ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 22, 1996 TAG: 9601230015
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: TECH NOTES
DATELINE: OLEAN, N.Y.
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
His club may be 11-1 and ranked 11th in the nation, but nevertheless Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Bill Foster can't help but smell a ``foul'' odor these days.
Following Tech's 63-62 escape against Dayton on Thursday at Cassell Coliseum, Foster couldn't help but point to the Flyers' 19-6 edge in free throws attempted.
``Look at the stat sheet and the big difference between this team and last year is we're minus-10 at the free-throw line now for the year,'' Foster noted. ``We've given up 10 more (215-205) than we've taken. Last year, we were 125 up at this time.''
Foster can offer no explanation for the difference.
``Either we've gotten awful tough, awful physical or something different,'' he said. ``I don't know what it is ... but we've got to get people off the line. We're giving people too much easy stuff.''
Foster said if the trend continues he may have to scrap his club's man-to-man defense and start playing at least some zone.
``Either we've got to improve what we're doing or dust the old zone off and get in there and try to stay out of foul trouble,'' said Foster, whose teams play zone about as often as every lunar eclipse.
``We've defended some other pretty good people the same way [man-to-man]. I don't think any defense is worth a flip if you don't work. If you work, most any of 'em will work.''
Foster was upset with his team's defensive work against Dayton. Time and time again, the Flyers beat the Hokies with dribble penetration from the wings that resulted in easy baskets.
``We're not playing nearly as well collectively on defense,'' Foster said. ``We're not supporting as well. We went into [the] game knowing that their wings were going to dribble penetrate every time they got it. And they still did it.
``Either we're not good enough to stop dribble penetration or we need to back off and get in a zone or we've got to do a little better job of coaching.''
On the other end, Foster said his team's reluctance to work the ball inside has cut down on its opportunities to get to the line.
``You're not going to get fouled a lot on [the] perimeter,'' he said. ``Not a lot of people except us run around fouling people 35 feet from the basket.''
Although the Hokies take an eight-game winning streak into tonight's Atlantic 10 game at St.Bonaventure, Foster hasn't been impressed.
``We've got to get our game to another level right now,'' he said. ``We're not at the level we need to be at.
``We haven't had a 40-minute consistent effort. Closest thing to it would have been the Virginia game [a 72-64 win in Roanoke].
``We've had too many good-half, bad-half, good 10 minutes, bad five minutes, I'm in sync this time, I'm not in sync next time. Well, we've got to get to clicking.''
SENIORITIS: Foster hinted he's having a hard time getting the message to his seniors that they need to show up ready every night. He didn't say it, but it's obvious Foster thinks his club was complacent against 19-point underdog Dayton.
``Sometimes, the hardest team to coach is one loaded with seniors,'' Foster said. "Because they've been listening for four years ... they listen but they don't hear all the time.
``Sometimes, you have a little breakdown before you get a breakthrough. Hopefully, we won't have to have too many breakdowns before we break through and improve a few things.''
NO GIMMES: After four league games, Foster said the A-10 is better than anybody in the preseason thought it would be.
``I think people thought there would be three or four good teams and seven or eight struggle teams,'' Foster said.
``But I don't believe it's that way. Rhode Island is good, Dayton is good. I think the league is a whole lot better than anybody envisioned.''
DIMINISHED ROLE: Junior forward David Jackson has been the player most affected by Tech's added depth this season.
Jackson, who averaged 25 minutes and 8.5 points last season, has seen those numbers dwindle to 10 and 4.3 this season. Since scoring 37 points in Tech's first three games, Jackson has netted only 15 points in the past nine games. Jackson has failed to score in the past three games and five of the past seven.
The biggest reason for Jackson's reduced playing time has been the return of his twin brother, Jim.
Jim Jackson, who missed last season due to back surgery, is averaging 15 minutes and 6.8 points.
TECH TIDBITS: Nobody can accuse the Hokies of building their ranking at home. Last Thursday's game with Dayton was Tech's first home game in 31 days. When Fordham rolls into Cassell Coliseum on Saturday, Tech will have played one home game in 40 days. ``We've got to be the only team in the country that's done that,'' Foster said. ... No wonder Foster wants to play at home. Tech has won 12 straight games at Cassell, where it hasn't lost since Louisville turned the trick more than a year ago. ... Tech has blown leads of 15 and nine points in the second half of its past two games, but has rallied to win each. ... Dayton's 54.8 percent shooting effort marked only the 22nd time in 131 games that an opposing team has shot 50 percent or better against a Foster-coached Tech team. ... Tech's 11-1 start is its best since the 1982-83 club opened 14-1.
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