ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996 TAG: 9601290109
SECTION: B-1 SPORTS EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: HARTFORD, CONN.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Once rejected by Virginia, Ray Allen continued to show the Cavaliers the error of their ways Sunday.
Allen scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as fourth-ranked Connecticut handed UVa its worst loss of the season, 76-46, before a crowd of 16,294 at the Hartford Civic Center.
It was an 18-13 game with less than seven minutes remaining before halftime, before the Huskies went on a 17-0 run. Allen scored nine points in the space of four trips down the floor.
``One thing you can't do is ever put a gauge, a barometer or a game plan to Ray Allen,'' said Jim Calhoun, UConn's coach. ``When a guy does that, there's no game plan on my end, nor [UVa coach Jeff Jones'] end.''
Allen, a 6-foot-5 junior, ranks second in the Big East Conference in scoring (23.2 points per game) and is the leader in 3-point percentage (49.6). Sunday, he also made all seven of his free throws.
``I think their backcourt is pretty damn good,'' said Jones, referring to Allen and Huskies point guard Doron Sheffer. ``Ray Allen is as good a player as there is in the country, maybe the best player offensively.''
Jones didn't need to be reminded the Cavaliers backed off Allen during the fall before his senior year at Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, S.C.
``When I started the recruiting process, there were two or three schools I wanted to visit,'' Allen said. ``One of those was Virginia. Before I even heard from the [UVa] coach, that was one of my choices.
``I was kind of psyched about going to visit Virginia. But, as I was setting up my campus visits, Virginia sent me a letter to tell me they weren't recruiting me anymore.
``They said they had checked their personnel and realized they already had somebody with my talents, so they were terminating me [as a prospect]. It bothered me. It bothered me a lot.''
Allen later figured out the Cavaliers had decided to pursue Jamal Robinson, a taller (6-7) perimeter player with good ball-handling skills but nothing close to Allen's shooting or scoring ability.
Allen said Virginia was the only one of his preferred schools that didn't choose to pursue him, ``but, that's the way recruiting goes,'' he added. ``My freshman year, I was very hyped to go against Virginia.''
Allen, playing in the second game of his college career, came off the bench that day and hit nine of 13 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 20 points in the Huskies' 77-36 victory at University Hall.
That was the most lopsided home loss in Virginia basketball history. UVa might have had a prayer if the teams had met last season, but the Cavaliers did not exactly arrive in Connecticut at the top of their game.
The loss was the fourth in the row for Virginia, all by more than 14 points. The Cavaliers (7-9) had not previously absorbed four consecutive double-figure losses since 1964-65.
``Call me a fool, but I believed we had a legitimate chance to win,'' Jones said, ``but there really was no aspect of the game in which we were even fair.''
The Cavaliers shot 27.3 percent from the field, their low in 80 games since the previous UConn game, when they ``hit'' 22.6 percent against the Huskies in the opening game of the 1993-94 season.
Freshman Courtney Alexander, originally from Bridgeport, Conn., led UVa with 10 points. Curtis Staples had nine, Scott Johnson eight and Harold Deane seven after missing his first nine shots from the field.
It was the 18th consecutive victory for UConn (19-1). The Huskies haven't lost to a non-Big East team in Hartford since UVa beat them 72-59 in 1987, a string of 40 games.
Next season, the Cavaliers must play UConn at its campus arena, Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, but it is the rest of this season that has Jones concerned. UVa is off until Thursday, when it entertains Maryland.
``I think there's an underlying issue of toughness for us, both mentally and physically,'' Jones said. ``We've got problems, problems that run deeper than losing a few ballgames.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Connecticut's Ray Allen fires a 3-pointer overby CNBVirginia's Curtis Staples on Sunday. color.