Ohio Valley Conference report

SportsLine Report
April 5, 2000

In the Paint

Travis Ford is being counted upon to bring a lot of things to EKU basketball.

Let's see, a little youthful exuberance is a good place to start. At 30, he's one of the youngest coaches in Division I, taking over a program that suffered through a downright depressing 1999-2000 season.

And then there's fast-paced excitement. He takes to the Colonels a high-energy approach that he hopes will be similar to the running system that Florida rode to the NCAA championship game this season.

And, and then there's that winning part, too. He played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky, where he got a good feeling for what's involved in being a key to a winning program.

He was very successful at Campbellsville University, winning 67 games in three seasons (23-11 this season, falling in the first round of the NAIA tournament), although the program had nine victories forfeited two years ago due to an eligibility problem of a player.

Ford was the SEC Tournament MVP in 1993 and '94, and was the most outstanding player of the 1993 NCAA Southeast Regional when Kentucky advanced to the Final Four under Pitino.

"Our goal is to finish at the top of the OVC in the near future," he declared, going on to say, "and hopefully become one of the top programs in the Southeast."

He replaces Scott Perry, who resigned March 7 after a three-year record of 19-61 (including 12-42 in OVC games).

Eastern Kentucky finished the season with a 16-game losing streak and didn't make the OVC Tournament. They last won a game on Jan. 6.

A glance at 2001

The Colonels will be better next season. How could they be much worse than the way they finished? Their 1999-2000 roster is heavy with freshmen and sophomores and had only one senior, 6-8 forward Darick Mattox.

Whitney Robinson is one of the better guards in the league, and the Colonels' frontcourt had loads of potential. Sam Hoskin, who sat out his freshman season and worked on academics, and freshman Chris Garnett both started in the frontcourt and gained valuable experience, though humbling at times.

The coach

Scott Perry has called it quits after three seasons with the Colonels. Perry, who was told at midseason he could return next season, chose otherwise after the Colonels finished 6-21 overall and 2-16 in the OVC. Perry was 19-61 overall and 12-42 in the OVC in three seasons.

"In what I felt would be in the best interest of all concerned, I initiated a discussion between myself and school officials which has resulted in a mutual agreement to resign my position as head basketball coach at Eastern Kentucky University," Perry said in a prepared statement.

Now it's Travis Ford's turn to give it a shot.

Who'll be back

As the old saying goes, almost everybody will be back for Eastern Kentucky, but is that good or bad? In this case, it's probably good.

All five starters return with Whitney Robinson leading the way. Robinson is one of the top backcourt players in the league, a two-year starter. He's joined by starting post players Chris Garnett and Sam Hoskin, guard Will Morris and forward Ricardo Thomas. Several others give the Colonels depth and can look for more minutes, including swingmen Lavoris Jerry and Brad Borgman, guard John White and forward Keanan Weir.

Who's gone

The Colonels' had only one senior, 6-8 forward Darick Mattox. A starter two seasons ago, Mattox lost his starting job and a lot of his playing time when Sam Hoskin became such a factor in the high post.

Key newcomers

• Robert Brooks (6-8), F, Saginaw, Mich.