THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 21, 1995 TAG: 9511200139
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: College Preview Basketball
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
If Ace Custis, star forward and marketing major at Virginia Tech, had to devise a selling strategy for this year's Hokie basketball team, it would go something like this:
``I'd tell everyone when you come to see Virginia Tech play, you're not coming to see any All-Americans, you're just coming to see 15 guys out on the floor, giving 100 percent on every play.''
Hmmm. Probably not what the boys at Nike would have come up with, but it does ring true. This year's Hokies squad figures to be very deep, and fairly anonymous. The rock-solid Custis, one of the nation's lesser-known good players, is the closest thing Tech has to a marquee name.
But that's not to say Tech won't be very good. The Hokies are in nearly everyone's preseason top 25, and with everyone back from an NIT championship team, plus a handful of talented newcomers, that seems a fair designation.
Coach Bill Foster, beginning his fifth year in Blacksburg, certainly isn't recoiling from those expectations.
``It's a good motivator for the young men,'' Foster said. ``I'd rather be there, defending my turf, then the other way around.''
Tech's motivating goals this year are to win the Atlantic 10, its new conference, and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1986.
Many Hokie fans felt Tech should have received an NCAA bid last year, after finishing the regular season with a 20-10 record. Tech didn't get one, but made a two-week run through the NIT that culminated with the Hokies cutting down the nets in Madison Square Garden.
In retrospect, the NCAA snub was the best thing that could have happened to the young Hokies, Foster said.
``I don't see how we could have gotten the exposure in the NCAA that we did by winning the NIT,'' Foster said. ``There were just a ton of positives that came out of that experience. It was a great confidence booster, we finished the season on a positive note. As a result, everyone worked that much harder in the offseason.''
All five starters and the top two reserves are back from the NIT title team. Swingman Jim Jackson, who was a starter two years ago before missing last season with a back injury, also returns. Troy Manns, a transfer from George Mason who was that team's starting point guard, also joins the fold. Two freshmen, Andre Ray and Alvaro Tor, are expected to contribute right away.
It's a much different scenario than last year, when Tech barely had enough bodies to hold a decent practice.
``Now practice is so competitive, the team is improving each day,'' Custis said.
Custis, a tireless inside scorer and rebounder, is the piece Tech will build around. The 6-foot-7 junior, an all-Metro Conference pick last year, is hoping to add a 15-to-18-foot jump shot to his repertoire.
Returning under the basket are 6-8 center Travis Jackson and a slimmed-down, 6-6, 240-pound Shawn Smith, the NIT most valuable player.
Point guard Shawn Good and shooting guard Damon Watlington return in the backcourt, where they'll be joined by Manns.
Foster hopes to use a 10-man rotation. Last year, four starters averaged better than 35 minutes each.
``I think the starters can be more productive in fewer minutes,'' Foster said. ``I like the idea of developing two deep at each position, and now we've got a chance to do that. We've got a lot of interchangeable parts where we can move guys around.''
The Hokies won just 10 games in each of Foster's first two years, but improved to 18 wins in 1993-94 and 25 last year.
``Coach Foster's known for rebuilding programs, and this one is still on the rise,'' Custis said. ILLUSTRATION: [Side Bar]
Hokies at a Glance
For complete listing, see microfilm.
KEYWORDS: SPECIAL SECTION by CNB