B-RadHoops - August 2009

August 30, 2009

Monday I had to visit Dr. Howard, my oral surgeon.  Not much good is happening when I have to visit him. He is now in possession of tooth #27 and I spent the week recovering from the carpentry work he did in my mouth.  He commented that I must be grinding my teeth.  I responded “the season hasn’t even started yet.” I need to get back to Yoga!

Our returning players have moved back into off campus digs along with JC transfer Jeremy Robinson.  And our freshmen are now all situated in campus housing.  First of the frosh to move in this past week was Turkish front courter Tolga Cerrah.  Tolga flew with his Dad – Tayfun to Washington DC on Wednesday and did a little sightseeing in D.C. before making the drive to Radford for international student orientation. Our other freshman from Turkey – Gorkem Sonmez arrived on campus Friday evening.  I have tremendous admiration for international students.  They leave their homes and families and travel halfway across the globe to pursue an education in the states.  It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a young person but it also takes courage for someone to embrace such a bold undertaking.   Our staff is very committed to help all our players have a very positive college experience on and off the court, especially the ones who have traveled a great distance to be part of our program and university.  And I think we do a great job of it. It is also quite an adjustment for parents.  To say goodbye to your child knowing you won’t see them for months and they will be far away from home is not an easy thing for a parent.  I know that first hand. I helped my freshman daughter Ali move into her dorm at Washington & Lee Sunday morning and that was emotional.  And she is only 80 miles away!

Sunday night we held our first team meeting to discuss the expectations we have for our team as students and as members of the campus community and team.  We outlined team rules pertaining to classroom attendance, study hall responsibilities, training schedule, communication with professors and advisors, and academic expectations.  The team also got to meet Stephanie Ballein, our Director of Student Athlete Academic Services.

We get to work this week on the court and I am anxious to see the potential depth and versatility of this year’s squad.  I like our experienced players and I like the promise our young players possess. 

Go Highlanders

Brad

August 23, 2009

On Thursday I attended a social in Roanoke to welcome that areas incoming freshman and their families to the RU community.  Laura Turk, the Director of the Alumni Relations Staff spoke and guests got a chance to mingle with the Dean of the College of Science and Technology, J. Orion Rogers and the Dean of the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, Brian Conniff.  Also in attendance was Roanoke Alumni chapter leader Darek Pullen ’92, Dale Lee who already has her MBA from Radford and is going back to school this fall to get a masters in Math Education, Frances Trent ’45 and Robin Dearing who is a member of the RU Parents Leadership Council. 

Radford University was recognized this week in U.S. News and World Report’s 2010 guide to America’s Best Colleges as one of only three Virginia Public Universities to be named one of the nation’s “Top Up-and-Coming Schools.”  RU was ranked 8^th among Master’s universities in the South and fifth among public universities in the category being cited for innovation and improvements that signal the institution is on the rise.  Congrats to President Kyle, faculty, staff and students for this achievement.  As President Kyle was quoted “For a university on the verge of celebrating its Centennial, we’ve got a lot to be excited about. Being recognized for progress and innovation in this prestigious study is a terrific honor.  But it’s also something I see every day when I work with our faculty, talk with our students, and meet our alumni.  It’s very gratifying to see the rest of the world get a glimpse of the excellence at Radford.

RU’s Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams along with Volleyball and Field Hockey squads are all officially underway this week with non conference matches.  Coach Spencer Smith’s men are on the home “pitch” at Cupp Stadium for an exhibition match vs. JMU Tuesday under the lights at 7pm before heading to Cincy for a match against Xavier next weekend.  Coach Ben Sohrabi’s women have their home opener Friday evening at 7pm against Howard.  Coach Marci Jenkin’s volleyball team is on the road to Pittsburgh to open their season in the Duquesne / Robert Morris Tournament.  And Coach Jeff Woods has the field hockey team opening on the road next weekend with matches at Siena and Albany.  Please make an effort to support these teams when they are playing in Radford. 

Our players will all be on campus later this week to get situated in apartments and dorms and we will have our first team meeting Sunday evening.  We’ll lay out the pre-season conditioning and training schedule and our plan to defend our Big South Conference title.  I am excited about our roster and our potential.  And I am anxious to get this group in the gym and start the process of teaching the new players how we play.  Last year our team played solid defense holding teams to .399% and that ranked us 33^rd of 330 Division 1 teams.  We were intelligent on offense shooting a league leading .477% in Big South games.  We led the BSC in rebounding margin with a +6.2 which ranked 16^th in the country.  Important as any statistic was we consistently competed at a high level and developed strong “team” chemistry.  We will work every day to build this year’s team with the same strategy.  

My $7.00 helped “Inglorious Basterds” opening weekend take total 37.6 million.   The WWII action flick starring Brad Pitt is another uniquely stylish Quentin Tarantino epic.  What the Nazi party did 60 years ago was so horrific that while this movie is “tongue in cheek” most movie goers are sure to enjoy the audacious pulverizing of Nazi’s and the alternate ending of WWII.

When in Blacksburg eat breakfast at Gillies on College Ave. for the onion, spinach and tomato egg white omelet – hold the cheese.  With VT back in session remember to get there early on the weekends.  They’d served 120 folks by 11am this Sunday.  Note my comment about egg white and no cheese….it’s time for me to get back in the gym.

Go Highlanders

Brad  

August 16, 2009

The X’s and 0’s were flying around last Monday and Tuesday as 7 coaches gathered to share ideas and tactics courtesy of my brother Seth at VT who hosted the coaches’ clinic.  The lineup consisted of: Todd Bozeman – Morgan State Head Coach, Ernie Nestor – former Head Coach of Elon, Bill Hodges – former Head Coach of Indiana State, Shaka Smart – VCU Head Coach, Dee Vick – Hamden Sydney Head Coach, myself and Seth.  The clinic is an annual event and a great way to get the basketball juices flowing as the school year fast approaches.  We all also got a tour of VT’s spectacular new basketball practice facility. 

Last week we added Jeremy Robinson to our 2009-2010 roster. Jeremy is a 5-10 point guard who played the last two seasons at Tallahassee Community College and was a 2^nd Team All Panhandle Conference performer last year.  He was a two-time MVP at Northwestern HS in Baltimore who led his HS team to the Baltimore Public School City Championship in his senior year and was an All City and All Met selection as well.  The addition of Jeremy will give us another experienced ball handler and add depth at point guard. 

In light of court proceedings this week I am compelled to write a bit about Amir Johnson’s legal quandary.  Pleading guilty to a misdemeanor under Alfred vs. North Carolina was a difficult decision for Amir who maintains his complete innocence.  I learned that the legal system is not perfect by any means.  And sometimes it can be in a person’s best interest to plead guilty and move on with their life vs. risk a trial.  Familiar with the details of the case, I believe the charges would have been dismissed if Amir had gone to trial.  But a guilty verdict on the initial charge could have cost Amir his scholarship.  I avoided weighing in on the case until closure of court proceedings.  Now that the case is concluded I feel obligated to stand up for our PG and disagree with Commonwealth Attorney Chris Rehak’s comment that “the conviction and sentence appropriately reflects the evidence, defendant’s conduct and the wishes of both victims.”  

Three of our seniors traveled a bit this summer but are now back in Virginia getting ready for their senior years.  Joey Lynch-Flohr returned from California this week after training for a month and looks great.  Cole Wilder is back in Virginia after a summer as a counselor and basketball instructor at an all sports summer camp in Wisconsin.  And Phillip Martin is back in the states after a brief trip to England.

Saturday afternoon was a drag as my dog Holly was attacked by a high strung terrier and suffered a wound that needed veterinary attention to clean and close with staples.  Awaiting Holly’s release from surgery and sedation and needing a little levity my daughter Ali and I declared Saturday evening modern classic movie night and rented “As Good As It Gets”.  Jack Nicholson won Best Actor and Helen Hunt won Best Actress at the 1997 Academy Awards for this comedy masterpiece.  Rent it if you want to marvel at Nicholson’s portrayal of Melvin Udall, an obsessive compulsive novelist.  We picked Holly up at 10:00pm from the Town and Country Emergency Care Veterinary Clinic in Christiansburg and she is a bit sluggish but on the mend. Thanks Dr. Sanders.   

Congrats to loyal B-Rad reader Bekah Greenberg who early Sunday completed the NYC Half Marathon in honor of the late Ira Katz of Roanoke.  Ira was a friend and one of the most generous people anyone could ever know who died of a rare blood disease a few years ago.  We miss him. 

Two weeks till our first team meeting.

