Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411150070
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
After a 1993-94 season in which Virginia beat Duke in the conference tournament and Maryland went further than North Carolina in the NCAAs, the status quo is definitely in jeopardy in ACC men's basketball.
North Carolina and Duke have dominated the ACC since the mid-1970s - one or both teams have played in 18 of the last 20 tournament finals - but as many as five other teams have 20-win potential.
``Somebody was trying to tell me there was a lot of room at the top,'' Virginia coach Jeff Jones said, ``but, if you ask me, it's pretty crowded at the top. The league is probably as good as it's been in the last six or seven years.
``It's amazing that North Carolina, losing as many players as it did, could be better than last year. And, I thought [the Tar Heels] had the potential to win the NCAA championship last year.''
If the subject is gamesmanship, North Carolina coach Dean Smith is the master.
``We finished No.1 in the AP poll and we could be better?'' Smith, seemingly incredulous, asked. ``I can name seven teams that are loaded.''
North Carolina was a preseason choice for the ACC title, followed by a Maryland team that had eight straight second-division finishes before last year. They were followed by Duke, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, North Carolina State and Clemson.
``The test of a team is, what has it done in the ACC?'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said, ``and, when you look at what we've done, I don't see how we could be picked ahead of any of five other teams.''
Following is a look at every ACC men's basketball team but Virginia, covered in an earlier story:
CLEMSON: Rick Barnes scarcely had been named coach before double-figure scorer and rebounder Sharone Wright applied for the National Basketball Association draft and No.2 scorer and rebounder Devin Gray suffered a heart attack.
Even when Gray was cleared to play, the Tigers were left with only four scholarship players from a team that tied for seventh in the ACC and finished 18-16 under former coach Cliff Ellis.
Barnes, who comes to Clemson after six seasons at Providence, says the Tigers might shoot as many as 30 to 35 3-point shots per game. One surprise could be 6-foot-5 forward Andy Kelly, who redshirted last year.
DUKE: Conventional wisdom says not to overlook Duke, which has made the Final Four in five of the last seven seasons, but this is as close to rebuilding as the Blue Devils have come.
With the departure of ACC player of the year and NBA lottery pick Grant Hill, center Cherokee Parks becomes the Blue Devils' leader. Parks had 30 points and 18 rebounds Saturday night in a 95-82 victory over the Polish National Team.
A key factor will be the development of sophomore forwards Greg Newton and Joey Beard, former high-school All-Americans who last year played 115 and 69 minutes, respectively. Sophomore Jeff Capel heads a young but promising backcourt cast that includes three freshmen.
GEORGIA TECH: It was less than two years ago that the Yellow Jackets won the ACC championship with a starting lineup that included James Forrest, Travis Best and Drew Barry - all of whom return this season.
The Yellow Jackets last year dropped to sixth in the regular season, lost to Wake Forest by 25 in the first round of the ACC Tournament and then fell to unheralded Siena in the National Invitation Tournament. No wonder they were picked fifth this season.
Georgia Tech will be thin again and will ask a lot from sophomore center Ed Elisma and freshman forward Michael Maddox. It's important that the big three stay healthy; ankle or foot problems hindered Forrest and Barry for the last month of last season.
FLORIDA STATE: Pat Kennedy had experienced only one losing campaign in 13 years as a head coach before the Seminoles went 13-14 in a season that ended with Kennedy starting four guards.
Florida State won seven of its first eight games, but suffered a major loss when forward Derrick Carroll underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. With Carroll, the Seminoles beat future Final Four participant Florida.
Carroll joins senior Bob Sura, the ACC scoring champion, and sophomore James Collins, the most valuable player at the Olympic Festival. The Seminoles expect big contributions from McDonald's All-Americans Corey Louis, a post player, and Lamarr Greer, a 6-5 point guard.
MARYLAND: Maryland lost seven of nine games down the stretch and almost played itself into the NIT, but all was forgotten when the Terrapins upset Massachusetts and reached the final 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Five starters return for Maryland, which still does not have a senior in a significant role. In 6-10 sophomore Joe Smith, the Terrapins may have the nation's premier center, but four other players scored in double figures last year.
Coach Gary Williams is worried about perimeter shooting - only Virginia made fewer 3-pointers - and the burden of increased expectations. Before last year, the Terrapins had not been to the NCAAs since 1988.
NORTH CAROLINA: After the Tar Heels were beaten by Boston College, ending their streak of nine straight appearances in the final 16, few people remembered that Carolina was ranked No.1 in the country to end the regular season.
Coach Dean Smith admitted that chemistry was a concern with last year's talent-laden squad, but he won't have any problems this year. He has 10 scholarship players, including freshmen Shammond Williams and Ryan Sullivan, neither of whom was swamped with scholarship offers out of high school.
Many observers feel that North Carolina could have the best starting five in the country, as well as three of the top young players in center Rasheed Wallace, forward Jerry Stackhouse and guard Jerry McInnis. Smith is hoping for more consistent shooting from senior guard Donald Williams, still looking to regain his 1993 NCAA championship form.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE: It won't be easy for State to avoid a fourth straight losing season, which says more for the competition than it does the Wolfpack's talent level.
Forward Bryant Feggins, who is in his sixth year out of high school, has overcome reconstructive knee surgery and a gunshot wound to approach his earlier form and provides leadership with junior center Todd Fuller.
Assist leader Curtis Marshall probably will be redshirted after an off-court accident in which he cut his arm on a broken window. That could create an opportunity for promising guard recruits Ishua Benjamin and C.C. Harrison.
WAKE FOREST: The Deacons, facing the threat of NCAA sanctions before the 1993-94 season, have the talent and the focus to extend their school-record streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to five.
First-team All-ACC selection Randolph Childress, second in the league in scoring, is close to 100 percent after offseason shoulder surgery and teams with sophomore center Tim Duncan - who won't turn 19 until April - to make the Deacons strongest at the two most important positions.
Odom is especially high on 6-9 sophomore forward Ricardo Peral, a Spanish national team player who was stripped of a year's eligibility by the NCAA. Peral's versatility draws comparisons to the Chicago Bulls' Toni Kukoc.
by CNB