Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9501190007
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It's been happening since someone put a ball in the hands of a teen-ager and adults took over as coaches. If someone scores too many points or leaves the starters in the game too long, that team is accused of running up the score.
I'm tired of hearing the whimpering. Except for two cases, which are already on record, I'll refrain from dealing with personalities. At the Region III girls' basketball tournament, Salem coach Dee Wright admitted taking her starters out too soon when the Spartans led Jefferson Forest 34-6 in the first half.
All of a sudden, Jefferson Forest started catching up. When Salem's starters returned, they were cold and they had a fight on their hands to win and get to the Group AA state basketball tournament.
Wright is one of Timesland's best coaches and has taken many teams to the state. Her statements after the game show that she knew there was a mistake of compassion for both Jefferson Forest and her reserves.
Others such as Floyd County girls' coach Alan Cantrell are regularly accused of running up the score. Of course, Cantrell plays 10-12 girls a game. They always press, but then that's what Floyd practices. That's the Buffaloes' defense much as a zone or man-to-man is used by other teams.
Would anyone expect Cantrell not to use what he practices? Would it be fair for his reserves, who are almost as good as the starters, to practice a defense all week and then be told not to use it? Would it be fair to tell them to miss the basket so that instead of winning by 50-60 points, they only win by 30-40? I think not.
I like what one coach said. ``If you want sympathy, go to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.''
I'll not name the coach, but I'll assure you that this particular mentor doesn't run up the score. Still, his team has been involved on the plus side of some blowouts.
There is another side to this. Sometimes a team is so bad, that it's hard for the other school not to annihilate the opposition. That team should be pitied. It should look at the blowout as a challenge to improve.
Scores don't always tell whether a school ran up the score. Before accusing a team of doing such a deed, you'd better be able to step into the coach's shoes and know the personnel.
Example. This writer once coached recreation league basketball. It might not seem important, but everyone tries as hard in those games as they do in junior varsity and high school varsity contests.
We were in the Knights of Columbus tournament in Roanoke where they insisted on playing eight-minute quarters. We had a very good team, but unfortunately due to defections and sickness, there were only eight players on the team.
Those eight could play. In four games, the team set a tournament scoring record that isn't likely to be broken. Of course, we didn't press once the other team was out of the game. We also didn't tell the three reserves, who could have started for many teams that we played, not to try and score.
It would have been showing up the other team had the coaching staff given in to our high-scoring center and let him play guard the last few minutes. He wanted to jack up the outside shots. We said no because that's insulting an outmanned opponent.
The director of the tournament said nothing kind to us after it was over. I reminded him that they insisted on eight-minute instead of six-minute quarters used during league games and that we had only eight players. Enough said.
So if you get your feelings hurt because another team drubbed your school by 20-30-40 or more points, you'll get no sympathy here. They didn't put up those scoreboards as decorations for gymnasiums and stadiums.
SINGING WILLIS: Salem football coach Willis White appreciates a good cowboy song as a fan of B westerns. Recently, he proved he can warble with the best of them when he actually sang to his team at the half of the Spartans' encounter with Rockbridge County.
In that contest, Salem snapped a 7-7 halftime tie with 23 points in the third quarter on the way to a 30-15 victory.
``Remember you asked what I told them and I said I'd never tell,'' said White.
Confronted with that locker-room scene, White finally confessed.
``After we played William Byrd, I told our players that we used to sing and have a good time after we won. They said, ``We don't know any of the songs.'
``I thought there were proverbial football songs. One goes, `We are the Spartans, mighty, mighty Spartans. Everywhere we go, people want to know who we are. So we tell them.' Then you repeat that.
``The defense used to sing a song that `We shall not be moved.' So I went in at the halftime of the Rockbridge County game. We had played hard and pretty much followed our game plan.
``I told the players, I don't know what to tell you to do. I said, `Would it help if I sang to you?' I can't sing a lick. I used to sing in a church choir, but they picked music that had no bass parts so I couldn't sing.
``I about passed out. I didn't expect them to take me up on it. I don't know why I said I'd do it. It was a dumb thing to say.''
White sang the defensive song, because it was the shortest. It worked, though, as Salem won 30-15. That's coaching strategy folks.
by CNB