ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 23, 1996 TAG: 9611260026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
THE CAVALIERS HAVE added size to go with their strong backcourt play.
Think about it: Virginia was picked to finish third in the ACC basketball race last year. The Cavaliers have lost only one starter from that team, center Chris Alexander, and he was an offensive liability. They have added five new players, three of them 6-foot-9 or taller.
If the prognosticators hadn't been so wrong last year - UVa finished seventh - people might be talking about this as a Final Four team.
Instead, Virginia has been picked anywhere from fifth to seventh in the ACC, which has the Cavaliers hoping that the forecasts will be as inaccurate again this year. The preseason rankings have served to lower expectations, however, which may not be such a bad thing.
``Look at all the hype we had going into last season,'' said Curtis Staples, a junior guard from Roanoke. ``It was kind of natural for the guys to buy into it. You have ESPN here for Midnight Madness and you kind of feel, `The pressure's on us.' We don't have that this season.
``Coach [Jeff] Jones has gone back to the old way. We don't have a Midnight Madness. We're the underdogs, like always. It's a good feeling for us because that's the way Virginia basketball has been in the past. That's how it was two years ago, when we snuck up on everybody.''
Staples and Harold Deane were the starting guards on that team, which reached the Midwest Region championship game in the NCAA Tournament before finishing 25-9. They were also the starting guards last year, when the Cavaliers finished 12-15, only their second losing season in 19 years.
To make matters worse, two freshmen were charged with shoplifting and eventually left the team. Fall signee Melvin Whitaker was convicted of malicious wounding and faces 31/2 years in prison. Deane was found guilty of trespassing and resisting arrest at a postseason party.
``You continually search for things you could have done better or different,'' Jones said. ``I still can't come up with anything concrete that we could have done that could have avoided those situations. That doesn't mean you go along this season, ignoring the fact those things happened.
``You emphasize, you re-emphasize, you talk and try some new things just to reinforce those same messages but maybe get them across in a different way. Do I expect any further incidents? Absolutely not. I'd be sorely disappointed if something like that did happen.''
Nobody has had a shorter leash than Deane, last year's second-leading scorer and a second-team All-ACC selection.
At midsummer, it was announced Deane had taken a leave of absence that caused him to miss an August tour of Belgium and France. He was passed over for the team captaincy, which went to Jamal Robinson. His picture is conspicuous by its absence from the cover of UVa's media guide.
``Harold has been on the team since we started practice Oct.15,'' Jones said. ``Essentially, no news is good news and there hasn't been any news. So, Harold will be in uniform and, whether it's coming off the bench or starting, he'll be making a contribution.''
Jones noted that Staples, sophomore forward Norman Nolan and 7-foot-4 sophomore center Chase Metheney were the only players to start both of UVa's exhibition games, so it is reasonable to think they will start Monday, when the Cavaliers face South Carolina in the first round of the Maui Invitational.
It will be an interesting matchup for Metheney, who expressed plans to transfer after the 1995-96 season and actually was at South Carolina, living in campus housing, when he awakened on the first day of classes and returned to Virginia.
``The way things transpired, I think everybody understood and parted without any hard feelings,'' said Jones, who has discussed the matter with South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler. ``It could be [awkward]. I don't think it should be. I don't anticipate a problem.''
The decision to start Metheney, a promising shot blocker who has been prone to foul trouble, was made easier when the NCAA ruled that 6-10, 246-pound freshman Craig McAndrew would miss seven games because of his affiliation with a semi-pro team in his native Australia.
McAndrew will be eligible for the Maui Invitational, considered a preseason event by the NCAA, and will begin his suspension Nov. 30.
``If not for the seven games he had to sit out, he very well could have been in the starting lineup,'' Jones said. ``We did not want to be in the position of making two changes at some point, but I would think we would use him quite a bit in Maui.''
Jones, who used only six players for as many as 300 minutes last year, said he expects to have a 10-man rotation and hopes to play all 11 of his scholarship players. Although Kris Hunter is the most heralded of UVa's frontcourt signees, McAndrew and 6-8, 243-pound Colin Ducharme are the enforcers.
``First, we're going to look a whole lot better walking through airports,'' Jones said. ``Those two guys, in particular, are not going to back down from anybody. At one point last spring, it looked like we'd be playing a small lineup most of the time, if not all of the time.''
Few teams are deeper - and, some would say, talented - as Virginia on the perimeter. In Deane, Staples and sophomore Courtney Alexander, the Cavaliers have three former ACC All-Freshman selections, all of whom can be prolific scorers.
Behind them is the versatile trio of Monte Marcaccini, Willie Dersch and Robinson. The coaches hope that Marcaccini, in his first year of eligibility after transferring from Pepperdine, can resemble Jason Williford from the 1994-95 team with his rebounding and shooting range.
Robinson has started 27 games in his career, mostly at small forward, but he played point guard on the European tour and no one should be surprised if he starts Monday. In fact, Robinson had talked of sitting out the 1996-97 season as a redshirt and taking over for Deane next year.
``I would say we gave it a second thought,'' said Jones, who liked the idea of having Robinson and Deane this year. ``I wouldn't say it was a serious second thought. I did tell Jamal, if that were going to be a possibility, I would be the one to make the decision.''
It is a possibility that not everybody will be happy with his minutes, although Jones has been able to find time in the preseason for Dersch, a McDonald's All-American with a variety of skills. Dersch doesn't always look to score, but he has 3-point range and is a good passer.
``Everybody knows the problem last year was that everybody's ego got in the way,'' said Staples, who said his first priority is to be a leader. ``Not everybody wanted to accept his role, whereas, this year, everybody's role is more defined.
``Coach Jones is the person responsible for that. He made that move and it was in a positive direction. He told everybody what he had to do, it was constructive criticism and everybody's taken it on and I think that's going to make us a better team.''
NOVEMBER
25 - vs. South Carolina in Maui Invitational, 4:30 p.m.; 26 - Maui Invitational; 27 - Maui Invitational; 30 - at George Mason, 5 p.m.
DECEMBER
4 - at William and Mary, 7:30 p.m.; 7 - Clemson, 4 p.m.; 18 - Liberty, 7:30 p.m.; 21 - UMBC, 1 p.m.; 23 - at Connecticut, 7 p.m.; 28 - Radford, 1 p.m.; 30 - Delaware, 7:30 p.m.
JANUARY
2 - Loyola, 6 p.m.; 4 - at Maryland, 4 p.m.; 8 - at Florida State, 8 p.m.; 11 - North Carolina, 7:30 p.m.; 15 - at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m.; 18 - at Duke, 7:30 p.m.; 22 - Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m.; 28 - N.C. State, 9 p.m.; 30 - Richmond, 7:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY
1 - Florida State, Noon; 6 - at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m.; 8 - at North Carolina, 2 p.m.; 11 - Duke, 9 p.m.; 15 - at Clemson, Noon; 19 - at N.C. State, 7:30 p.m.; 22 - Wake Forest, 1:30 p.m.; 25 - Virginia Tech in Richmond, 8 p.m.
MARCH
2 - Maryland, 1:30 p.m.; 6-9 - ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
LENGTH: Long : 144 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: WAYNE DEEL\Staff. Former Patrick Henry High School starby CNBCurtis Staples (right), wants to step into a leadership role at
Virginia this season. color.
GRAPHIC: 1996-97 Virginia basketball roster. KEYWORDS: 2DA MGR