Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994 TAG: 9402050133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
He's trying to figure out how to make himself re-appear in Virginia Tech's basketball world.
Good, a 6-foot-2, 198-pound sophomore, started 18 of the 28 games he played for last year's Hokies, averaged 6.2 points and had a team second-best 61 assists. He scored seven points in the final minute in a victory over William and Mary, averaged nine points per game in his last four outings and showed startling flashes of athleticism.
In 18 games this year, his scoring is down to 5.7 and his shooting percentage has dropped (from 43.6 to 40.4). He is third on the team in assists (47), and Tech coach Bill Foster said he's Tech's best passer into the post.
Foster's eyes twinkle when he talks about Good playing better defense and improving his rebounding, and taking what can be a soft, accurate jump shot.
Good knows what's expected.
"Basically, they want me to be more aggressive," he said. "I just don't feel comfortable."
That has resulted in box-score lines like the one he put up Thursday against Tulane: 0-for-2 from the floor, no free throws, no rebounds, no points, three assists, three turnovers and a block in 18 minutes.
"I don't know what it is. It's just not there right now," Good said Friday morning, after Tech's 69-61 loss at Tulane.
"I know what I want, but I just can't get there."
Good, who has started 17 straight games, is as confused as anyone over his play. At one point in an interview he'll guess that he's trying too hard. At another, he says he's "going through the motions."
One part of the story is in Good's home of Columbus, Ind. His mother, who has multiple sclerosis, became severely ill before the start of the season, and Good had to make an emergency trip home. Good said Angeline Good's condition has improved recently, but that doesn't make it much easier for him.
"I try not to think about it, but it's just real hard," he said. "It's in the back of my mind every day."
News of his mom's health, he said, comes only by word of mouth.
"I haven't really seen for myself," he said.
"I'm trying to just work hard in class and on the court, but it's just real hard right now."
\ NO COMPARISON: February can be a dangerous word around Bill Foster. After last week's loss to Southern Mississippi, Tech radio announcer Bill Roth mentioned the Hokies' record last February (2-9), and Foster replied that the next person who asked about February would get punched in the nose.
Roth hastily escaped the interview, and Foster said Friday it was only a heat-of-the-moment remark. His point: The 1993-94 Hokies, who are 13-5 after starting 13-2, are not the '92-93 Hokies, who entered February 7-7.
"This is a lot better team, no question," Foster said. "We're playing in a tougher league, we're playing a tougher schedule right now, and we're in all of these games. This time last year, it wasn't three-, four-, five-point spread with three minutes to go and a chance to win. We were out of the games."
Nevertheless, Foster is finding he needs his 26 years of coaching experience as the Hokies enter today's game at Southern Mississippi on a three-game losing streak.
"It's a hard thing to know how to handle as a coach," he said. "They want to be challenged, and right now, they hurt. That's good. I like what I'm seeing on their faces right now. As a coach, I've got to let them know how to get out of the hole. It's just good execution, and get the ball to the guys that are scoring."
In February, Foster said, simple things become harder. Coaches become more conservative, and transition baskets - a Tech staple - can become scarce, magnifying the importance of a team's half-court offense. Rebounding - not Tech's strength - becomes more important, too, Foster said.
"We're not playing well in a half-court, and we're struggling to shoot right now," Foster said. "We do rebound a little better, and we defend pretty hard. Our execution kind of comes and goes."
\ A "NEW" FACE: Tech senior Don Corker had played 40 minutes in 10 of Tech's 18 games before playing 11 minutes against Tulane. He had nine points (3-for-4 from the field), four rebounds and an assist.
"I'm working hard, trying to do everything Coach [Foster] wants," Corker said. "The big thing is [me] being patient on offense."
\ ETC: Tulane's victory raised Green Wave coach Perry Clark's all-time record against Tech to 6-5 . . . Tech center Jimmy Carruth entered the Tulane game as the Metro Conference's leading shot-blocker (2.6 per game). He had four blocks in the game . . . Jay Purcell needs 45 points to become the 26th Hokie to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career.
by CNB