Norville Trying to Find `Groove’
The most memorable words of the season so far have been uttered by Wright State University senior forward Sherman Curry, who, after watching teammate Inus Norville wheeze and cough his way up and down the court in a season-opening loss at Old Dominion, said, "Inus has got to get his groove back."
Eleven games later, as they prepare for the start of Midwestern Collegiate Conference play this weekend, the 5-7 Raiders are still in search of Norville’s groove, although they have been encouraged by his play lately and, after a battery of medical tests, are convinced he’s just out of shape and not another Hank Gathers waiting to happen.
Norville, a 6-foot-9 forward/center who sat out last year after transferring from Massachusetts (where he once played in the Final Four), tuned up for his senior season by spending the summer under a pile of weights. Problem is, the weight room is where his exercise program apparently began and ended.
Team physician Dr. Barry Fisher says Norville is still about 25-30 pounds over his ideal playing weight of 240-250. “His aerobic capacity is low,” Fisher said. “It looks like he put on a lot of muscle mass and didn’t do much aerobic conditioning. We’ve got to get that muscle mass turned into lean body mass. It takes a while when you’re that big.”
Norville was unable to participate fully in preseason conditioning, the result of a back injury generally thought to be weight-related or at least weight-room related. He also suffers from asthma. The good news? It’s not too late for Norville to become the dominating force coaches saw in practice last year. He’s shown glimpses of that ability while averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game. Ideally, coach Ed Schilling would like to use him 30-35 minutes.
“He’s the kind of player who can change the complexion of a game,” Schilling said. “We’ve got the OK that he’s ready to go full speed on his conditioning. Now it’s just a matter of getting him in game shape.”
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