“It’s not what you do, it’s how well you do what you do.”
- Brad Greenberg
Sounds simple, right?
In 2009-10, even the offensive formula for Radford is this basic: establish the inside game, take good shots and take good care of the basketball. Defensively, the Highlanders want to protect the paint, contest three-point shots and limit teams to just one shot per possession.
It was the same pattern for success in Radford’s Big South championship season last year, one that brought them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years.
Case in point: buckets came frequently for Radford in the paint, as interior forces Art Parakhouski and Joey Lynch- Flohr combined to shoot 53 percent for the season, while the Highlanders controlled the glass with a rebound margin of 6.4 per game, 16th nationally.
On the defensive end, teams shot just 39.9 percent against Radford last year, the 33rd-best field goal percentage defense in the nation.
That’s what the totals looked like at season’s end. Over a stretch where the Highlanders went 12-1 heading into the NCAA Tournament, Radford made 49 percent of its shots (led by Parakhouski’s 59 percent) to 39 percent for its opponents, and out-rebounded opponents by 10 boards per game.
On paper, and in the win column, the formula looks like it worked.
“The 2008-09 team felt strongly that we could compete for a Big South championship,” Greenberg says. “The key was our team buying into and improving at a style of play at both ends of the floor that played to our strengths.”
The Highlanders proved that they could buy in last year, going 21-12 overall and 15-3 in Big South action while winning both the league’s regular season and tournament championships.
Preseason Highlight – Four Returning Starters
Preseason prognosticators are picking the Highlanders to pick up right where they left off: Athlon and Lindy’s both have Radford as the league’s champion in 2009-10, and heading for the first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. For those picking, it starts with Radford’s front line.
Parakhouski, the conference player of the year and an AP Honorable Mention All-America pick, returns with Lynch-Flohr, a Big South all-tournament and first team selection a year ago.
The numbers were hard to miss from the 6-11 Belarusian, who averaged a double-double (16.2 points/game, 11.2 rebounds/game) while making 54 percent of his shot attempts. Parakhouski hit on nearly 60 percent of his tries in Big South games.
Lynch-Flohr, a preseason Big South all-conference pick last season, delivered with 13.7 points per outing and 5.9 rebounds per game, while hitting 52 percent of his tries from the floor. He was just as productive at the foul line, shooting 72 percent from the charity stripe.
Add to the mix 6-8 junior Lazar Trifunovic, a transfer forward who averaged double-figure scoring (12.4 points per game) in two years at Binghamton.
“Our projected starting front line is talented, motivated, big and strong,” Greenberg says. “And they are competitive.”
Greenberg expects the addition of Trifunovic to click with Radford’s already strong frontcourt.
“This will be the first time they play together so they may take some time to adjust to each other. But they are all unselfish and will work to become a smooth trio when playing together.”
Opponents would be cautious to focus on just these three, as senior point guard Amir Johnson and senior forward Phillip Martin have more than proven themselves at this level.
Johnson enters his fourth season as the starting point guard for the Highlanders, and is making his mark on the Radford and Big South record books in the process.
He enters the season tied for second in program history with 438 assists and is the 17th player in Big South history to meet the 400-assist mark. During the NCAA first round game against North Carolina last March, Johnson became the 24th player to join Radford’s 1,000-point club.
Martin, who moved into a starting role for the Highlanders last season, lifted the Highlanders to an 18-3 record in games where he joined the first five.
A player that can make an impact in the frontcourt and backcourt, Martin picked up the production in Radford’s 12-1 stretch entering the tournament, netting 6.2 points per contest and hitting 53 percent of his tries from the floor.
Radford’s Big South “Body of Work”
Where the Highlanders ramped up their game last year was in Big South tilts, putting up staggering figures on the way to the league’s biggest turnaround.
“We played a fundamental game,” Greenberg says. “Our team gained momentum and confidence with each win, and developed a winning team identity.”
Greenberg credits this success to Radford’s performance in three key areas: rebounding, trips to the free throw line, and opponent’s field goal percentage.
Among Division I teams in conference games, Radford led the nation in defensive rebounds per game, and was third in total rebounding per game.
The Highlanders got to the line 472 times in conference games, ninth nationally, and made 319 of those tries, 15th in the country.
In conference games, opponents were shooting just 39 percent against Radford.
Again, the numbers prove the formula’s success.
“We were consistent at both ends of the floor,” Greenberg says. “We moved the ball, got high percentage shots and played unselfishly. We didn’t force shots or plays. Defensively we helped each other and competed.”
Wrinkles for the Highlanders
While key productive players return looking for a repeat championship, Radford will have to break in nine newcomers and face a schedule that is as challenging as the program has ever seen.
Greenberg will have to find players who can fill vacated roles as well.
“There are playing opportunities to be won,” Greenberg says. “I am anxious to see who earns the opportunity to replace the shooting, defense and leadership of Kenny Thomas, the energy, rebounding and defense of Eric Hall, and the ballhandling, defense and playmaking Chris McEachin gave us last season.
Along with Trifunovic, Greenberg has senior Cole Wilder, seven true freshman, sophomore Daniel Mitchell and junior college transfer Jeremy Robinson in the mix.
The most demanding schedule in school history features 15 home contests as well as trips to storied programs and 2009 NCAA Tournament participants Duke (Nov. 21),
Kansas (Dec. 9) and Louisville (Dec. 27). Radford also travels to Duquesne (Nov. 29) and James Madison (Dec. 19), two teams that finished with winning records last season.
At home, the Highlanders get return games from Navy (Nov. 13), William & Mary (Dec. 22) and George Mason (Dec. 30). The Highlanders also host an ESPNU Bracketbuster game (Feb. 20).
“On balance and under control”
While Greenberg’s winning formula paid dividends for the Highlanders last year, he says those results don’t come with talent or size alone.
“We do a lot of fundamental drills to improve our passing, catching, dribbling and footwork,” he says. “Learning how to play ‘on balance’ and under control is the goal. Really good players can move fast with the ball and still play ‘on balance’ and under control. That is what we strive for.”
Defensively, the keys are similar.
“On defense, we spend a lot of time scouting opponents and on defensive game preparation,” Greenberg says. “Our team knows that defense wins games. When we hold opponents under 40 percent from the field, under 30 percent on threes, and limit them to one shot, we have a good chance of winning.”
Fundamentals and basics led to championship results for the Highlanders last year, and the 2009-10 season holds great promise.
Written By Patrick Reed -- Assistant Director of Athletic Communications