THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701180872
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 85 lines
Virginia Commonwealth basketball coach Sonny Smith was driving down the freeway in December when the car in front of him started to turn dark, and the two tail lights suddenly looked like four.
Smith ended up on an operating table that night as a surgeon replaced the artificial lens in his right eye. He's still a few weeks away from a return to normal sight.
His team, meanwhile, is just looking for a return to normalcy.
``I can coach, but I can't see the scoreboard,'' Smith said Friday. ``Maybe that's good. It's a year to not see it.''
The Rams host - well, sort of - Old Dominion at 4:30 today in what was supposed to be a marquee Colonial Athletic Association matchup. The game will be at the University of Richmond's Robins Center instead of VCU's normal home court, the Richmond Coliseum, which has been out of commission since a Jan. 8 electrical fire knocked out power in the building.
VCU's problems go beyond a visually impaired coach and a displaced team. The Rams - the preseason pick to defend their conference championship - are 6-7, 2-2 and in danger of virtually falling out of the CAA race should they lose today to ODU (13-4, 4-1), which is tied with East Carolina for first place.
``We need to get the kinks and chinks worked out,'' said VCU guard Patrick Lee, the team's leading scorer with 16.3 points per game. ``It's been a real tough season for us.''
The Rams' problems started in the summer, when center George Byrd suffered a stress fracture in his leg. He couldn't practice in the preseason and his weight ballooned.
Byrd started the first nine games and was fairly effective considering he had almost no practice time, averaging 11.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. Then he broke his foot Dec. 28 against Wichita State, knocking him out of action until early February.
Without him, the Rams are being ``punished'' in the post, according to Smith.
They start three guards and often go with two 6-foot-7 interior players, junior college transfers Melvin Drake and Torrance Archie. However, 6-9 Mylo Brooks, another JC transfer, has been effective as a starter the last two games. But with Byrd out of the lineup, VCU's top rebounder is the 6-2 Lee with 5.7 per game.
``People realize we miss him (Byrd) and they take advantage of that,'' Lee said.
The Rams have used a three-guard lineup with no guards on the bench. Robert Shelton, a transfer from Ohio State, was supposed to be eligible Dec. 18. But he got a D in a first-semester class and had to make an A on an intercession class before becoming eligible. He made an A and may see his first action of the season today.
The only Ram having a good season is Lee, who ranks among CAA leaders in eight categories. The rest have been inconsistent.
Even Smith missed one game. After the eye surgery Dec. 19 he was not allowed to travel to Alabama, missing a chance to return to the state where he coached Auburn for 11 seasons. He also missed a Christmas gathering with his children and grandchildren in Alabama.
In his 21 years as a head coach, Smith said this year has ranked second in frustration only to his last at Auburn, when he started 7-0 and then had to dump his two best players for rules violations. That team finished 9-19.
``This has been a very discouraging thing,'' Smith said of the Rams' woes. ``You get paralysis by analysis when you get in this situation. You over-react and over-analyze. Probably the best thing to do is just go to practice and go out there and play.
``This year has been like the weather - very unpredictable and it changes every day. We are consistently inconsistent, you don't know who you can count on from day to day.''
When the Coliseum was filled with dust and soot following the transformer fire at a New Edition concert, VCU had to move three home games to the Robins Center, including two with the league's first-place teams. The Rams are expected to be able to return home Jan. 27, their first appearance in the Coliseum in 40 days.
``It's been a real hassle, but we've been dealing with it real well,'' Lee said.
Smith is not conceding anything. Byrd will be back, Shelton is available, power eventually will be restored in the Coliseum.
``You've got the tournament on your floor,'' Smith said. ``Hang on and don't get too down about it and everything will be fine. I think this team has potential to rise up and be something before it's over.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Sonny Smith: ``I can't see the scoreboard. Maybe that's good. It's a
year to not see it.''