THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 TAG: 9701290644
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 76 lines
The view from the bottom of the Colonial Athletic Association is not bad these days.
After all, it's just a short trip to the top.
Like crabs in a bucket trying to climb to the top, CAA men's basketball teams keep pulling each other down into the pack. Seven of the nine teams have reached the conference midway point, and all nine are separated by just two games in the standings.
``You tell your guys, `Hey fellas, you work your tails off and have a good week this week, and next week we'll be in first place,' '' American coach Chris Knoche said.
It's pretty simple heading into tonight's games: In the CAA you are either tied for first, tied for fifth or tied for seventh. Four teams are 5-3 (East Carolina, Old Dominion, James Madison and UNC Wilmington), two are 3-4 (American and William and Mary) and three are 3-5 (George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond).
``I thought at the start of the year that one through seven, anyone could win the thing,'' Virginia Commonwealth coach Sonny Smith said. ``I miscounted.''
What everyone counted on at the beginning of the season was the Rams would have a good shot to repeat as CAA champions, but Old Dominion would provide a stiff challenge. But at the midway point, both are struggling.
The Rams have played most of the conference without center George Byrd and without a home - the Richmond Coliseum was out of commission a couple of weeks after a fire at a concert. The Rams have been a flameout as well and are tied for last place.
``Certainly VCU being in the position that they're in is a surprise,'' ODU coach Jeff Capel said.
But Smith prefers to take the sunny outlook: The Rams aren't that far out of first.
``It could have been a disaster at this point,'' Smith said. ``But the parity in the league has put it in a situation where we're still in it.''
The Monarchs have played like they're mentally out of it sometimes recently. But despite losing two in a row and three of their last four, they are still tied for first place heading into today's 7 p.m. game at East Carolina.
``We've been in a little slump lately from the defensive end of the floor, because that's where everything starts for us,'' Capel said. ``I think our team has taken defense for granted and not concentrated on little things that made our defense effective.''
Like ODU, East Carolina has lost two in a row. James Madison followed a blowout win over the Monarchs on Saturday that propelled the Dukes into first place with a 10-point loss Monday at Richmond, which was alone in last place before the game.
The hottest team in the league is UNC Wilmington, winners of four in a row. In the preseason, the Seahawks were picked to finish sixth, having lost their two imposing post players from a year ago.
``We're a team that's probably a little bit surprising to other people,'' said UNC Wilmington coach Jerry Wainwright, admittedly surprised himself.
No dominant team has emerged halfway through the season, but also no team can be considered the dregs of the conference. The five teams with three conference wins all have beaten at least one of the teams with five victories.
With the parity, there may be no such thing as a surprise come CAA tournament time Feb. 28-March 3 in Richmond.
``The tournament is going to be extremely interesting,'' Richmond coach Bill Dooley said. ``From now until that time it's a matter of trying to give yourself the best position possible going into the tournament.
``I think the teams are probably a little more even with each other than maybe people perceived. I think you can still say ODU and East Carolina are the teams to beat, but they're beatable teams.'' ILLUSTRATION: CAA STANDINGS
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