Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502200067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
``Zone,'' said the Hokies' basketball coach.
Tech sprung a 2-3 on Tulane early in the first half Saturday afternoon. It not only saved the Hokies' weary legs, but also their postseason hopes, as Tech survived in overtime with a 70-66 victory.
``Tulane probably never figured we'd do that,'' Tech guard Shawn Good said. ``Why would they? When did we last play zone?''
In the previous 24 games, ``maybe two, three, four possessions,'' Foster said. ``Not enough that the players would be so sold on what we were doing.''
The last time these Hokies played an appreciable portion of a game in a zone defense was in a first-round game in the 1993 Metro tournament. That also was against Tulane. It also was a victory.
``We zoned after makes and played man-to-man after [field goal] misses,'' Tech assistant coach Chris Ferguson recalled.
And how long has it been since a Foster-coached team played so much zone?
``Probably back when we had F-Troop [a 10-18 team in 1991-92],'' he said. ``We junked it up quite a bit that first year.''
Before the largest crowd of the season at Cassell Coliseum and certainly in one of the more emotional atmospheres in the old arena in years, Tulane was clueless against Tech's zone.
The Green Wave's only offensive-set solution for Tech's defense - unless it found a seam inside to post players Jerald Honeycutt and Rayshard Allen - was a couple of skip passes leading to a 3-point shot.
Tulane was 4-for-21 from behind the arc, which is one reason why the undermanned Hokies got away with only one field goal - Good's 3-pointer to tie the score at 66 in overtime - from its guards in the final 22 minutes.
Foster said he thought the zone helped the Hokies perhaps more emotionally than physically. It was an answer in what could have been a season-ending tailspin, a homecoming bouquet for a tired team that had played seven of its last nine games away from home.
Instead, the Hokies are 18-7 with a winnable visit to VCU scheduled Thursday, then Metro home dates with South Florida and UNC Charlotte sandwiching a Richmond date with Virginia.
``If we had lost today,'' Good said, ``it might have killed us. If that had happened, the only way I think we could have gone to the NCAA was to win the Metro tourney.''
The Hokies probably need not only 20 victories to reach the NCAA's field of 64, but Foster figures that in the Metro, at least a .500 regular-season conference finish is crucial, too.
There's another item to consider as well. It's very possible Tech and Louisville could finish in some combination that leaves them 4-5 in the Metro tournament seeds. The Hokies, who have lost 20 of their last 22 to the Cardinals, could be playing Denny Crum's team in the first round of the last Metro tournament at Freedom Hall.
Tech is 4-5 in the league, and although the Metro is the third-ranked conference in the Ratings Percentage Index, the conference isn't going to get more than four NCAA bids.
In a lame-duck league, it's become every man for himself. Yes, Metro commissioner Ralph McFillen is on the NCAA Basketball Committee that selects the 35 at-large tournament teams and seeds the field, but what kind of influence does he have?
Last year, the Metro was the No.4 conference in the RPI and got only its one automatic NCAA bid. Don't expect anyone from the Metro to be lobbying the NIT for a team five others in the league paid $1.135 million to get lost, either.
``If we had dropped this, we would have had to reach down in the tank a long way,'' Foster said. ``At least we're in a position now to take care of business. We've put ourselves where we want to be.''
Foster has 487 victories in 28 years as a head coach at Shorter, UNCC, Clemson, Miami (Fla.) and Tech. His 1980 Clemson club reached the NCAA regional finals. He's assured of his 23rd season of .500 or better.
Considering the situation in a program he's rebuilding, few of the previous 486 wins have been bigger. The Hokies played with emotion and smarts, but there's little question their Saturday success was rooted on what otherwise is a very short bench.
``Coach Foster gave us something that helped,'' said Tech forward Ace Custis. ``It's his job to make the right call.''
It was the one he made, or 911.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB