B-RadHoops - November 2008

November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving is always difficult for people with families trying to decide where to feast.  For coaches in the midst of a season with two Thanksgiving week games it is an especially difficult task to coordinate meals for family, players, staff and friends.  This year the RU players, some staff and I met at RU West for Thanksgiving lunch catered by Baker’s Best.  From there I joined my family at brother Seth’s for dinner with our Mom, his family and some VT players.  I was hoping to make it for desert in Roanoke with friends but it was not to be so I had Roanoke Thanksgiving leftovers (cheese slaw, butter nut squash soup and horseradish mash potatoes) tonight. 

After the tough loss at Virginia on 11/21 we had hopes of playing well in our two Thanksgiving break road games.  And while we did some good things in both games we didn’t offset poor free throw shooting, careless ball handling and undisciplined fouling.  In both the William & Mary and Navy losses we made one more field goal than our opponents.  In both games we shot a better percentage from the field.  But our opponents combined to outscore us from the foul line by a whopping 53-30.  As we approach our longest home stand of the season with four in a row at home (12/4 Gardner Webb, 12/6 Winthrop, 12/10 Duquesne, 12/14 JMU) we need to continue the defensive commitment that has us holding opponents to very low field goal (.353%) and three point (.215%) percentages.  But we also need to cut down on turnovers and execute more efficiently on offense.  And we must be more disciplined at the defensive end to keep opponents off the foul line. 

School is back in session on Monday and just in time for our first two Big South games against conference newcomer Gardner Webb on Thursday and reigning Big South champ Winthrop on Saturday.  We need Peters Hall to be jammed, loud and rockin for these important league contests. 

I’d like to remind every reader of B-RadHoops once more about a wonderful organization for which my daughter, Ali, is involved.  Ali, an intern for TOMS Shoes http://www.tomsshoes.com/  is hosting a “Style Your Sole” event at Blacksburg United Methodist Church on Friday, December 5th.  It is a wonderful cause.  They are trying to send 30,000 pairs of shoes to Ethiopia.  For every pair of shoes you buy, a deserving child receives a pair of shoes.  Please contact Ali at ajgreenbe@yahoo.com for more information. 

Go Highlanders

Brad

 

November 23, 2008

While we all can feel pride in how we competed against UVA on Friday night, I want everyone to understand some of my reactions to the game.

We were competitive and at times pretty good at both ends of the floor.  We defended admirably in the first half, succeeded in getting the ball inside and played with decent poise under some bright lights in a “big city” basketball atmosphere.  We held an ACC team to .37% from the field.  We defended the arc and limited them to 1-9 on threes.  But in the end we did not get done what we hoped to accomplish.

And in my final analysis we beat ourselves.  We had chances to score on underneath out of bounds plays and did not execute and make correct mental reads of Virginia’s defense that could have resulted in at least three more field goals.  And we had some defensive breakdowns that allowed UVA to get into the paint and draw some late game fouls that put them on the line to win the game in the last minute.  We realize that one play decided the game in the end.  And if the ACC referees had called Virginia’s Zeglinski for the walk he committed vs. our 1-3-1 zone trap on the possession Landesberg was fouled to put UVA up 1 or had called a foul on Tunji Soroye when Aaron Austin drove with 18 seconds left to try and regain the lead, that one play might have gone our way.  But we left too many points off the board and gave them too many 2nd half chances to get to the basket.

Now for the important final thought on the UVA game.  We are just scratching the surface of what type of team we can be.  We can improve in so many areas at both ends of the floor.  We can be a better ball handling team and execute our plays to get the ball to open players in their best spots to score.  We can help out more on defense and we can do a better job on both the offensive and defensive boards.  WE CAN GET A LOT BETTER.  Playing fair on the road against an ACC team does not mean we will be able to just show up and beat anybody else on our schedule.  But if we work to improve in every facet of the game…we can get better and be a very formidable foe for anyone on our schedule. 

Earlier in the week we dominated Bridgewater College for our second win in Peters Hall.  We played two outstanding defensive halves and the game provided an opportunity for a lot of our non starters to get some valuable game time as well.  And the game also allowed us to welcome back to Radford a former star RU player and now current Bridgewater head coach Don Burgess. 

This week we head to W & M for a Tuesday game.  RU is on Thanksgiving break this week but our schedule does not allow for time off.  A few of our local players can get home for a family meal but most won’t be able to, so we will have a team meal on Thanksgiving after an early morning practice.  And Friday we will head to Annapolis for another road game at Navy. 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to tell every reader of B-RadHoops, about a wonderful organization for which my daughter, Ali, is involved.  Ali, an intern for TOMS Shoes http://www.tomsshoes.com/  is hosting a “Style Your Sole” event at Blacksburg United Methodist Church on Friday, December 5th.  It is a wonderful cause.  For every pair of shoes you buy, a deserving child receives a pair of shoes.  Please contact Ali at ajgreenberg@yahoo.com for more information. 

Go Highlanders.

Brad

November 16, 2008

I have never been more proud to be part of Radford University than I was on Saturday evening attending the Covington Center for the Visual and Performing Arts Gala Celebration on Saturday evening.  The formal affair, designed to dedicate the facility, included musical performances by talented students of Radford’s outstanding Department of Music.  Dr. Joe Scartelli introduced the musicians.  Al Wojtera directed the RU Percussion Ensemble.  Dr. Robert Trent directed the RU Guitar Ensemble.  David Castonguay with David Phillips on the piano conducted the RU Chorale and Radford Singers in a moving musical tribute in memory of Beatrice Covington.  And later Castonguay with Ryan Book on guitar conducted the Radford Singers.  The topper was the RU Faculty Jazz Quartet of Trent on guitar, Dr. Wayne Gallops on Piano, Wotjera on drums and Scartelli on Bass performing Claude Bolling’s Concert for Classical Guitar and Jazz Piano.  There is soooo much student and professorial talent at RU.  And the Covington Center is a spectacular facility to nurture the students in the Department of Music.  The athletic department has some very talented student-athletes on the fields, track, courts and pitch.  But it was humbling to be around the immense talent outside the athletic department and I was excited to be able to be part of a magical evening in Douglas and Beatrice Covington Center.  The RU community is lucky to have such a fantastic facility on our beautiful campus.

