B-RadHoops - May 2009May 31, 2009
Monday I almost didn’t make it to the French Open. We used metro tickets to pass through turnstiles and entered the subway corridor in search of our train for Roland Garros. On the way to our platform we were stopped by transit police and asked to present our validated metro tickets. We had been throwing them away after entering the subway corridors unaware that we needed to hold onto them. Apparently there are a lot of people who hurdle the barrier into Paris subway corridors. Language barriers created chaos as I thought we were being shaken down when told we were being fined 50 Euro (approximately $75) to continue on. Not the way to start off your day! Live and learn.
We eventually got there and it was a beautiful day. We watched Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the #1 tennis player in the world and Roger Federer of Switzerland, the #2 player in the world. Also saw Andy Roddick, the #6 seed in the event. The very first match we watched was #23 seed Robin Soderling of Sweden on Court #6 of Roland Garros beat an American named Kevin Kim. After the matches a group of us on a suggestion from Tennis Channel commentator and former pro Justin Gimmelstob went to a restaurant on the Champs-Elysee named Entrecote. It’s billed as a “steak and fries” place and is apparently a favorite spot for players in Paris for the Open. 10 minutes after sitting down Robin Soderling walks in with a female companion for dinner. He must have been in a good mood judging from the size of the shopping bag from Dior his friend was carrying. We congratulated him on his win and wished him good luck in the rest of the Open. Sunday he beat Rafael Nadal in the 4th round to end Nadal’s 31 match winning streak at Roland Garros and deny him a shot at a record 5th consecutive Open championship. It must have been the fries!
On Tuesday I lunched with Coleman Collins, the former VT star. Two years ago Coleman played professionally in Germany and last year he was with Ft. Wayne of the NBDL. He has been studying French the past year and wanted to immerse himself in it as part of the learning process. And he keeps up with Radford basketball as a regular B-RadHoops reader!
After lunch it was tourist time again. The Sacre Coeur Catholic basilica built at the end of the 19th century at the top of Montmartre hill is famous for its architecture and spectacular view of Paris. The Eiffel Tower is named after engineer designer Gustave Eiffel. The tallest structure in Paris - 324 meters / 1,063 ft, completed in 1889, has been visited by over 200 million people.
I was also exposed to the world of Hermes courtesy of my traveling companions and might have spent as much time looking at scarves as the Eiffel Tower.
Wednesday’s destination was the Palace of Versailles where Louis XIV oversaw the expansion of one of the largest palaces in the world to be the site where he could organize and completely control the government of France by absolute personal rule. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France from 1682 until the royal family was forced to return to Paris in October of 1789.
I had some marvelous meals from authentic French to Italian to Thai but have decided the next time in Paris I could enjoy and survive no problem on a chocolate filled pastry and coffee in the morning and a variety of baguettes from that point on.
Back in the states on late Thursday I finished off the week helping judge the first New River Valley Chili Festival in Radford on Saturday afternoon. From Paris – the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Roland Garros, the Champs-Elysee to the New River Valley Chili Festival in one week. Variety is the spice of life.
Sunday I was outside my front door and a sad, tired and very wet dog was struggling up the road to my driveway. Obviously frightened and very weak, but with an ID collar, I called Hermione’s owners who came to the rescue. Hermione had been lost for over two days. The owner of Hermione is still looking for their 2nd dog Harry as they both got lost chasing something or someone in their neighborhood near Blacksburg HS. Harry has a collar with contact info. I returned to my house to hug my own pooch Holly. I know dogs are man’s best friend.
Go Highlanders
Brad
P.S. I will be on the road for some visits with alumni groups and friends: June 10 – Bristol, VA June 16 – Roanoke June 24 – Northern VA If interested in attending please call 540-831-5248 for details.
This week May 24, 2009 Paris, France
This week we announced Chris McEachin will not be with us next season. Chris helped us win a number of games last season but I decided it’s in his best interest to try and fulfill his athletic and academic potential at another school. He would have competed for a starting spot but we have standards for our players off and on the court. And all our players know there are consequences for failing to adhere to those standards.
