Randolph-Macon vies for spot in NCAA quarters
Published: March 12, 2010
By John Packett
Media General News Services
Between them, guards Tim Lawrence and Michael Strickland have scored a total of 19 points and picked off 16 rebounds for Randolph-Macon College this season. Yet, in spite of minimal time on the court, the seniors have played an integral role in the Yellow Jackets’ run to the third round of the NCAA Division III national tournament, which continues tonight against DeSales at St. Mary’s (Md.) College.
“They’re both vital members of the team,” said first year coach Nathan Davis, whose 24-6 squad was runner-up in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament but received an at large bid into the field of 61.
“People who just see us in the games and stuff, they obviously see the guys on the floor who play a lot, but those two guys have set the standard, as far as what we’re expecting of each other.”
In R-MC’s case, that would mean squeezing every single ounce of ability and talent from each player and battling opponents ferociously on both ends of the court.
“You’re talking about two seniors who don’t play a lot, but they come and work hard every day. For them, and for all our guys, the most important thing for them to show is that the team is successful.
“You’ve got two seniors that I know would like to play more, and there’s a lot of places they could play more. But when they both step to the plate and do their best to make sure we’re as good as we can be, it’s hard for the other guys to not do the same thing.”
Strickland and Lawrence arrived in Ashland expecting to spend more time on the court, and they admitted when that didn’t happen, they considered leaving the program.
“Early on, there were thoughts about transferring or not playing any more, but then you weigh the pros and cons,” said Lawrence, a 6-1 shooting guard from Verona, N.J. “The pros for us were always the other guys in the locker room, the other guys on the team, and personally, I couldn’t walk away from those guys and not play or not practice with them and just give it up. I just couldn’t do it.”
Added Strickland, “It was crushing at first because you want to play and have an impact. Definitely, I looked at other schools. My dad [Pete] was an assistant at N.C. State, and he said I could be a walk-on there.
“Ultimately, I decided to stay here because I love the school, love the team. I liked what was going on and we had a lot of good guys.”
While they haven’t gotten on the court much, Strickland and Lawrence have contributed mightily in other ways.
“They pay a lot of attention during the games, and they’ll see things going on and they’ll make suggestions,” said Davis. “It’s surprising how many times we make an adjustment from something they saw, and a lot of times, they’re right.”
Watching from the sidelines has given Lawrence and Strickland a different perspective.
“We figured out early on that there were other ways we could make an impact,” said Lawrence. “Whether it was going hard in practice or pushing the guys in front of us or pointing things out during the games, we just try to do as much as we can in our roles.
“I’ve also tried to help [assistant] coach [J.D.] Byers out with any scouting reports or anything I’ve seen during games. Make sure everybody is on the same page. After certain games, I’ve worked a couple guys out, just to work on some things without a coach in a less intimidating situation.”
Echoed Strickland, a 5-11 point guard from Myrtle Beach, S.C., “We both want to be coaches when we get out of college. I want to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I try to focus more on the guys and what our team can do better. Try to keep their spirits up and help the morale of the team.
“We’re always available to work out with the guys when they want to, whether it’s a big guy like Danny [Jones] or Kevin [Voelkel] or the point guard like Calvin [Croskey].
Work with them on certain moves I see during the games.” Lawrence and Strickland are business/economics majors, but both want to go into coaching after graduation.
Strickland’s dad served as an assistant at VMI and Old Dominion before becoming the head man at Coastal Carolina for eight years.
Davis believes the pair has an excellent chance of doing well in the profession.
“They’re both good with people, and I think they’ve got a good mind for the game,” said Davis. “Those are the two big things with coaching. You’ve got to be able to recruit and you’ve got to understand what’s going on out there, so you can teach guys how to play.”
John Packett is a special correspondent for the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Randolph-Macon vs. DeSales
When: 6 p.m.
Where: O’Brien Athletics and Recreation Center (cap. 1,200), St.
Mary’s City, Md.
Radio: WHAN (1430), 5:45. Internet: http://www.athletics.rmc.edu, 5:45
Tickets: $7 adult, $4 senior citizens, students.
Projected starting lineups:
R-MC Ht. Ppg Rpg. Apg Pos DeSALES Ht. Ppg. Rpg. Apg.
B. Braxton 6-9 11.9 5.2 0.5 F J. Bercier 6-6 3.7 2.9 0.3
K. Voelkel 6-5 2.8 6.0 2.0 F M. Zwetolitz 6-4 5.7 4.0 2.1
J. Brown 6-4 10.8 3.6 2.0 G D. Braswell 6-1 21.1 8.6 2.8
Eric Pugh 6-0 10.1 2.1 3.2 G Brian Hunter 6-3 10.6 3.7 3.8
C. Croskey 6-0 8.4 3.1 1.8 G Jim Malatesta 6-1 6.6 3.4 2.0
Notable: This is a third-round game in the NCAA Division III tournament and the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Yellow Jackets (24-6) defeated DeSales 87-63 on Nov. 29 in Ashland. “The reality is both teams have changed a lot since then,” said R-MC coach Nathan Davis. “We played very well that day and they probably played one of their worst games, so I don’t think it will have any impact [tonight]. . . . Host St. Mary’s faces Franklin and Marshall in the other sectional game at 8. The winners meet tomorrow at 7 p.m., with the survivor advancing to the D-III final four in Salem on March 19-20. . . .
Guard Danny Jones comes off the bench to lead R-MC in scoring (13.2 ppg). Braswell is the star for the Bulldogs (24-5), champions of the Freedom Conference. . . . DeSales reached the final eight last season.
. . . This is R-MC’s fourth appearance in the Sweet 16, the last one coming at the end of the 2002-03 season. . . . Both teams like to shoot the 3, with DeSales averaging more than 20 attempts per game; the Yellow Jackets put up 19.