While it took me almost 30 minutes to tie my bow tie, it was well worth it.  In addition to the musical performances, Z.L. Feng exhibited his latest works of art (and contributed 50% of the sales to the Covington Center) and we feasted on gourmet food and free-flowing wine. 

On Friday five double figure scorers helped us score 74 points in a win over Brevard but it was the first half defense we played that impressed me.  We held Brevard to .35% shooting and just 17 first half points to lead 44-17 at intermission.  We did not play nearly as well in the 2nd half but finished the game forcing 24 turnovers with 13 steals.  Kenny Thomas led the way with 20 points.  Martell McDuffy 13, Art Parakhouski 11, Joey Lynch-Flohr 11 and Amir Johnson 10 were our double digit scorers, Joey led us with 8 boards, Amir had 6 steals and Martell recorded 4 thefts.  Phillip Martin provided some positive energy off the bench and freshman guard Aaron Austin tasted real D-I ball for the first time.  Brevard runs a version of what is known as the “Princeton” offense.  It is the same offense that Georgetown runs.  Brevard doesn’t have the talent of the Hoyas so they were a bit easier to guard than Georgetown was a year ago!  

And how about VMI putting it to Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Friday?  Last year is was new Big South member Gardner Webb upsetting the Wildcats in Rupp.  This year it’s another Big South squad sending the UK blue faithful home shaking their heads in disbelief.  Proof once more that on any given night…..

Go Highlanders

Brad

November 9, 2008

Interstate 85…Exit 26 – Mt Holly / Belmont

On the bus back from a scrimmage against a solid Division I opponent.  The 2nd movie after Semi Pro was the western shoot ‘em up 3:10 to Yuma.  The University Travel bus is world class and we are now catching NFL scores on ESPN from a satellite TV feed.  The score I want to see flashing across ESPN is the Radford women’s soccer team’s 2-1 win over Coastal Carolina to win the Big South Championship.  That win deserves a big time shout out for Coach Ben Sohrabi, his staff and team. 

John Feinstein was a great story-teller as guest speaker at Wednesday’s 2nd Annual Tip-Off Banquet.  Honoring record holding (19 straight wins) coach Joe Davis and RU’s all time steal leader Rod Cousin was special.  Introducing this year’s team and watching a Steven May production video promo of this season was good.  However, looking at a sold out Muse Hall Banquet Room with 240+ in attendance was really something.  Thanks to all the individuals who came, the silent auction donors, our generous table sponsors and their guests, and especially Co-Event sponsors Atlantic Bay Mortgage and Texas Roadhouse. 

Our team has seen progress on a lot of fronts this past year.  A year ago, we were picked to finish at the bottom of the Big South standings and finished one win out of 4th place.  Practice started on October 17th.  And I wish we had more time to prepare before playing real games.  We are just scratching the surface of what this team can become.  But we toss it up for real on Friday and I am excited to see how this group performs when the lights are on for real.  And as we prepare for the final 3 practices before Friday’s 2008-2009 opener against Brevard College, we are projected as a bona fide contender for the Big South Championship. 

We have raised the bar considerably in just one season.  And that is good.  Our goal every year is to have a group of motivated student-athletes with a passion for basketball.   To have a group that truly appreciates the unique opportunity to be part of a Division I basketball program that aspires to go dancing in March.

Go Highlanders

Brad

November 2, 2008

Eight practices and one scrimmage till opening night on November 14 when we host BC.  Not Boston College, the other BC - Brevard College.   We purposely scheduled two non D-I schools to open the season in Peters Gym anticipating an early December return to Dedmon.  But the unfortunate construction delay will now see us play 7 games in Peters with a projected mid January return to Dedmon.    AD Robert Lineburg and his staff have worked hard to get Peters ready for competition with baseline scoreboards, new paint job on the floor, and bleachers on both sidelines.  But I can’t wait to get back to Dedmon with our locker room and meeting room for video and chalk talks.  Our players miss not having a locker room prior and after practice.  And we can’t watch as much video with the team in the right atmosphere over in Peters.

We are a bit banged up and have been short a few players this last week of practice.  It puts us a bit behind in preparation and has forced us to be creative with our practice plans.  If you don’t have 10 healthy players for practice you need to create competitive 3 vs. 3 and 4 vs. 4 drills to work on both offensive plays and defensive concepts in the “hole – part – hole” teaching method…..without the bookend “hole” parts. 

Sunday afternoon we scrimmaged against another D-I program in Peters giving us our first look at the team against outside competition.  Once again, NCAA rules prohibit me writing or talking specific about it, but I don’t think I can get in trouble with RU Compliance Czar Dr. Robbie Davis, by commenting it was a decent starting point for us and perhaps a little bit better than what I was expecting.  We played pretty hard.  And we played unselfishly.  

Wednesday is the Tip-Off Banquet.   We are looking for a crowd in the 200+ range, but can always accommodate those who would like to join us at the last minute. We want to make this a signature event for RU athletics.  We can’t thank Co-Event Sponsors Atlantic Bay Mortgage and Texas Roadhouse enough. It will be a great event—from hearing John Feinstein to meeting this year’s players.  Call Ross Condon at 540-831-5125 right away if you haven’t reserved a spot. 

Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday.

Go Highlanders

Brad