DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711090268

SECTION: SPECIAL                 PAGE: Z6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: 1997-98 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   58 lines

WILL COACH'S RECENT EXIT ROCK LIBERTY? MEANWHILE, RADFORD GOES FOR 8TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON UNDER BRADLEY

There's nothing like switching head coaches after practice begins to throw a team out of sync. Just how much off their game they are, and how quickly they can retool under new coach Randy Dunton, is what the Liberty Flames are working on right now.

Dunton, who was associate head coach under Jeff Meyer, has taken over following Meyer's surprise move to the position of assistant to the university president.

Did he get out while the getting was good?

The Flames are coming off a school-record 23-win season, but 6-foot-10 center Peter Aluma and his dominating inside game have left the building.

The Flames have six returning players and a schedule that includes games at Wake Forest, Texas and Virginia Tech, all in the first three weeks of the season.

Liberty's backcourt of Larry Jackson (12.3 ppg) and Mark Reed (7.5 ppg) will be asked to hold this act together early, and Erik Sorensen must increase his output of 6.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a year ago.

With Aluma gone, understudy and Auburn transfer Adam Hopkins is expected to step up his contributions. But with the focus on rebuilding and not reloading, the pressure may be off.

A look at the state's other Division I men's programs:

VMI: The Keydets have been picked to finish third in the Southern Conference's North Division behind Davidson and Appalachian State.

A lot of bad things happened to the Keydets last year that could mean good results this year.

Brett Conley, who left school for disciplinary reasons last January, is back in the fold. He was leading the team in scoring and the league in rebounding when he bolted.

His absence forced some others to move into more prominent roles. One of them was Virginia Beach's Chris DiNunzio, a 6-9 center who started a dozen straight games late in the season after being hobbled at the beginning by a broken foot.

Point guard Darryl Faulkner is back at point guard, where the Keydets are deep. Forward Aaron Demory plays above his 6-3 height and is expected to make vital contributions.

Radford: A few facts: Ron Bradley has been the coach for seven seasons. The Highlanders have posted seven straight winning seasons, the longest such streak in the state. And all 20 of Bradley's student-athletes who have completed their eligibility have graduated.

Radford will look to make that eight straight without Anthony Walker and Eric Bowens, who led the Highlanders in scoring last season.

Picking up the slack should be point guard Rian Everett, a sophomore guard from Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach. Everett was a Big South All-Freshman pick.

Corey Reed, a 6-6 wingman who converted 47.6 percent of his 3-pointers last season, is back. The inside game will ride the shoulders of Kevin Robinson, who averaged 9.3 points and 6.4 rebounds last season. KEYWORDS: SPECIAL SECTION SUPPLEMENT BASKETBALL

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