Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 1, 1993 TAG: 9312010177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Alexander, a second-team All-ACC selection and the leading scorer for last season's NCAA final 16 team, will not need surgery, but he will be out of action for a minimum of six weeks.
"To speculate how long he'll be out or whether he's out for the year serves no purpose," said Jeff Jones, UVa's coach. "Right now, Harold Deane is our point guard and we'll go from there."
The Cavaliers entertain William and Mary at 7:30 p.m. today at University Hall.
"This will be something new to me," said Alexander, who has been fitted with a cast. "This is the first time [in college] I've been injured to the point where I couldn't play."
Alexander said Monday night that he wasn't sure what caused the injury, which forced him to the bench with 8 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the first half of UVa's 77-36 loss to Connecticut.
Jones said films showed Alexander was kicked - accidentally - by Connecticut center Travis Knight before the Huskies' Donyell Marshall fell across his right foot. Alexander didn't stop playing immediately, however.
"I was surprised at the fracture because of the small amount of contact," said team physician Dr. Frank McCue, who was at the game. "It's unusual because most [ankle injuries] are in the ligament. This one was toward the front of the foot and a little higher."
McCue said Alexander suffered a non-displaced fracture - or crack - of the medial malleous, the large bone on the inside of the leg.
"It makes you think of a stress fracture as an underlying cause," said McCue, hinting that the condition might have existed in some form before Monday. "If it had been out of place one iota, we would have had to operate."
Alexander walked from the court to the dressing room and actually tried running in the circular hallway under the stands.
"When we were in the X-ray area, a technician came out and said, `It's a break,' and it caught both of us by surprise," Jones said. "He [Alexander] was dejected and still is. He's appointed himself the new assistant coach for point guards."
Deane, a freshman from Fork Union Military Academy, had been in the game for several minutes with Alexander at the time of the injury. He played 29 minutes and finished with a team-high 10 points, although he made only three of 12 shots from the field and went 0-for-6 from 3-point range.
Some viewed Deane as Alexander's eventual successor, but nobody expected him to be UVa's starting point guard in the second game of his college career.
"He doesn't have a whole lot of choice," Jones said. "In some ways he's experienced, but he's not been asked solely to be the point guard until now. He's a tough kid, a bright kid. There's no question about his desire to succeed."
Deane is the son of Virginia State coach Harold Deane, a standout player when he attended Lucy Addison High School in Roanoke.
Another freshman point guard, Mike Powell, did not play in UVa's exhibition game against the Australian national team and was hospitalized for four days last week with a viral infection. Powell watched in street clothes from the bench Monday night but may be in uniform tonight as Deane's backup.
Alexander averaged 18.8 points last season and also led the team in assists (144) and 3-pointers (64).
"Cory was the one player we had who was able to turn something negative into a positive," Jones said. "It will have to be a team effort to replace him. Clearly the points are the biggest concern."
The players did not know of Alexander's status when Jones called a meeting for 6 a.m. Tuesday to watch the game film.
"Obviously, it's a setback, but it's not something to hang our heads about," Jones said. "There's plenty of basketball left to play. We've got to get ourselves ready to bounce back from our embarrassment and take steps to get back to respectability."
by CNB