B-RadHoops - May 2008May 25, 2008 When I run into friends and fans I am often asked if this is a slower time of the year for college coaches. Sometimes the question is phrased, “so what else do you do besides coach”? As if the time when we are not practicing or playing games is vacation time. Nothing could be farther from the truth. While NCAA rules do not allow us to work with players when school is not in session, there are many things we do this time of year. Recruiting is a major focus for us right now. We are not allowed to go off campus to watch prospects that will play HS or prep ball next year until July when there are a few NCAA defined “evaluation” periods. But we are permitted to talk with prospects and their families, their HS coaches, their summer club team or AAU coaches, and watch video of these players from this past season. And literally thousands of players are competing during the months of May and June in events, so we get scouting reports on their performance and progress from scouting services we subscribe to. We place prospects in three categories. “Hot List” prospects are the players we are extremely interested in and deemed either already worthy of offering a scholarship or at least on our radar screen for an offer pending us getting to know them better. “Evaluation” prospects are players we are aware of but have either not seen or studied sufficiently. They have the potential to play themselves onto the “Hot List” or onto our “NAP” list. NAP is an acronym for “not a prospect”. July is a month full of events, workouts, summer league games, and high profile camps. When that month ends we have a pretty good feel for to whom we are offering scholarships and those are the players we try to have visit our campus in the fall when school is back in session. We like to get the top of our “Hot List” on campus for “official visits” in September or October. If a player commits to making an “official visit” it is a sign they are seriously interested in us because HS and prep school players are only allowed to make five “official visits”. One of the other things we do during the summer is run a few weeks of basketball camp for young players both male and female who want to learn the fundamentals of the game and have fun doing so. The second summer of the Brad Greenberg Highlanders Basketball Camp is expanding to six sessions. From June 17-20 we will have a morning session, an afternoon session and an evening Shooting Stars session. We will have the same programs available August 4-7. This year we will be moving the camp location to the Radford Recreational Center as our home court in the Dedmon Center goes through renovations. We are lucky to have such a beautiful Recreation Center here in our hometown of Radford, and know it will provide us a week full of fun. We encourage any young boys or girls who are between the 1st and 8th grade to sign up for our day sessions. Any boy or girl between the 6th and 12th grade who wants to improve their shooting should consider our evening Shooting Stars session. If you need any more info or have questions about any of our camp sessions you should call the Camp Hotline at 540-831-5125 and ask for Ross Condon. Go Highlanders. Brad May 18, 2008 The majority of our players are in town for summer school and they are also spending four mornings each week pumping iron. The summer is a great time for players to improve their strength. Not necessarily get heavier, but get stronger and more explosive. And for our players, it is a very important time for them to become as close to an “elite” athlete as their training will allow. The summer is also the time for players to work on their games. Not necessarily just “play” as in pickup ball or playground ball. But follow a designed workout to improve fundamentals. Our players know the drills. But since coaches are not allowed to be involved in summer workouts, it is up to the players to have the discipline and commitment with the drills to take a quantum fundamental leap during the summer. We have an experienced group of players who understand the importance of this. When we finalize our non-conference schedule for 2008-2009 this week, I think it might turn out to be the most difficult non-conference slate in Radford history. We just agreed to start a series with Atlantic 10 Conference member Duquesne that will start next season in Radford with us returning the game to Duquesne, in Pittsburgh during the 2009-2010 season. That will give Amir Johnson a chance to play a game during his senior year in his hometown. If at all possible, we will try to play a game close to all our player’s hometowns sometime during their career. However, it might prove impossible for us to accomplish that with Alex Gynes (Nowra-New South Wales Australia), Artsiom Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) and Lazar Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia). It is important for our program and the school to compete against in-state opponents. So we have scheduled Division I non-conference games against Virginia, William & Mary, James Madison and George Mason. In addition we will play West Virginia, Wake Forest, Navy & Duquesne. West Virginia just received a verbal commitment from the best unsigned high school player in the country. New Yorker Devin Ebanks, a 6-8 forward who has spent the last two years at St. Thomas More Prep in Connecticut. He was originally headed to Indiana but asked for and received his release to re-open his recruitment after Hoosier Head Coach Kelvin Sampson moved on. I expect West Virginia to be a pre-season Top 25 team. Wake Forest is also getting early mention as a Top 25 squad. Anyone driving around campus recently should head over the bridge to the athletic complex to take a peek at Dedmon. The roof is down and construction is moving forward. Can’t wait to see the steel arrive that will serve as the support structures for the new roof. Go Highlanders. Brad May 11, 2008 Student-Athletes I am so proud of our team for their academic accomplishments this year. This past semester our spring team GPA was 2.93, with 9 players earning a GPA of at least 3.0 and 7 players with a GPA of at least 3.5! And Phillip Martin established the ultimate bar for our team with a 4.0 in the spring semester to match his 4.0 this past fall. Sportsmanship Last week I forgot to mention that our team received the Big South Men's Basketball Sportsmanship