Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501240016
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
New coach Chris Carr initiated a 6 a.m. shoot around for players who were in town.
``We'd lift weights and everyone shot three pointers and free throws from 6 to 8:30 a.m. this past summer. For instance, John Finnerty shot 4,500 3-point shots over the course of the summer,'' said Carr.
High scorers Matt Matheny and James Irvin, who averaged 37 points between them a year ago, were part of the early morning contingent. This season, the pair is averaging only 30 points a game between them, but going into exam break this week, the Knights are 3-0 and lead the RVD race by a half-game over William Fleming, whom they play Friday night.
``We're executing and playing a lot better as a team. We're communicating better with each other,'' said Matheny, who still carries a 20.7 scoring average that leads the district in scoring.
Playing hoops so early in the morning this summer wasn't what Irvin wanted to do. He did it anyway.
``I'm not a morning person. I don't really like getting up at all. But you've got to do it if you want to get better. You've got to work,'' he said.
For Irvin, his scoring average won't show how hard he has worked. The 6-foot-3 forward-guard is averaging only 9.4 points a game after he scored at a 15.4 clip last winter.
A bad ankle injury last summer at 5-Star camp in Pittsburgh has slowed Irvin. It's affected his shooting, but not his play. At one point, it wasn't certain he'd play before January, but he hasn't missed a game.
``I came down on someone's foot and completely turned the ankle. They had to put the ankle back in place,'' said Irvin.
It was a badly dislocated ankle. The doctor in Pittsburgh predicted Irvin would be out until midseason. In Roanoke, there was a better prognosis. Irvin wore a cast for a couple of weeks and hobbled back out for the opening of practice.
``It hurts every once in a while if you play. If you sit out, though, it stiffens up,'' said Irvin, who hopes to get a college scholarship possibly at an NAIA school in the Carolinas Conference..
Irvin is making up for lack of scoring in his defense. As one of the taller Knights, he has drawn defensive assignments of either the big man or the leading scorer for Knight opponents.
``He's a more complete player rather than a one-dimensional player because we need that from him,'' said Carr. ``Matt has more ball-handling responsibilities when we're being pressured. Whoever is guarding him, we feel like they can't guard him on the copen floor, plus he's a pretty good passer.''
It wasn't a smooth opening for Cave Spring after the hard work this summer. The Knights lost three of their first four games and then won seven of the next eight including 21-point blowouts of Franklin County in Rocky Mount and Pulaski County at home.
``We started out kind of rough, but every time we play, we get a little better,'' said Matheny.
Actually, the 6-4 Matheny might be giving up a lot to fit into Carr's team mold. He is regarded as a possible candidate to play Division I basketball. So, of course he's thinking of statistics that will impress college coaches.
A scoring average that is slightly down might tend to worry some players, but ``I think I'm better at everything'' Matheny said of his overall game.
"Everyone really worked hard over the summer," he said. "We all have the same goal. We want to make it to the [Northwest] region and win the district.
``It's very hard to put aside recruiting. You try hard not to think about it and finish the season. But, we know what our goals are and that makes it easier and easier because we all want them so badly.''
``Matt has improved his ball handling and his defense. We think he's more of a leader. I know his leadership qualities definitely stood out during the stretch where we won seven of eight,'' said Carr.
The Cave Spring coach also didn't want to have a predictable one-two punch for everyone to concentrate on defensively. ``That would make it easier for other teams to stop us,'' he said.
On different occasions, Cave Spring has had double-figure games from four other players, and Dusty Beekman scored 83 points during the eight- game stretch when the Knights won seven times.
So has Carr stopped at just running a summer sweat shop to help his team win against some good RVD teams?
It hasn't all been drill, drill, drill. Earlier this winter, the team went to Lexington, Ky., and took in the Kentucky-Boston University game. This past week, they went as a team to the middle-school game between Cave Spring and Hidden Valley, the feeder schools for the Knights.
``Everybody went to the locker room to meet the players,'' said Carr. "It was like a bonding experience for us. We are trying to do several things, whether it's shooting pool or going to Kentucky. It's a requirement when Cave Spring and Hidden Valley play that the team go to their games. The philosophy is I want the junior high kids to see they're important to us as is the varsity team.''
by CNB