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By PAUL SOKOLOSKI; Times Leader Sports Writer
Sunday, January 16, 1994 Page: 1C QUICK WORDS: SURA SUDDENLY A MARKED
MAN
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Shifting into reverse, Bob Sura prepared to pull away
from his Wilkes-Barre home when he heard the crunch.
His hurried late-summer drive interrupted by worry, he leaped from the car
quicker than you can say fast break. To his horror, the shiny red motorcycle
he proudly spent all summer coaxing to peak performance was damaged in the
mishap.
“Backed into it,” Sura said with a chuckle, shaking his head slowly in
disbelief. “Stupid. Had to get rid of it. Tough break.”
The unexpected creeps up on those who aren’t careful, even Bob Sura, one of
college basketball’s brightest stars as the new court leader of Florida State.
Just two weeks ago, the former GAR legend had an open highway to the top of
the college basketball world.
He was named a preseason All-American entering his junior year, after being
selected Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rookie of the year in 1992 and
second-team All-ACC last year.
He scored 34 points against Lafayette and 31 against Florida Atlantic and
30 against North Carolina-Greensboro, to go along with four more 20-point
games as Florida State rolled to a 7-1 record to start its 1993-94 season.
Then the ACC regular season began.
Sura scored just 10 points in the Seminoles’ league-opening loss to Wake
Forest. He followed that up with nine points against Virginia. As Florida
State dropped to 0-3 in the ACC and 7-4 overall with an 80-74 loss to Maryland
Tuesday, Sura managed just 13 points.
And everyone wants to know: What’s wrong with Bobby?
Well, not a thing, except he’s now a top target of opposing defenses.
“With preseason honors and after how I played last year, people are out to
stop me and shut me down,” Sura said. “And they’ve done a great job with it.
“It’s just so tough for me now. The defenses are geared so much toward
stopping me, it’s just hard for me to get free anymore.”
“Sura is certainly one of the better guards in the country,” Maryland coach
Gary Williams said. “And he’s a great competitor.”
That’s why he’s been troubled, with his own inability to produce points and
with Florida State’s lack of success. Sitting wistfully outside his locker at
Maryland’s Cole Field House, Sura solemnly tried to figure it out.
“It’s been frustrating so far,” the 6-foot-5 Wilkes-Barre native said. “But
I’m just going to continue working hard and try to do other things besides
scoring to help the team win.”
Florida State has already asked him to do a lot.
He entered Tuesday’s game with Maryland as the ACC’s leading scorer,
although he dropped to third with an average of 20.8 points per game while his
13 points against the Terrapins moved Sura into 14th place on FSU’s all-time
scoring list.
He’s among the ACC’s top 10 in rebounds, field-goal percentage, assists and
steals. Endlessly shouting instructions and waving signals to teammates, Sura
has also been the Seminoles’ early-season leader.
“Guys look to me a little bit, and the coaches also,” said Sura, who will
soon turn 21. “I’m trying to lead the team.”
“He’s trying to be a leader,” Florida State center Andre Reid said, “and
he’s doing a pretty good job of it. But it is going to take him awhile to get
to maybe more of a leader type.
“He just needs to come out and play hard,” Reid continued. “If he comes out
and plays hard, it makes everybody else try to play hard. And he’s done that.
He’s come on and tried to play hard. He’s just been struggling a little bit.”
He needs help.
Although Tuesday’s 13-point total was low for Sura, it was high for the
Seminoles. And the effort came despite the nearly 15 minutes he sat on the
bench with foul trouble before eventually fouling out.
“We have other guys on the team besides Bob that can score,” Reid said. “I
didn’t show it, but I know I can. The whole team’s been struggling. Once other
guys besides Bob pick up their game, then teams can’t worry about just Bob
anymore. They’ve got to worry about everybody else. I think that’s going to
have to happen.”
Things could change quickly.
Starting senior guard Charlie Ward was expected to join the Seminoles after
his Heisman Trophy football season for today’s game at North Carolina State.
“Once we get Charlie back, he’ll be able to lead us a little better,” Sura
said.
And Sura himself is already showing signs of breaking free.
After missing his first 10 3-point attempts in ACC play, Sura finally
buried one Tuesday.
“Sometimes when you get the first one, your confidence takes off,” Williams
said. “He might have been a little reluctant early.”
“This is the first one I hit since we started league play,” Sura said.
“It’s really the first good look I had, too. Hopefully it’ll be positive for
the future.”
There’s talk that he’s already one of the nation’s top collegiate guards,
and a sure bet to enter the NBA draft later this year.
“Nah, not the way it’s looking now,” Sura said. “We’ll see what happens at
the end of the year, see what position I’m in.”
No, for now, he’d be elated with just a few more points, a few more wins,
and just one defense that forgets about him for a night. Fat chance on that
last one.
“The team’s going to have to start picking up its play on offense,” Reid
said. “After that, Bob can start hitting his shots and going to the hole more.
“But as of right now, he’s our main offense.”