Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 16, 1991 TAG: 9103160078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: Medium
One of the stars of that Roanoke team, Curtis Blair, already had signed to play with Richmond, and thus was getting some early action at Robins Center.
My memory of that PH team is that some people were saying that if Blair had just waited awhile, he might have gotten a better offer. Teammate George Lynch, after all, was headed for North Carolina.
You will not hear any complaints from Blair, a 6-foot-3 junior guard.
How many other players get to participate in the NIT as a freshman, play Duke in the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore and open against Syracuse in the same event Thursday night?
And, by the way, Richmond became the first No. 15 seed ever to beat a No. 2 when Blair - with 18 points, six assists, one turnover - led the Spiders to a stunning lead-all-the-way upset of the Orangemen, 73-69.
If there is such a thing as a typical Richmond player, it is Curtis Blair, who leads the team in minutes played, scoring, assists and steals.
With no malice at all, Richmond's remarkable 61-year-old coach, Dick Tarrant, looked at Blair and 6-5 forward Kenny Wood and responded to a question about recruiting, "I don't think it's a lack of respect, but it's no secret that we're doing it with guys who aren't ACC/Big East players."
This is the fourth time that a Tarrant-coached team has registered a major upset in the NCAA Tournament, having previously beaten Auburn in '84 and defending champion Indiana and Georgia Tech in 1988, when the Spiders reached the Sweet 16.
Surely, Richmond is no longer a surprise in the basketball community.
John Chaney, the Temple coach who will play Richmond today at 12:15 p.m. for the right to advance to the East Regional, said of Tarrant, "He better not think he's a David, because he's a Goliath."
The fact is, everybody knows who Richmond is, but nobody does anything that might somehow make them better.
Having gotten the exposure from all the tournament success, Tarrant conceded, "That's opened some doors for us. We can get visits from kids who wouldn't talk to us before."
But they are visits only.
"When the kids want to know how many times you are on CBS, how many games are on ESPN," Tarrant said, "you know what the result will be."
Mentioning a prominent school that lost to a lesser foe in the opening round of the NCAA, he said, "We never get a kid that Virginia wants."
Holding up three fingers to represent ACC, Tarrant said, "The initials will get him every time. If it comes down to us or North Carolina, what do you think will happen?
"Some of them play, some of them don't, but they all go. That's just the way it is."
So, no matter the publicity Richmond receives for its marvelous postseason efforts - no other school has so many significant upsets - life doesn't change at Richmond.
"We recruit good kids, good players," Tarrant said, looking at Blair and Wood, who certainly qualify.
But Mourning and Bryant Stith and Grant Hill and Blair's former teammate, Lynch, are the type players who will never sign with the Spiders.
Life with the mid-majors goes on. Tarrant outcoaches Jim Boeheim. Ho-hum. Given equal talent, that would happen every time.
But, next season, the Orangemen will be on television every time you look around, and the Carrier Dome will be filled with 30,000 customers.
And, Tarrant said with a wide wink at CBS announcers Verne Lundquist and Len Elmore, "Maybe we'll even get a TV game."
This may not be the fast lane. But for a coach like Tarrant and a player like Blair, the rewards will provide a lifetime of memories.
by CNB