Snowden Looks For Spark in WSSU Attack
A Rams look to rebound against Hampton tonight at LJ. Coliseum
By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Chronicle Sport* Writer
When a young team with a
new head coach has problems,
those headaches usually occur on
the offensive end. Scoring, or lack
thereof, can be viewed as the main
culprit because of the influx of
newcomers.
Those problems seem to
plague the Winston-Salem State
Rams early in the 1993-94 season.
Though the Rams are off to a
respectable 2-3 start, WSSU has
had stretches where its offense has
stalled. Now Rams coach Thomas
"Fox" Snowden must prepare his
squad against Central Intercolle
giate Athletic Association foe
Hampton at Lawrence Joel Colise
um Thursday night.
"Any time a young team has
34 fouls were called the Rams,
as opposed to only 13 against
homestanding California. Snowden
was furious when he read the final
box score that had his team shoot
ing 10 free throws compared to 52
for California.
"It seemed the whistle kept
bl'owing and they (the referees)
couldn't stop it. California has a
very good ball club, they're not thir
ty points better than us," Snowden
said of California, which entered
the contest ranked seventh in the
NCAA Division II polls.
Snowden tried to regroup his
young team the following night in a
72-63 loss against Sheperd
(W.Va.). WSSU played much clos
er to vest, trailing only 36-33 at the
end of the first half. A Marcus
Boyd jumper put the Rams ahead
45-42 early in the second half
Thomas "Fox" Snowdett
ers' mind.
"It (the Sheperd game) was a
like eating ice cream out of an ice
"When you play in a difficult lournamenx . . .you try to find some posi
tives out of a trying situation. We think we found something." .
the rough experiences that we've
had on the road, it's important we
get the support from our communi
ty," Snowden said. "It's especially
important because it's a home game
against a conference rival."
Snowden views the upcoming
game as a chess match in terms of
the seeding for the CIAA tourna
ment. The Rams would like to be in
a more advantageous position when
Winston-Salem hosts the tourna
ment this March. But if WSSU
wants to ensure itself of a high
seeding, then Snowden must find
the answers to a sputtering offen
sive attack.
It was no more apparent in
The Observer-Reporter Invitational
held this past weekend in Pennsyl
vania that the Rams need some sort
of spark.
** Against host California Uni
versity (Pa.) last Friday, WSSU
shot an icy 9 for 31 from the field j
in the first half while California
was 16 for 30 from the field during
a 102-72 loss in the opening round.
But it was the fouls category that
drew the attention of Snowden.
Hardee
from page B 1
Carver Lee Canter, one of his top
wrestlers, as an example. Prior to
the start of the season, Canter con
templated not wrestling this season
because of the stringent diet
required to remain in his weight
class.
"Lee just avoided me for two
days, then I asked up front was he
going to wrestle," Hardee said. "He
said he wasn't, so I let him go. I
wasn't going to force him to do any
thing he didn't want-to^dfioJA
wrestling, you have to do this for
yourself."
Canter eventually returned to
the team with open arms from the
coach. Since then, Hardee has
staged a personal training program
with Canter, spending long stretch
es of practice wrestling with the
senior.
"I wanted to get back with the
team, but coach told me it wouldn't
be easy on me," Canter said. "The
only thing he has done is tell me it's
up to me if I want to be out there." '
Hardee believes that every
person on the squad has a chance to
succeed with him if they give his
undivided attention. Hardee devotes
a large amount of his burgeoning
schedule to the wrestlers, so noth
ing less than the best is what Hard
ee asks of his pupils.
"These kids need someone
they can grab hold to, give them
direction," Hardee said. "When I
wrestled in high school and in col
lege, I didn't have a coach to cheer
me on. I had to excite myself out
there. That's why I out there, to
keep their confidence up when
they're down.
"When these kids come in
these doors to practice, they don't
leave until it's over," Hardee said.
before Sheperd went on a 13-1 run
to put the game out of reach.
Despite staying close with
Sheperd a majority of the contest,
WSSU's offensive game missfired,
shooting only 24 for 76 from the
field. But Snowden thinks the Cali
fornia contest was still on his play
cream cone. When you're finished
eating, you're just left with a cone,"
Snowden said. "We didn't play with
a lot of emotion nor with the inten
sity we usually display."
Several Rams did provide
some promise. Freshman Phenizee
Ransom continued to impress, scor
ing 23 points in both games. Louis
Williams scored 14 points against
California, all of them coming in
the second half, and Antoine Glover
scoring 13 against Sheperd.
Snowden was pleased to find
some much-needed depth and some
firepower off the bench. Neisac
Brown and Bernard Powell played
solid all-around games while Win
ston-Salem natives Casey Simmons
and Monte Gray gave Snowden
consistent defense and three-point
shooting, respectively.
"When you play in a difficult
tournament as we had. you try to
find some positives out of a trying
situation," Snowden said. "Playing
in a hostile environment, our play
ers had to push it up a notch. Fortu
nately, we think we found some
thing to help us."
Now WSSU turns its attention
tu Hampton. Unlike CIAA uppo
nent Virginia State, which WSSU
defeated 89-77, the Pirates will rely
on quickness and a more one-on
one style of play. Despite not hav
ing a starter taller than 6-8, Hamp
ton's overall size and depth con
cerns Snowden.
"We can't let them get in the
open court and have easy baskets,"
Snowden said. "Whoever wins the
game will because they're hiingrier
than the other."
To report your scores call our
Sports Department at
722 8624
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