Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Rick Cormany coached his Radford Bobcats to the state playoffs this season for the third straight year, but it wasn’t what he hoped.
The Bobcats won state titles in 2016 and 2017 but had to take the leap this year from the 1A ranks to 2A, and he knew the road to another championship would be a little tougher.
Earlier this month, Gate City defeated Radford in the state quarterfinals. The loss snapped a 37-game win streak that stretched over two seasons. For Cormany, it left a sour taste in his mouth.
“Very few teams end their season with a win, but that’s what we expect to do every year now. Hard to enjoy a tremendous year when the expectation is to win state titles. I do think it will drive us all, and yes there is a very sour taste,” he said.
Cormany and his prized point guard Quinton Morton-Robertson or Q as is he is commonly known; both were honored with region and district coach of the year and player of year awards. Today, they both received the same for all-county/all-city.
Cormany is now pushing 662 wins and has won 16-17 regular season Three Rivers District titles and five regional championships. He has three state titles under his belt at Radford including the previous two years.
“I thought we had a great season but it just didn’t end great. Kids gave everything they had and were extremely committed,” Cormany said.
Morton-Robertson had another exceptional season, being named the TRD’s player of year and first team all-region and 2A all-state.
Last year, Morton-Robertson scored 593 total points and averaged 20.4 points per game and shot 51 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from behind the three-point line. He also pulled down 87 rebounds.
This year as a junior, he was 85 of 189 from behind the arc for 45 percent and 73-129 for 56.6 percent of his two-point shots. His average rose slightly to 21.1 points per game, and he also hit upon 81.8 percent from the charity stripe.
“Q was outstanding all year and in my opinion was the best player on the floor even in our disappointing loss to Gate City. His assist to turnover ratio was 5.1 assists per game to 0.9 turnovers in 28 games,” Cormany said.
The competition might refer to their notes as the Bobcats return all five starters next season and a loaded bench.
“Should be another good year if everyone stays healthy, but we have to get better in several areas if we want to compete for a state title,” Cormany concluded.
Quinton Morton-Robert was joined on the all-county/all-city team by: Blacksburg’s Grant Johnston, Christiansburg’s Austin Brown, Auburn’s Dylan Akers and Eastern Montgomery’s Garrett East.
