Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 14, 1993 TAG: 9311140118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Long
"Then, we'll start it again in January," Seminoles coach Pat Kennedy says.
The Florida State team that plays a soft December schedule isn't likely to resemble the one that will open its third ACC season Jan. 6 at Virginia's University Hall. It's about then that Charlie Ward will take over as quarterback of a different Seminoles team.
Ward's football-to-basketball move is nothing new for the Tallahassee program, which looks to be rebuilding after a trip to the NCAA Tournament regional finals last season. This year Kennedy will be working more than a Heisman Trophy winner into his lineup.
"We'll be a totally different team by Jan. 20 than we are now, and I just hope we can hang in there until then," Kennedy said at the recent media day for an ACC season that begins Wednesday with Western Kentucky visiting defending NCAA champion North Carolina in the National Invitation Tournament.
"It is a transition," Kennedy said, "but we're used to it now because of Charlie, and it hasn't been a difficult thing to handle.
"There's another thing about it. I don't think you'll see it again, at least to the extent it's happened and the impact it's had. Charlie is a special player."
Despite the loss of starters Sam Cassell, Douglas Edwards and Rodney Dobard, the Seminoles could challenge UVa and Georgia Tech for third place in the league, once Ward switches uniforms and shooting guard Chuck Graham joins him in the backcourt.
Graham may join the Seminoles by mid-December, once the semester exam period is over. There remains some question about when his ineligibility ends. Graham, who averaged 13 points as a junior, suffered a season-ending left knee injury three minutes into the 1992 Preseason NIT opener against Siena. After an NCAA injury hardship ruling and reconstructive surgery, Graham was expected back for the start of this season.
However, when Graham was injured, he failed to withdraw from his classes, and he received failing grades. So, he's academically ineligible, and the question is whether he can return after exams or not until the start of the next semester, in early January.
Kennedy wants Ward to take off a couple of weeks after the Seminoles' certain bowl game, "but I know how that goes." Last year, Ward was playing at U-Hall six days after leading Florida State to an Orange Bowl win over Nebraska. Two days after that, he played 44 minutes of an overtime victory at Wake Forest.
"I'm going to really discourage that happening again," Kennedy said. "If we have enough wins by then - and we should - I want Charlie to get more rest because it will help him and us later in the season.
"Last year, the week before the ACC Tournament, I could tell he was really tired. And his feet . . . the bottoms of his feet get very tired. I don't want him close to a basketball court. I want him staying away from the media, and I don't want him touching anything that bounces."
Good luck. Ward just wants to play. Kennedy, sitting down for a discussion at the ACC preseason gathering, said with a straight face, "I just wanted to tell you that Charlie has decided to finish football season and not give that up for basketball practice now."
As if Ward would have missed playing at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday or would have walked out on the Seminoles' bid for a national championship and his tight grip on the Heisman.
"Now, there's a landslide vote if there ever was one," Kennedy said. "That's another point. After that, if the football teams wins the national championship, it will be an emotional experience. If it doesn't win, it's still an emotional experience. Charlie will need some rest."
He won't take too much, however. The basketball team will be operating with sophomore Scott Shepherd - he's injured but is expected back in early January - or freshman James Collins at the point. Andre Cooper, a freshman receiver, will follow in Ward's football-to-basketball footsteps, too.
FSU needs Ward; a more consistent performance from swingman Bob Sura, whose mercurial play frazzled teammates and Kennedy last season; and more scoring from 7-foot center Andre Reid.
"We lost 60 points and five seniors," Kennedy said. "Graham's return is a key, too."
However, the Seminoles, in basketball as well as football, prosper on Ward's ability and leadership.
"About the middle of the season, we might be close to as good as we were last year," Sura said.
With Ward starting the past three seasons, the Seminoles are 40-15. Without him, they are 28-16.
"Charlie Ward has athletic ability no one else has," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "The first word that comes to me about him is poise. There are people who have played both football and basketball before, but they haven't necessarily shown the poise he does on the field and the court.
"If you're a leader, and Charlie is, that takes poise to the highest level. I can see how he's accomplished what he has. The only thing I've always wondered about him is how he works that no-huddle offense in football with that high-pitched voice of his."
by CNB