THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010620
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 33 lines
Given the amount of emotion he showed Wednesday night, you had to wonder if Old Dominion's Joe Bunn knew he was playing in a summer league game, and not the NCAA tournament. Bunn pumped his fists. He demanded the ball, and scowled when he didn't get it. He did a little trash-talking after his Team Souza squad beat D.J's Records & Tapes 119-114 in a Hampton Roads Pro-Am playoff game at Lake Taylor High.
All this for a summer league game?
``I know it's just a summer league game,'' Bunn said. ``But I've been working on parts of my game I want to improve. To see improvement is really exciting to me.''
Bunn was at his best Wednesday, dropping in a league-high 48 points.
``The shots were going down,'' he said. ``I even hit a three out there.''
Normally, that's foreign territory to the 6-foot-5 Bunn, a low-post workhorse who has a variety of strong moves inside. Buthis summer project has been to expand his shooting range and to develop more moves facing the basket.
He has shown improvement in both areas in the Pro-Am. And he's not ready for summer school to end yet.
``This is the playoffs, and I know once I lose, it's all over,'' he said. ``And that's a great motivator.''
Team Souza, which also got 42 points from former Norfolk State player Darren Sanderlin, will meet A&G Imports tonight at 8:30 p.m. in a semifinal game. A&G advanced by beating Altuf Sportswear 106-84 behind 27 points from West Virginia's Marvin Rodgers.
Central Fidelity will meet Kershner & Hawkins in the other semifinal at 6:30 p.m. by CNB