UVA FOE HAS COME A LONG WAY

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 16, 1993                   TAG: 9303160146
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
UVA FOE HAS COME A LONG WAY
Until two years ago, Manhattan's chief claim to fame athletically was its connection with Brother Jasper of Mary, the man said to have invented the seventh-inning stretch.
Brother Jasper was such an imposing figure at Manhattan College during the late 19th century that the school decided to name its athletic teams after him.
The only reason this matters to Virginia - if it does - is that the Cavaliers (19-9) have been paired with the Jaspers (23-6) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
Manhattan has had some athletic success, most notably when the Jaspers upset a West Virginia team led by All-American Jerry West 89-84 in 1958, but they had eight straight losing seasons in basketball before 1991-92.
The low point was a 2-26 mark in 1985-86. Since then, the Jaspers have improved their record every season. The biggest jump came when Manhattan followed a 13-15 season in 1990-91 with a 25-9 record.
That was enough to get coach Steve Lappas a job at Villanova, to be replaced by Providence assistant Fran Fraschilla, whose primary opposition came from Virginia assistant Dennis Wolff.
Small world?
"Absolutely," said Wolff, a New York native. "It's somewhat ironic that I've talked to one school about a job in the last three years and it's the same school we're playing in the tournament."
In another irony, Fraschilla might have been at Virginia now if his former boss, Rick Barnes, had not backed out of an agreement to become the head coach at UVa.
Virginia has never played Manhattan, but the Cavaliers have had problems in previous meetings with teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association. In 1984, the Cavaliers squeaked by Iona 58-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and, in 1990, UVa struggled to beat Siena 80-77 in the Great Alaska Shootout.
On the other hand, teams from the MAAC are 1-9 in the NCAA Tournament since 1984.
Manhattan, beaten by LaSalle in the MAAC finals after winning the regular-season title in 1992, was 6-4 this season after the third of three straight losses. However, the Jaspers won 17 of their past 19 games and have lost once - at Siena - since Jan. 14.
Manhattan was seeded 11th in the East, "which is a credit to our program and a great thrill," Fraschilla said. "We played a good schedule [and] our power ranking is high relative to our level."
Manhattan's non-conference opposition included NCAA Tournament teams St. John's, Marquette and Holy Cross. The Jaspers beat Patriot League champion Holy Cross.
The Jaspers are led by Keith Bullock, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward, but four of their starters score in double figures. Bullock, who played with UVa's Corey Alexander and Junior Burrough on an NIT all-star team that toured Europe, averages 18.4 points and ranks among the leading Division I leaders with 11.1 rebounds per game.
"The coaches I've talked to say it's not a one-man team," Virginia assistant Tom Perrin said. "They say you've really got to watch out for [swingman] Carey Edwards."
Edwards, a 6-5 junior, is one of three Jaspers who have made more than 40 3-pointers.
Perrin was headed to the Charlottesville airport Monday night and, within 24 hours, was hoping to have six or seven tapes of Manhattan.
"I was supposed to have film sent to us [Monday] on five flights that were canceled," Perrin said. "All I've been able to do is look at the roster and the stat sheet and call a couple of coaches."
The similarities between the teams include size and a relative lack of depth. Virginia and Manhattan are among a small group of teams that have used the same starting lineup in every game.
"They're not big but they may be bigger than us," said Perrin, referring mostly to the bulk of Bullock and 6-9, 230-pound sophomore center Jamal Marshall, who has accounted for 30 of the team's 78 blocked shots.
Of the six players who have logged more than 200 minutes for Manhattan, three are seniors and two are juniors.
"When we came in, the program wasn't very good," said point guard Chris Williams, a senior who played on teams his first two years that were 11-17 and 13-15. "We built something special and it will keep rolling."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB