ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150070
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Despite two starters ailing much more than advertised, Virginia Tech still was Good enough to get it done Thursday in the NCAA Tournament.
Playing the game of his life when Tech required it most, senior point guard Shawn Good scored a career-high 25 points to propel the Hokies past Wisconsin-Green Bay 61-48 in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
Thanks to Good, Tech (23-5) recorded its first NCAA victory since 1980 and faces a date with Kentucky (29-2) in Saturday's second round at approximately 4:35 p.m. The Wildcats, the No.1 Midwest seed and a tournament favorite of many experts, ran past San Jose State 110-72 earlier Thursday.
``I guess Saturday we'll find out if we're as good as we think we are,'' said Good.
Good wasn't good Thursday. He was great.
With two of Tech's three leading scorers - shooting guard Damon Watlington and forward Shawn Smith - slowed more than expected by injuries, the Hokies desperately needed someone to step up on offense.
Enter Good, who normally is shy about shooting. Despite possessing the best athletic tools of any Tech player, the sleepy-eyed, 6-foot-4 senior averaged only eight points in Tech's previous 27 games.
``Shawn always has had the mentality to always give the ball to somebody else,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach.
But Good didn't have much choice but to shoot against the Phoenix. Besides junior Ace Custis, who hit 5 of 6 field-goal attempts and had 15 points, there were no other wells to explore.
Watlington, Tech's second-leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and chief outside threat, was slowed drastically by a right ankle still tender from a sprain suffered a week ago in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Having trouble getting properly elevated for his jumper, Watlington was 2-for-10 from the floor for eight points.
Smith, the Hokies' No.3 scorer (11.4 ppg), got slugged early in his partially-separated left shoulder and spent the rest of the game as an offensive decoy. He was 0-for-4 from the field and managed just three points.
Good said he was tipped off early by Watlington that he might have to take over the scoring load.
``Damon told [me] before the game that his ankle was still a little sore, so I knew I was going to have to shoot a lot and that I had to be ready,'' Good said.
Ready? Was he ever.
Good knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers. He had six rebounds, matching Smith for team honors. His 25 points eclipsed his old record of 24, set last year against VCU.
``The kid had a monster game,'' Foster said. ``Makes me wonder if I shouldn't had him at 2 [shooting guard] or 3 [small forward] all the time. He scored, but that's not all he did. He did it all.''
Good's biggest play came with 12:16 left. Tech, after leading 27-19 at halftime, had watched the Phoenix hit its first six shots of the second half to get within 34-32.
The Cheeseheads were rocking. The momentum apparently had jumped sides.
Forget it, said Good. He quickly quelled Green Bay's threat with the first four-point play of his college career. Good nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, was fouled by Tom Anderson, and made the free-throw attempt.
Tech, which went up by eight points on Troy Manns' drive on its next possession, then built the lead to 48-36 when Good nailed another 3-pointer with 4:56 left.
``I'm not going to say [Anderson] fouled me,'' Good said. ``I think I did a good acting job there.''
When it's your day, it's your day.
Makes one wonder: Why can't Shawn Good do this every day?
``I could probably shoot more and score more, but my job is to get the ball to other guys,'' Good said.
``I'll sacrifice the way I play for some wins, and I think that's the way it's been all through my career. I might could have some more points and had more assists, but then again we might have only 18 wins and not be in the NCAA, either. I wouldn't trade this for anything.''
Tech wouldn't trade Good's Thursday performance for anything, either.
``Shawn really stepped up for us,'' Smith said. ``He knew he had to do it, and he did it. That's saying something.''
Now comes Kentucky. What about that one, Good?
``I don't think anybody wants it to end,'' he said. ``We may not play great or play smart, but we're going to play hard. We know any night out can be our last game.''
h1>Jackson
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/h1>DALLAS - Wisconsin-Green Bay can partially thank an old home boy for its first-round NCAA Tournament ouster.
Virginia Tech reserve forward Jim Jackson, who starred in high school only a short drive away from Green Bay, had more than just a bit part in the Hokies' 61-48 victory in the Midwest Regional at Reunion Arena.
Playing a season-high 30 minutes off the bench, Jackson was a major cog in a suffocating Tech defense that held Green Bay to a season-low 19 first-half points.
Most of the game, the 6-foot-5 Jackson had the unenviable assignment of guarding 6-7 Jeff Nordgaard, Green Bay's top scoring threat.
While Nordgaard finished with good numbers - 10-of-19 field-goal shooting for 22 points - Jackson enabled Tech to get a lead it never lost by shutting down the Phoenix star without a point for an 11-minute stretch of the first half.
Fighting off screen after screen, the hustling Jackson stayed in Nordgaard's face long enough for Tech to build a cushion.
``I thought Jim Jackson did a whale of a job,'' said Bill Foster, Tech coach. ``If you want for somebody to get under somebody's skin, you call on Jim Jackson.
``I figured our best shot against this team was to go small. I started the game with the normal lineup because I figured I owed it to the seniors to start. But I really wanted to start small.''
Foster took out 6-8 center Travis Jackson early and inserted Jim Jackson, who had averaged 14 minutes of playing time in Tech's first 27 games.
The gangly Jackson threw everything he had at Nordgaard. An undetected hand check there. A hip here. An elbow or two somewhere.
``I think the refs let it go a little bit, it was physical at times,'' Jackson said. ``They've let that go in the Atlantic 10 all year, so we were used to it. I don't know if Green Bay was or not. I think they got frustrated at times they weren't calling some of the fouls.''
Jackson said stopping Nordgaard completely was just short of impossible. The Midwestern Collegiate Conference player of the year is a deadly outside shooter who can fire in a split-second's time.
``He's always moving, and they're always screening for him on the baseline,'' Jackson said. ``He made some incredibly tough shots. He's a great player. My goal was not for him to get the ball, but that's impossible the way they run their offense.''
Nordgaard confessed that Jackson was a tough guy to shake. He had hoped Tech would play a bigger man on him.
``I had heard through the grapevine that some of their inside guys were real aggressive defenders,'' Nordgaard said. ``So I was kind of geared up for that, then they put the smaller guy [Jackson] on me.''
Jackson said he and his twin brother, David, tried to inform the Tech coaches and players of all the information they had on Green Bay. Phoenix guard Ben Berlowski played with the Jacksons at Janesville High.
``David and I keep up with that program,'' Jim said. ``So it feels great to play a lot, contribute and beat them.
``I know a lot of people back home in Wisconsin were watching the game. I'm glad they got to see us. But I'm even more glad they saw us beat them.''
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