Left Virginia for Paris via Charlotte late Friday morning and arrived early Saturday – 6:15am Paris time. First stop the Arc De Triomphe – commissioned by Napolean and finished in 1836. It stands in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, includes the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and boasts a dramatic view of the Champs-Elysees.
Later while crossing the Avenue Champs-Elysees I wondered aloud to my daughter Ali whether we might unexpectedly cross paths with someone we know while vacationing in Paris for 5 days. Fifteen minutes later strolling through the world famous Louis Vuitton flagship mega store I am staring at Coleman Collins, whom I helped coach for four seasons at VT. Coleman, his brother Jackson and a friend are spending a few weeks in France – part vacation, part celebration of Jackson’s graduate degree in Education Administration from Columbia. Coleman played last season in the NBDL after spending the previous year playing professionally in Europe. Coleman is a talented basketball player just a break away from making a NBA team. But he is also a very talented writer who completed his undergraduate studies at VT in just three years. We made tentative plans to get together for lunch before I head back to Virginia.
Sunday morning I walked along the Siene River – about 4 miles each way from the Champs-Elysees to the Marais section of Paris to have breakfast coffee, pastries, cheese, fruit and bread in a beautiful courtyard with Sam & Connie Katz of Philadelphia. Sam was a ’91 Philadelphia mayoral candidate and also in ’94 a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania. Currently working on a documentary film history of Philadelphia he and his son Phil have already produced a documentary webisode about Lincoln’s funeral procession from Washington D.C. to his resting place in Springfield, Illinois. Did you know that after Lincoln’s assassination it was decided that his body travel the same route and make the same stops to his final resting place as the trip he took to assume the presidency and that 300,000 people viewed an open casket of Lincoln when his train stopped in Philadelphia en route to Springfield. I didn’t. Sam and I have discussed a documentary project around a basketball concept I have been brainstorming for years.
Sunday was museum day in Paris. I visited Du Musee Du Louvre to hang out with the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo. I also visited Du Musse L’Orangerie and saw Claude Monet’s monumental Serie des Nympheas. This project of Monet took years to complete and he built a 2,750 square foot studio to create what many people refer to as his “water lilies” masterpieces.
Monday we are meeting up with more Philadelphians – Jeff and Ronnie Sacks, and Hank and Gerri Stern at the French Open. It turns out that they were on the same flight from Newark, NJ to Paris as my daughter Ali’s Paris roommate Rebekah Greenberg
Can’t finish without food talk! When in Paris….go to Laduree – a famous pastry shop, tea room and restaurant. More food talk - fromage, baguette, croissant, crepe, saumon and macaroon.
Go Highlanders
Au revoir,
Brad
May 17, 2009
An extraordinary account of the spring semester’s academic accomplishments: Phillip Martin – 4.0 GPA, Lazar Trifunovic – 4.0 GPA, Cole Wilder – 3.75 GPA, & Art Parakhouski – 3.5 GPA. How great is that!!
XM Radio – Channel 51 – the Coffee House. I recommend it for long drives when your CD display screen reads Mechanical Error. Saturday, I drove 670 round trip miles to be part of a really good RU alumni event organized by RU’s Advancement team & hosted by Sally Drescher Reeve (’86) and Jimmy Reeve (VT Grad) at Baja Restaurant on Sandpiper Road in Virginia Beach. Sandra Bond and Meredith Marks of the advancement office mingled along with Rector Tommy Fraim among a strong, enthusiastic and proud group of RU alumni. I had the opportunity to talk about the future of RU Hoops. Recent ’09 grads Rachel Lang and Josh Van DeRiet were there with Rachel’s parents. Her mom Terri ’73 is an avid B-RadHoops reader!
