Back to work for Roccaforte, Cards

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By PERRYN KEYS

10/04/2007

Updated 10/03/2007 11:18:51 PM CDT

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BEAUMONT - What do golf clubs, vacation days and the Houston Astros all have in common?

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They have vanished from Steve Roccaforte's daily life.

During the offseason, college basketball coaches are still busier than Britney Spears' public-relations team: They're doing anything from raising money to evaluating recruits. But summertime does allow most coaches to take vacations, long lunches or sneak in a day at the ballpark.

Roccaforte? His Houston Astros spit the bit before the dog days even set in, and vacations are little more than a memory.

Now that October is here, the 80-hour work weeks will begin.

Division I teams can begin practicing full-time Oct. 12 - eight days, if you're counting - and coaches are still busy trying to nail down recruits for basketball's early signing period, which starts Nov. 14.

In the meantime, the NCAA allows teams to hold practice two hours per week and run a conditioning program six hours per week.

And if you believe Roccaforte, this beats a week at Crystal Beach.

"When the season ends, you have so much time invested in it, and it goes on for so long, you need some time to get away from it," Roccaforte said. "But really and truly, I guess I'm different. What I like most is the practices and games, watching tape, all that stuff. So for me, this is the best time of the year."

And it's about to crank up.

Today's "Tipoff Dinner" at Lamar, set for 6:30 p.m. inside the Montagne Center, marks the unofficial start of the basketball preseason. Former LSU coach Dale Brown, a show-stopping public speaker, will headline the event. Lamar will also honor all of its teams that won Southland Conference championships last season.

Alas, the men's basketball program was not one of them.

The Cardinals were maddeningly inconsistent last year, Roccaforte's first as head coach.

On the right night, Lamar was capable of playing with mid- and high-major schools. For instance, the Cards ambushed Brigham Young at home and came within a few points of defeating Wyoming on the road. In the Southland Conference, Lamar even knocked off champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a game it had to win.

On the flip side, there were losses. Many of them. And many of them were ugly. Simply put, the mercurial Cardinals were susceptible of playing up or down to their opponents' level. They finished 15-17 and earned only a No. 7 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament.

The offseason was almost as eventful.

Volatile center James Davis went AWOL over the summer and eventually signed with an agent, who said Davis hopes to play overseas.

Brandon Chappell graduated and has also signed to play for a German pro team. Backup center Stephen Musa transferred out of Lamar, seeking a place where he could start. Durand Murray is still on campus but is not on the active roster.

So why would this season be a massive improvement?

Two reasons: 1) the Cardinals believe they have a roster of team-first players, and 2) they have a pair of point guards.

Lamar was short in both areas last year.

"What I've learned over the last 12 months is, especially in recruiting, is that we have to be as thorough as we can - learning as much about the guys and their character and their effort," Roccaforte said.

"We're looking for guys who want to be here at Lamar, who are excited about the opportunity - guys who play with a lot of energy and make other players feed off their energy. So far, that's what we've got."

Last summer, Roccaforte had banked on Terrell Powell as his starting point guard, but Powell didn't even last through fall workouts. He withdrew from the university last October.

Without a true floor leader, the Cardinals had the worst turnover ratio in the Southland Conference, and it wasn't even close. The team averaged almost three turnovers a game more than it forced.

Roccaforte admitted finding a point guard was his No. 1 priority. He found junior-college transfer Kenny Dawkins, who averaged 4.5 assists at Arizona Western college; and a familiar face in backup Brandon McThay, who spent his freshman year at LU before transferring to Kilgore College.

Graduation and defections opened up spots for four more players:

Sophomore swingman Ashton Hall (6-6, 210), the Kountze native and former Tulsa signee who spent last season at Angelina College. Hall suffered numerous injuries in a June 19 car accident and has been limited in conditioning work, but said he expects to be ready for practice soon.

Junior forward Justin Nabors (6-6, 215), one of three early signees last season but the only one to follow through and come to Lamar.

Dawkins' high school teammate and a product of Northwest Mississippi Community College - the same school that produced Todd and Lamar Sanders - Nabors played one season there under LU assistant Don Skelton. Nabors does not have Sanders' inside musc

Junior forward Jay Brown (6-7, 220), another late signee from Los Angeles City College. Roccaforte describes Brown as a player with good inside moves who can occasionally step out for a 3-pointer.

Junior forward Tristan Worrell (6-7, 250), Hall's former teammate at Angelina and "a warrior" inside, Roccaforte said.

If their depth and point-guard play improve, the Cardinals could be dangerous. They led the Southland by pulling down 38.4 rebounds a game.

Now, Roccaforte said, they'd like to play a style that would make Billy Tubbs proud - up and down the floor instead of setting up in halfcourt patterns. In other words, more Ferrari and less F-150.

Will it work? The next six months will tell.

Vacation days are over, and the preseason is about to tip off.

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[KFDM COOP]

ROC is working his tail off!