Go Highlanders

Brad

August 9, 2009

The August session of the Brad Greenberg Basketball Camp was our most successful to date.  We had a strong turnout with repeat campers from the previous two summers and our June session.  We pride ourselves on giving the campers a fun four days of hoops with great teaching.  Our entire staff was there all day, every day and did a great job. We also had some players help out and the campers loved being taught by guys they watched play for the Highlanders this past season.  Special thanks go out to a contingent of campers from Wythe County – or as I like to refer to it…..Cole Wilder country. 

On Saturday, I was at the New River Valley Mall to help judge the 2009 Creative Cake Contest celebrating the 10^th Anniversary of the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center.   There were two categories to judge: home cooked cakes & professional baker’s cakes.  The good news was how creative and delicious they all looked.  The bad news (at least for me) was the judging was based on theme, creativity and appearance - - and I didn’t get to taste the cakes! Radio station HOT 100 was on hand doing a live remote and I had a chance to talk up Radford basketball with host and Radford grad Nicole Williams. 

This Monday and Tuesday I will be at Virginia Tech with a number of other college coaches to participate in a mini-clinic sharing ideas in preparation for the upcoming season.  My brother Seth is the organizer and invites and hosts coaches and other basketball personalities who each present a topic.  Some of the attendees include: new VCU head coach Shaka Smart, former Elon head coach Ernie Nestor, & Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman.  A special guest is William Fleming HS teacher Bill Hodges.  Bill coached Indiana State and Larry Bird in the 1979 NCAA Championship game against Magic Johnson and coach Jud Heathcote’s Michigan State Spartans.  I’m looking forward to hear Bill talk hoops and recall the historic matchup that helped change the face of college basketball. 

Saw “Julie and Julia” – a story about the late culinary icon Julia Childs, Sunday afternoon.  It was great inspiration for a Sunday night dinner of the valley’s best offerings this time of year—tomatoes, eggplant, corn, and melon, complimented by grilled salmon marinated in ginger and green onion teriyaki.   Even my daughter liked it. 

Happy Birthday to RU tennis coach Mike Anderson. 

Go Highlanders

Brad

August 2, 2009

Incoming frosh Blake Smith, Jamal Curry and Michael Wooten each took two Summer II classes.  They spent approximately 12 hours a week in our study center and they all did wonderfully.  Returning team members Art Parakhouski, Phillip Martin, Amir Johnson, and Lazar Trifunovic also earned outstanding grades this summer.  The average GPA of all of these players was in excess of a 3.5!  I am extremely proud of that stellar academic accomplishment.  Stephanie Ballein - Director, Student Athlete Academic Support Services at RU does a great job with all our student-athletes. And our staff – Rick Hall, Ali Ton, Cedric Smith, & Chad Myers, along with Stephanie were outstanding this summer in support of all our players.

I heard from two of our players over the weekend.  Incoming frosh Evan Faulkner called fresh off the golf course where he carded a 73.  Evan was part of a state championship contending Elliott County Golf team as well as a Kentucky state championship contending basketball quintet.  And Joey Lynch-Flohr called from SF to tell me he feels real good about the conditioning and on court work he is doing out west.  It’s evident that Evan and Joey along with the rest of our guys and staff are eager to begin training as a team when school starts.     

The July evaluation period is complete and now our staff will compare notes, prioritize recruiting lists and contact target prospects.  Initial conversations with recruits focus on an exchange of information.  We learn what prospects are looking for in a school and basketball program.  And we try to educate prospects on what we have to offer academically, athletically and socially.  We strongly believe Radford offers a uniquely great opportunity for the right young student-athlete.  Our recruiting goal is finding self motivated young men with a desire to excel on and off the court.  The attitude and character of the prospect is the number 1 factor we look at.  Self motivated players improve.  Self motivated students achieve.  Self motivated people are good teammates and a delight to coach.  

Forgot to write in last week’s B-Rad that I received news our December 9 matchup with Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse will be nationally televised on ESPNU.  Kansas looks to be a pre-season #1 team in many polls and rankings.     

Sunday I rented and watched a delightfully quirky movie starring the incredibly talented John Malkovich.  “The Great Buck Howard” is a story about a “mentalist extraordinaire” and his decades of entertaining on the road.  Definite thumbs up!

Hold this date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009.  That’s when the 3^rd annual RU Men’s Basketball Tip-Off Banquet will take place.  More details coming soon.

Go Highlanders

Brad