It’s wonderful to meet and greet RU alumni outside the New River and Roanoke Valley and watch them reminisce and stay connected to Radford. And it is especially rewarding to realize that the success of our basketball team this past season meant a lot to them.
This past week the basketball world mourned the passing of Hall of Fame coach, Chuck Daly. I met Chuck as a HS senior when he was the coach at the University of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1971. I remember a recruiting visit he made to my house in Plainview, Long Island, NY in the fall of 1971 in which he schmoozed with my Mom while drinking an assortment of imported teas. He was the coach of two world championship Detroit Pistons teams (one beat the Portland Trail Blazers to deny me a ring) and the Olympic Champion Dream Team. A little known fact about the Dream Team is that during the course of all the games they played in the Tournament of America’s and the Olympics in Barcelona Coach Daly never once called a timeout!
Here’s an update on the 2009 incoming freshman scholarship players:
Tolga Cerrah is currently competing in the Turkish HS National Championships. He was among the tournaments leading scorers and rebounders through the first three games. Gorkem Sonmez is about to graduate from St. Mary’s Ryken in MD. He was MVP of last year’s Turkish HS National Championships. Evan Faulkner practiced this weekend with the Kentucky All Star team and will be part of the annual Kentucky – Indiana All Star game in June. Tommy Spagnolo attended the Ashe County Senior Prom Saturday evening. Jamal Curry, Blake Smith and Michael Wooten will all be on campus for SII classes to get acclimated to RU, and begin strength and conditioning work later this summer.
Congrats are due once more to Coach Mickey Dean’s Radford softball team on their first conference championship and first team NCAA victory for our athletic program. They had a storybook season and the future is brighter than bright with virtually the entire team returning next year!
Radford baseball is the #4 seed
entering the Big South baseball tournament which begins Wednesday in
Asheville, NC. This is RU’s highest seed since 2004 and Joe
Raccuia’s team posted the programs first winning season (25-23)
since 2000 and the third best Big South record (16-9) in school
history. Liberty, the #3 seed is Wednesday’s opponent.
Saturday RU Track and Field athlete Olajuwon Jones shattered his own 400 meter time for the third straight meet with a time of 46.51 to finish fourth at the Georgia Tech Invitational. He is one of a number of RU Track and Field competitors who have qualified for NCAA East Regional competition which takes place May 28-29 in Greensboro, NC on the campus of North Carolina A & T.
Have to give a shout out to Leah Greenberg – daughter of RU VP Cathy Greenberg. Leah graduated #3 from Villanova Law School on Friday and was the recipient of the Hyman-Goodman Award. It’s the highest annual award the law school faculty bestows and goes to the graduating student who has done the most for the class through both academic and extracurricular achievement. Way to go Leah!
Go Highlanders
Brad
May 10, 2009
Monday, I played in the 2009 Blake E. Fought Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament at Blacksburg Country Club. The tournament raises funds for a deserving Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine student. Blake Fought was a student at Radford University and the sports editor of the Tartan during his freshman year. He tragically died in 2007. My foursome included my brother Seth, Jimmy Turk, Esquire, and Coach Frank Beamer. Our team carded a 64 (-8) but that wasn’t good enough to place. However, luck was on my side as I cashed in on a few raffle prizes. I am now the proud owner of an autographed soccer ball and publicity photo signed by Survivor Africa winner Ethan Zohn. I offered the autographed items to Radford men’s soccer coach Spencer Smith and Radford women’s soccer coach Ben Sohrabi and they are now fighting over who gets the picture! I hit the jackpot again and won 6 months of free haircuts at Sport Clips. Since my hairline is going back on defense, I offered back the prize to someone with a bit more hair on top!
Friday, I traveled to Knoxville, TN to visit with former RU player Tom Gallaher and his wife Susan. Tom serves on President Kyle’s Advisory Council and is a true friend of Radford. Later that morning I watched Mike Anderson’s #51 RU tennis team play #23 Duke in the Men’s NCAA Championships. Also there to watch were RU’s soccer coaches Sohrabi and Smith, and RU Field Hockey coach Jeff Woods. Radford’s #1 doubles team of Martin Sayer and Zack Watson are headed to the NCAA doubles championships and Sayer is also in the NCAA singles field.
