THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503050214
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Coach Chris Knoche of American University found the answer to his team's early-season problems in the gutter.
Of a bowling alley, that is.
Knoche's Eagles, who take on Old Dominion today at 4 in the CAA semifinals, began the season 0-11. The lost their best player, forward Tim Fudd, to knee surgery. The players were down. The coaches didn't know what to do.
``I remember the turning point of the season came when we were getting ready to play George Mason in a 9:30 game on Home Team Sports,'' Knoche said. ``I know tradition says we are supposed to be sitting in the dark, plotting strategy, dire looks on our faces. But I called the staff into my office and said, `It's time for a road trip.' ''
Knoche and the staff spent the afternoon in a bowling alley in nearby Bethesda, Md.
``It made us a little more loose, and I think that carried over to the team,'' Knoche said. ``We came back and played a good game that night.''
The Eagles beat the Patriots, 108-89, in Fairfax. They finished the conference season with a 7-7 mark.
``Now my guys have been on me,'' he said. ``They say we need to go bowling before every game.''
HARDWOOD PARITY: Knoche said recently that he thought the CAA and college basketball in general were ``down.'' Richmond coach Bill Dooley doesn't agree.
``I don't know if I'd use the term, `down' as opposed to parity,'' he said. ``You can look at several leagues that are similar to ours and there's no dominant team. There's no dominant team in the country. . . .
``It's hard to say who's the best on a national level, at the conference level, too. ODU has done a good job, but they've played a lot of close games.
``Why that is, I don't know. But it makes for good basketball and fun basketball. I don't know if there is anything like a huge upset anymore.''
TO THE (REGULAR-SEASON) VICTOR GO THE SPOILS? Despite the fact that his team made the NCAA tournament last March by virtue of its CAA tournament title, James Madison coach Lefty Driesell is no fan of the automatic bid for the tourney champ.
``I still feel the regular-season champion should get the bid,'' Driesell said. ``I know that they wouldn't do away with the tournament, because I'm told that that's how they finance the league.
``But I thought it was a shame ODU didn't go to the NCAAs last season. They were more deserving than some of those fifth, sixth and seventh-ranked teams from other conferences.''
The Dukes and Monarchs were tied for first at the end of the 1994 regular season. To determine the top seed in last year's tournament, CAA officials flipped a coin.
Driesell didn't say so, but to break a tie he'd probably prefer a play-in game to a coin flip should commissioner Tom Yeager ever agree to give the regular-season champ the NCAA spot.
Old Dominion guard Mike Jones disagreed with Driesell's anti-tournament stance.
``If the regular-season champion went, that would knock out all the other teams,'' he said. ``Now who goes depends on who plays the best the next three days. I like that pressure.
``If you can't come in and get ready to play for the Big Dance, you shouldn't be playing basketball.'' by CNB