Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The men's basketball teams at Roanoke College and Washington and Lee are taking distinctly different approaches to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference season.
The Maroons have the size. W&L is going with speed.
Roanoke coach Page Moir has six players who are 6-foot-5 or taller. Some, like centers Tim Braun and Steve Camara, will make the middle their permanent residence. Others, like Johns Hopkins transfer Jon Maher (Blacksburg High School), can bang inside and drain 3-pointers on the perimeter.
With so many big players, however, Moir will demand more of a half-court game to go with the Maroons' usual up-tempo style.
``We've got to be prepared to play that way,'' Moir said. ``We've got to accentuate the guys in the middle.''
Moir's backcourt of point guard Nathan Hungate (Northside High School) and Jason Bishop can do just about anything Moir asks. Bishop averaged 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and had a team-high 100 assists last season as a sophomore. Hungate, a sophomore, moves into the starting lineup for the first time.
Kevin Moore is in his first year guiding W&L and already has made some changes.
``We're in the best shape we've ever been in,'' said Cam Dyer, a second-team All-ODAC selection.
Moore's teams at Elmira (N.Y.) did a lot of running and scored a lot of points. Moore sees the same potential for his first Generals team.
``We have a nice core of seven very good players,'' Moore said. ``They're as good as the team I took to the NCAAs last year.''
Some of Moore's other top prospects include the Generals' second- and third-leading returning scorers, Jon Coffman (11.0 points per game) and Derek Carter (10.6 ppg), as well as guard Chris Couzen, whom teammates say is the most improved player on the team.
Roanoke opens its season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in its Salem Bank & Trust Tournament. The Maroons face Elizabethtown (Pa.) in the first round. The tournament benefits the Community Christmas Store, with free admission to any fan who donates a new or used coat.
W&L's Tip-Off tournament also is Saturday, with the Generals facing Emory (Ga.) at 8 p.m.
Following is a look at the rest of the ODAC men's programs:
After reaching the final eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament in the spring, Hampden-Sydney has been lavished with praise and high expectations in the preseason. Nate Schwab, an All-America forward, is back to help the Tigers live up to the hype.
``He's a unique athlete,'' said Tony Shaver, Hampden-Sydney's coach. ``If you watched him you probably wouldn't believe it, but he's one of the most intelligent and toughest players I've seen.''
If experience counts for anything, Emory & Henry still might be playing in March when the Division III Final Four comes to Salem for the first time.
Led by All-ODAC guard Dytanyon Norman of Bassett and the 1994-95 ODAC freshman of the year in center Jason Light (Floyd County High School), the Wasps are considered top contenders for the ODAC title.
Nathan Davis, the top rebound and assist man at Randolph-Macon, has missed the entire preseason with a foot injury, but the Yellow Jackets have All-ODAC first-teamer Kurt Axe, maybe the best point guard in the league, to pick up the slack.
Virginia Wesleyan will try to shoot its way to the top this season. Forward Ryan Bradford shot 46.3 percent from 3-point range last season, making 51 from long range, both school records, while fellow sophomore Percy Slight set the Blue Marlins' record for single-season field-goal percentage (60.9).
Coach Bill Leatherman of Bridgewater doesn't have high hopes after losing the conference's player of the year, center Dan Rush, to graduation.
Joe Davis' first priority this season is getting his Lynchburg team into the ODAC tournament. The Hornets missed out last season, but some league coaches say this team could be a sleeper.
Guilford lost 71 percent of its scoring from last season, but the Quakers expect junior guard Kevin Spainhour to raise his game and be a team leader.
The return of three frontcourt players who missed last season with injuries - Forrest Hundley, Sean Powers and Tim May - has Eastern Mennonite feeling like it can do better than its preseason last-place selection.
by CNB