Saturday was commencement at RU and we are so proud of our senior graduates Kenny Thomas and Eric Hall. Attached is a picture of Eric receiving his diploma from Dr. Patricia Shoemaker, the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
Late Saturday the RU Women’s Softball team won the Big South Softball Championship to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships. That’s FOUR conference champions so far this year for Radford athletics. Mickey Dean’s team has been the class of the Big South this year and most deserving champions. They are headed to Chapel Hill, NC to face Georgia in the NCAA Softball Championships this Friday. North Carolina and Campbell are the other teams in the four team double elimination regional. The winner advances to the Sweet 16. Attached is a photo of the champs.
I hope to have our 2009-2010 schedule finalized this week. Just need a few more signatures on some verbally agreed to contracts. It will be the most competitive and challenging schedule in school history. Our guys will play some of the most storied and accomplished basketball programs in some of the most famous college basketball venues in America. Stay tuned for details.
We are very happy and excited for Director of Basketball Operations Ross Condon. Ross is headed to Boston University as an Assistant Coach on Pat Chambers’s staff. He has been an integral part of our staff the past two seasons. We are going to miss him.
Go Highlanders
Brad May 3, 2009
This week, I had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at the Richmond Times Dispatch All Metro dinner to honor the Boys and Girls 1st and 2nd Team All Metro players. I got to spend time with legendary Highland Springs coach George Lancaster. Kenny Thomas played for Coach Lancaster and it was great to see how proud he is of what Kenny accomplished during his Radford basketball career. But it was even more evident that Coach Lancaster is even more proud of the person that Kenny has become. Petersburg HS's Cedarian Raines was a 1st Team All Metro selection. Cedarian is headed to VT to play for my brother next year. I let him know that if he just stays on 81S to exit 109 vs. getting off at exit 118 he can still play for a Greenberg. Just kidding of course! Boston Celtic assistant coach Kevin Eastman and I go way back to having played against each other in college when I was at American U and he was a star at Richmond. Kevin's son Jake was a 2nd team All Metro selection and is headed to Bradley University next year. Kevin and I also share being familiar with Pullman, Washington - the home of Washington State University. I played there my freshman year in 1972 and Kevin was Head Coach at WSU in the mid to late 90's.
Things are heating up on the RU baseball diamonds. Mickey Dean's softball team is Big South Regular Season Champs and set a BSC record for conference wins (16-2). The Big South Conference softball championships will be held at the RU Softball Field May 7-9. Joe Raccuia's baseball team (14-8 in Big South) swept Gardner Webb this past weekend to clinch a 1st round bye in the Big South baseball championships. Joe and his top assistants Brian Anderson & Allen Rice have done a marvelous job in rebuilding the baseball program the last two seasons. But nobody works harder during the games than Joe's wife Jodi who has to keep track of two future infielders AJ and Joey Jr.
This Friday, I will be in Knoxville to join RU alums at the home of former RU basketball player Tom Gallaher and his better half Susan. Tom has a special bond with RU and is graciously hosting a gathering to hopefully bring RU's Tennessee alums together. This is great timing because on Tuesday, the RU Tennis team learned their destination - Knoxville, opponent - Duke, and date - Friday May 8th for the NCAA Tennis Championships. Everyone in the area could do both--come to Tom's for breakfast and then watch the tennis team play.
I hope to have next year's schedule completed in the next week or two. It promises to be the most competitive and challenging schedule in the history of Radford basketball. If you want to reserve season tickets for next year just call our offices at 540-831-5125 for info.
I also saw The Soloist this weekend, great movie and learned how to grill red snapper. You can teach an old basketball coach some new tricks!!
Go Highlanders
Brad
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