ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 21, 1996 TAG: 9611210016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
THE MAROONS WELCOME back seven of their top eight scorers as they set their sights on an NCAA Tournament title.
If championships were awarded in the preseason, the Roanoke College men's basketball team would have cut down the nets during its first practice.
If coach of the year awards were based on how many plugs a team gets in the national basketball annuals, Page Moir might have a case for a raise.
If NCAA legislation set limits on praise coaches may heap on a particular team, the sleuths from Overland Park, Kan., would be sniffing around Salem.
In reality and Division III basketball, all the preseason hype creates is expectation.
``I'm excited about it,'' Moir said this week on a walk around his beloved Roanoke campus. ``At this level, you don't feel pressure, as long as you make the effort.
``Money creates pressure. The way Division III works, if you don't make the playoffs, you earn money. You spend more money than you get out of it.''
Moir and the Maroons would be glad to invest the money it takes to play in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, they would prefer to take a bigger budgetary hit than last year, when they reached the final 16 in their own gym.
That's a good possibility with seven of their top eight scorers returning from last season's Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship team. At least six players have shown the potential to light up the scoreboard, led by senior guard Jason Bishop, who is climbing most of Roanoke's career statistical lists. The Maroons are 69-15 with him in the lineup the past three years.
Roanoke has six seniors, all with lots of experience and talent. The Maroons open at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Salem Bank and Trust Tip-Off Tournament against Gallaudet.
``It's a big difference between this year and the year we went 26-2,'' Moir said, recalling his 1993-94 squad. ``The talent levels are similar, but the experience level is so much higher.''
The talented team, which has shown the capability to score against almost anyone, will be asked more often to stop teams from scoring. Roanoke's 1995-96 postseason opponents averaged 86.2 points per game.
``I think if we play defense, we'll be successful regardless of whether the ball drops or not,'' Moir said. ``We got that lesson taught to us by Illinois Wesleyan.''
The Titans lived up to their name in the NCAA's round of 16 against Roanoke last season, scoring 70 points in the first half en route to a 116-88 victory. The Maroons, however, will face similar competition in this year's regular season. Their game at 1996 national semifinalist Franklin & Marshall (Pa.) on Dec.1 has been called the ``best matchup'' in Division III this season by The Sporting News. Roanoke also travels to St.Louis to meet Washington University, which reached the final eight at the Bast Center this year.
``It gives the guys a great opportunity to prepare for anybody they'll see,'' Moir said.
The teams Roanoke will see the most reside in the ODAC. Picked by coaches to finish second in the league behind the Maroons is Bridgewater, which is in a similar situation with four of five starters returning. The best, however, is out until mid-January. Junior guard Craig Tutt, who last season was in the top 10 in the league in five categories, broke his right foot on Monday.
If the Eagles fall, Virginia Wesleyan will be there to swoop right in. The Marlins havefive starters back, four of whom scored in double figures in 1995-96. If they don't work out, coach Terry Butterfield won't worry; he has 19 players on his roster.
Hampden-Sydney isn't receiving the hoopla it got last year, but coach Tony Shaver isn't worried. He is looking for a leader and would be glad if brawny Salem High School graduate Kevin Garst, a sophomore guard, filled the role along with his captains, Elson DeVan and Bryan Sheridan. The massive production that left with graduates Ryan Odom and Nate Schwab could be allayed by an early contribution by freshman forward Jack Jirak.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, but not the standings, is Randolph-Macon. The Yellow Jackets lost their top four scorers from last year, including ODAC player of the year Kurt Axe. However, if sophomore shooting guard Mike LaGuardia returns to his late-freshman season form when he hit 43.7 percent of his 3-pointers, Randolph-Macon won't be hurting.
Bob Johnson knows how Macon coach Hal Nunnally feels. He, too, lost much from his last Emory & Henry unit. ``Things aren't going well right now,'' Johnson said, ``with the exception of our player of the year candidate, Jason Light.'' Light, from Floyd County, is a heavy hitter in the ODAC. He's 173 points away from 1,000 for his career. And he's only a junior.
If any team in the league plays a tougher schedule than Roanoke, it's Lynchburg. The Hornets will face Davidson and three preseason Division III top 10 teams. Coach Joe Davis is glad he has Army veteran and preseason All-American Otis Tucker III on his side.
The most improved team in the ODAC, even if their preseason slot doesn't reflect it, could be Eastern Mennonite. The Royals derive strength from a great trio of Jay Taylor, Troy Gerber and Mike McElroy (Parry McCluer), and welcome former Group AA player of the year Carey Keyes, a transfer from Coker (S.C.) College, to campus this season.
Guilford's hopes rest on the angular shoulders of 6-6 sophomore Tharon Robinson, the 1995-96 ODAC Freshman of the Year. Robinson averaged a team-high 13 points and 7.5 rebounds last season.
Because Cam Dyer, the league's top scorer last season, graduated from Washington and Lee's 3-21 squad of 1995-96, coach Kevin Moore wasn't surprised the Generals were picked to finish last in the league this season. But that doesn't mean W&L has to do what is expected.
``It gives the team motivation,'' he said. ``We can turn a negative into a positive real easy.''
Guard Chris Couzen is a creative player and may be the league's toughest backcourtman. The frontcourt will be young and big. Four freshmen stand 6-6 or taller, highlighted by center Rich Peterson, who already has earned the moniker ``Big Rich,'' not only for his stature but also for his play.
But will anyone in the ODAC be big enough to dethrone Roanoke?
ROANOKE SCHEDULE
NOVEMBER
23-24, Salem Bank & Trust Tip-Off Tournament.
December
1, at Franklin & Marshall, 3 p.m.; 4, Emory & Henry, 7:30 p.m.; 7, Va. Wesleyan, 2 p.m.
JANUARY
4-5, Domino's-Lewis Gale Classic, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.; 8, at Washington University (Mo.), 3 p.m.; 11, at Washington and Lee, 7:30 p.m.; 13, Eastern Mennonite, 7:30 p.m.; 15, Bridgewater, 7:30 p.m.; 18, at Va. Wesleyan, 2 p.m.; 20, Randolph-Macon, 7:30 p.m.; 22, at Guilford, 7:30 p.m.; 25, at Randolph-Macon, 3 p.m.; 29, at Emory & Henry, 7:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY
1, Hampden-Sydney, 2 p.m.; 3, at Lynchburg, 7:30 p.m.; 6, at Bridgewater, 7:30 p.m.; 8, at Hampden-Sydney, 3 p.m.; 10, Lynchburg, 7:30 p.m.; 12, at Eastern Mennonite, 7:30 p.m.; 15, Washington and Lee, 7:30 p.m.; 17, Guilford, 7:30 p.m.; 22-24, ODAC Tournament.
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY\Staff. Kevin Sigafoes (24) and Tim Braun areby CNBtwo seniors expected to be big contributors for Roanoke College this
season.