Award. It's very important to me that our team act honorably and that we compete fiercely and spiritedly within the rules. We want our alumni, fans and opponents to respect us for the way we carry ourselves on the court. Our Men's Indoor Track squad was also honored. Congratulations to Coach Brent Chumbley and his athletes. Welcome Taj Last week President Penny Kyle and athletic director Robert Lineburg introduced Tajama Ngongba, a George Washington assistant coach and former WNBA player, as RU's head women's basketball coach. Taj comes from a basketball family. Her brother Faisal Abraham played at Marquette in the mid 90's and I remember watching her father Ralph Abraham play at St. John's for Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca when I was still in HS! Oooops I forgot to include Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Betty Dore when listing the dignitaries in attendance at President Kyle's reception last week for commencement speaker John Feinstein. Sorry. RU Men's Tennis & Softball These two teams have been tremendous this spring. Coach Mike Anderson's men's tennis team made the NCAA tournament but got the worst of the draw, having to match up with #5 ranked Georgia in Athens, where they lost 4-0. Junior Martin Sayer, undefeated this spring, is headed to the NCAA Singles Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma later this month. Coach Mickey Dean's softball squad lost in the Big South tournament but carries 46-15 record and a RPI of 55 as of this writing. By Monday morning we will know if they receive an At-Large invite into the national tournament. Baseball Head Coach and RU alumnus Joe Raccuia’s Highlander baseball team won 2 out of 3 on the road against Winthrop this past weekend and now have 20 wins this season. Way to go Joe. NBA News Two friends of mine just got new gigs in the NBA. I met Mike D'Antoni when he was coaching in Milan, Italy in the early 90's. He first came to the NBA as Denver's Director of Player Personnel in 1997. Mike is one of the most creative offensive coaches in the game today. He is now the coach of the NY Knicks after winning an average of 58 games a year the last four seasons as coach of the Phoenix suns. Rick Carlisle and I worked together one year with the Portland Trail Blazers. I helped Rick connect with PJ Carlesimo after I headed up the Blazer's coaching search for owner Paul Allen that ended with PJ getting his first NBA head spot. Rick is a former UVA player who co-captained the Cavaliers to the Final Four in 1984. This weekend Rick agreed to terms to become the new coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Highlander Hoops The majority of our players are back in town for the beginning of summer school. They will also take this time to work on strength and conditioning. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from training players during the summer. But our guys know what we would like them to work on. And they have a good knowledge of drills they can use to create challenging and meaningful workouts on their own. Go Highlanders Brad May 4, 2008 The Spring Commencement of the 95th Session of Radford University took place on Saturday May 3, 2008 and it was a WOW moment. Moffett Field was a spectacularly beautiful setting. Everyone in attendance had to leave with a greater appreciation for where RU is right now and where we are headed under the leadership of President Penelope Kyle. Bestselling author, political and sports reporter and NPR commentator, John Feinstein delivered an inspiring and entertaining commencement address. John is a longtime friend beginning a book tour for his latest “Living on the Black, Two Teams, One Season to Remember” about major league pitchers Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina. It was great he could make it to Radford to participate in the celebration for the 1,822 graduates and their family and friends. Here’s a link to the Roanoke Times story on commencement and John’s address. http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/160668 On Friday evening, President Kyle hosted a reception and dinner for John at her Hickory Hill home. RU Vice Rector Tom Fraim Jr ’87 and John shared memories of Tom’s Dad’s ACC refereeing exploits. John and RU Board of Visitor member Nancy Artis ’73 and husband Pat also have a mutual friend in famed photographer Rich Clarkson. Others in attendance that evening included Board of Visitor member Mary Ann Hovis, and RU Administrative Officers Dr. Will Stanton-Provost, John Hachtel-VP for University Relations, Danny Kemp-VP for Information Technology, Jo Ann Kiernan-Special Assistant to the President, Dr Norleen Pomerantz-VP for Student Affairs, Catherine Greenberg-Interim VP for University Advancement, Donna VanCleave-VP for Finance and Administration, and Dr. Rick Slavings –Vice Provost. On Thursday afternoon, the New River Boys and Girls Club held a charity golf event and I was fortunate to be teamed with Board of Visitor member Bob Blake. That guy can hit a golf ball! Last week the basketball world lost one of the most remarkable men I have ever met. Will Robinson was the first Black Division I men’s basketball coach. But that accomplishment doesn’t begin to tell the story of how special he was. Here is a link to a Wikipedia site that gives you a brief glimpse into Will’s life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Robinson_%28basketball%29 The Dedmon roof is deflated and this week we will move our offices to a temporary location on campus. It will be fun to watch the construction progress during the next months in anticipation of getting back into Dedmon this fall. New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul had a memorable game 1 of the Western Conference Semis on Saturday evening with 13 assists and just 2 turnovers playing 41 minutes in their 101-82 win over the defending champion Spurs. Our staff will watch this series closely to study the “pick and roll” offensive and defensive tactics employed by the Hornets and Spurs and we will make video edits to help teach our players about these strategies next year. I am working on completing our 2008-09 non-conference schedule and expect to receive a contract to start up a series of games with Navy next year. The series will begin in Annapolis next year. So spread the word to all alums in MD and NOVA. Go Highlanders Brad
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