THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408130149
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NICE, FRANCE LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
It was an unusual greeting.
Bill Wall, the Old Dominion basketball team's guide on its trip to France, met the Monarchs in the baggage claim area after they landed in Nice Friday and pulled a wad of tissues out of his pocket.
``These will save your (butt),'' said Wall, who served as executive director of USA Basketball from 1974-92. ``Most restaurants don't have toilet paper. Don't drink the water - if you get the trots, you're in trouble.
``Welcome to Europe.''
And so it went for the Monarchs on their first day as strangers in a strange land. They endured 16 hours of travel time spread over three flights and two layovers, they struggled to communicate with the French people and adapted to accommodations that fell short of expectations.
Way short, for guys like 6-foot-8 David Harvey. The Monarchs checked into their spartan hotel and found dinky rooms, hand-held shower heads but no shower curtains and beds that appeared smaller than the standard twin size back home.
``That bed will come down to my ankles probably,'' Harvey said. ``I was expecting a hotel that was a lot bigger and a lot fancier.''
Derrick Parker, 6-9, piped in: ``It looks like that hotel was made for midgets - the chair was small, the bed was small and the room was small.''
Old Dominion coach Jeff Capel knows that in one sense, the bigger the problems, the better. This trip is about new coaches and players getting to know each other, and developing team unity and togetherness.
You want togetherness? Put a couple of 6-8 guys in a crackerbox room. Or watch each other attempt to communicate with someone who doesn't speak your language.
Harvey provided a good laugh for the team Friday during lunch at the hotel when he tried to ask a Frenchman about the possibility of getting bottled water to take up to his room. He pointed to a bottle of water and then up to the sky. The guy thought Harvey was talking about rain.
Capel he said he learned the value of shared experiences in the Army, where he was told if hardship doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger.
Capel got along a bit stronger with the players on the first day of the expedition. In the airport a bus driver held up a sign ``Win basket club.'' When he saw the Monarchs, he could tell they were a basketball team, but he did not know English. Capel tried to figure out if the Monarchs were the ``Win basket club'' the driver was looking for.
``Shoot, I don't know,'' Capel said after a few minutes of pointless attempted conversation.
Shortly after settling into his hotel room, Capel attempted to return to the lobby. The elevator doors were stuck open. He asked the maid for help. She couldn't understand him. He chuckled and took the stairs down four flights.
When Wall instructed the players not to brush their teeth with tap water because they would risk getting ill from the water, Capel shook his head and muttered ``Dang.''
``Hell, we're ready to go back to Norfolk,'' Capel said with a laugh. ``. . attention in French class.''
The Monarchs had no attention lapses during a late-afternoon site-seeing trip to Cannes. Cannes is one of the Riviera's premier resort spots and is renowned for its sophisticated clientele and topless beaches.
Today ODU turns its attention to basketball. The Monarchs play the first game of what, because of scheduling changes, will be a five-game tour. ODU faces Antibes, which Capel discovered Friday is one of the best club teams in France. Former Notre Dame All-American and Los Angeles Lakers first-round draft pick David Rivers is the team's star.
The Monarchs practiced 75 minutes Friday at the Espace Piscine Arena, where tonight's game will be played. They covered some of the differences between U.S. college rules and the international rules under which they will play on this trip.
For example: a defender may be called for a technical if he waves his hand in front of the face of a ballhandler; only the coach can call a timeout; the ball is fair game even when it's within the cylinder.
For ODU those are just a few more of the many things to which they must adapt.
Welcome to Europe. ILLUSTRATION: Map
by CNB