salem Bank & Trust Tip-off.
The Panthers proved a foul isn't necessarily bad, as sending the misfiring Maroons to the stripe almost won the game for the Franklin County visitors. In victory, Roanoke likely learned a lesson.
Roanoke shot a school-record 61 free throws - three shy of the NCAA Division III record - but converted only 37 in a game that included 67 fouls, but had no TV timeouts and still took more than two hours to play. Watching the game was as tough as playing it.
The difference between a 17- and a 21-win team can come at the free-throw line, particularly in a day when shooting percentages are dropping in college hoops. The Maroons also need those one-pointers, because they don't appear to have the perimeter game of a season ago.
Their slender star, Hilliary Scott, is gone. Moir's club lacks the experience of the one that won 22 consecutive games last season, but these Maroons have more versatility, a plus that already has paid off the first two days of the season.
In an opening-round tournament victory over Augsburg, the Maroons had to use a taller and stronger lineup just to survive. Against Ferrum, Roanoke pounded inside for a lead, then went to a quicker lineup to cope with the Panthers' tempo and 3-point shooting.
Roanoke is quicker on the perimeter, with guards Jason Bishop and Akil Stewart. Freshman A.J. Hamlin will get plenty of playing time at the three-spot. At 6 feet 2, he may seem small for a small forward, but then if the opening tournament was an indication, A.J. might stand for Air Jam.
In Bishop, Roanoke has a point man defenses will have to guard. He doesn't yet play with the smarts of graduated career assists leader Dustin Fonder, but unlike Fonder, Bishop will shoot the ball from the perimeter and go past his defender to the hoop.
Inside, Roanoke has more than enough size to cope with most Division III foes, and 6-5 senior Bryant Lee has uncommon quickness in the paint for a player in the NCAA's non-scholarship division.
``I think we can do more things with this team, but it isn't going to play with the poise we had last year,'' Moir said. ``Hopefully, that will change some, in weeks, not months.''
The Maroons also appear to have more than a clue in shot selection and a feel for the game's fundamentals, although getting caught dunking in the pregame warmup for the opener isn't something the school's legendary ``Five Smart Boys'' would have done.
The Maroons also must play better defense than they displayed Sunday, but with more team quickness than they possessed last season, that shouldn't be a huge concern in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Roanoke was picked behind only Hampden-Sydney in the ODAC preseason poll. The Maroons were 17th nationally in another ranking. And with the NCAA Tournament field expanding from 40 to 64 teams in Division III, a 20-victory season would be enough to get Roanoke the 15th NCAA trip in its hoop history.
The ODAC had two bids - Hampden-Sydney won at Roanoke in the round of 32 to end the Maroons' 22-game winning streak - and with the field growing, a third NCAA spot for the Salem-based league isn't out of the question.
It will help that Roanoke continues to step out of its league to play games like the one coming Friday, when Moir's team visits Division I Davidson - last year's Southern Conference tournament runner-up with four starters back.
The Maroons won't win, but they'll get more from the game than a $1,500 guarantee check. Next are four ODAC opponents in a nine-day span.
Then, Roanoke has a 24-day holiday break. That should give the Maroons plenty of time to practice free throws.
by CNB