THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040519
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
The preliminaries are over.
The Bethune-Cookmans, South Carolina States and Winthrops have been served up as appetizers.
Now, ACC basketball teams get down to the meat of their schedules - playing one another.
Ready or not, the league's regular season begins tonight with four games.
North Carolina State plays host to unbeaten and No. 1-ranked North Carolina, unbeaten and unranked Clemson visits Duke, disappointing Virginia is at Florida State, and Maryland hosts Georgia Tech.
``I hope we are ready,'' N.C. State coach Les Robinson said. ``This is what we have been preparing ourselves for the last several weeks.
``We are as ready as we are going to be, but whether that is good enough against the No. 1 team in the country, I don't know.''
The Wolfpack certainly is more ready than last season, when it began league play after losing to Campbell and Davidson in December. The Pack lost to only UCLA and Kansas in this season's prelims.
Despite the top-ranking and clean record, North Carolina is not as ready for the ACC regular season to begin as it would like. In fact, coach Dean Smith snubbed the league's first weekly media telephone conference Tuesday to take care of business at practice.
No doubt, Smith was busy patching up his injury-thinned squad, which now must replace Dante Calabria, who had moved from guard to small forward to replace Pat Sullivan, who is out for the season after undergoing back surgery.
Calabria, who was averaging 10.3 points per game, injured an ankle in a New Year's Eve victory over UNC-Asheville.
Pearce Landry, a former walk-on, will replace Calabria in the starting lineup.
No one could have blamed Virginia coach Jeff Jones if he had skipped the conference call, too, to concentrate on his problems. Jones may have more legitimate concerns than any other coach in the league.
The Cavaliers, ranked 14th in the preseason, fell out of the rankings following losses to Ohio University, Vanderbilt and Stanford.
``We haven't played well, and we need to get out there and find a way to win,'' Jones said.
The most apparent reason for the slow start is a struggling Cory Alexander, who had promised to make NBA scouts drool this season after missing last season due to injury. Now it seems Alexander should plan on returning to Charlottesville next winter for his final season of eligibility instead of waiting for NBA offers.
``Cory has not played up to what he expects or what we really need from him,'' Jones said. ``He doesn't have to carry the team, just play solid basketball and cut down on his mistakes.''
Jones suggested that Alexander's playing time may decrease to provide more time for freshman Curtis Staples, a 3-point artist.
Taking a quick glance around the league, Jones said it those who picked North Carolina as the favorite and Duke and Maryland as the prime challengers were right on target.
``They seem to be above everyone else,'' Jones said.
Here are how the teams stack up going into the ACC regular season:
North Carolina (9-0, ranked No. 1): This is Dean Smith's thinnest team ever, but it includes a cast of sophomore superstars in Jerry Stackhouse (21.6 points per game), Rasheed Wallace (18.1 ppg) and Jeff McInnis (14.9 ppg). Depth appears to be the only problem.
Duke (9-2, ranked No. 11): Freshmen Trajan Langdon, Ricky Price and Steve Wojciechowski have made an immediate impact, but coach Mike Krzyzewski is still experimenting with combinations and substitution patterns to get them playing time. The Blue Devils' strength has been the inside play of center Cherokee Parks (20.3 ppg, 9 rebounds per game) and forward Eric Meek. Junior guard Chris Collins is getting back into the groove after missing five weeks with a foot injury. Price is also coming off an injury.
Maryland (10-2, ranked No. 7): Center Joe Smith (20.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg) has picked up where he left off last year, when he was the nation's best freshman. The Terps are scoring better from the perimeter too, and that will help take pressure off Smith. ``I'm waiting to see if we can do it consistently from the outside,'' said coach Gary Williams. The Terps get an early major test Saturday at Chapel Hill.
Wake Forest (7-1, ranked No. 18): The Deacons spent December developing an inside game, and coach Dave Odom is pleased with the results. Returning center Tim Duncan (16.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and rookie forward Ricardo Peral, both 6-foot-10, team with Travis Banks down low. Freshman Tony Rutland has won a starting spot with All-ACC guard Randolph Childress (17.1 ppg) in the backcourt.
Georgia Tech (8-3, ranked No. 24): Freshmen Michael Maddox and Matt Harpring are combining for 21.7 points and 10 rebounds a game while sharing the small forward position. Guard Travis Best (18.5 ppg) has not shot well lately, but coach Bobby Cremins' biggest concern is developing sophomore center Eddie Elisma. ``Duke just killed us inside,'' Cremins said after last week's loss in Hawaii to the Blue Devils.
Virginia (6-3, unranked): While point guard Cory Alexander has struggled, the Cavaliers have depended on forward Junior Burrough (16.8 ppg) and sophomore guard Harold Deane (16.4 ppg), who has had 22 assists and two turnovers in the last four games. Jamal Robinson and Jason Wiliford, slowed by an ankle injury, have yet to play up to expectations. The Cavaliers need a good start in conference play to build confidence, but four of their first five games are on the road, including visits to Duke and North Carolina.
Florida State (6-2, unranked): The Seminoles are the most improved team in the league. Freshman LaMarr Greer won a three-way battle for the starting point guard position and already is being compared to Charlie Ward. Corey Louis (11.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg), another freshman, starts at power forward. Sophomore James Collins thrilled Seminoles fans with high-flying dunks in December and hit all seven of his 3-point attempts against South Florida. All-ACC Bob Sura (20.5 ppg) is emerging from a recent slump in which he made only two of 18 shots in a double-overtime loss to Florida.
North Carolina State (7-2, unranked): Freshman Ishua Benjamin (16.4 ppg) is the Wolfpack's leading scorer, while Lakista McCuller (15.6 ppg) leads the league with 29 3-pointers. The Wolfpack has out-rebounded all of its opponents so far, which Robinson attributes to inside quickness.
Clemson (8-0, not ranked): The Tigers' record is proof that all that glitters is not gold. The wins came against the weakest December schedule in the league, and all but one game was at home. That said, give new coach Rick Barnes credit for bringing together a new team and keeping up its spirits when top player Devin Gray was ruled academically ineligible last week. The Tigers, without a starter over 6-foot-6, are the smallest team in the league. ``Size is going to be a problem all year long,'' Barnes said. ILLUSTRATION: FILE COLOR PHOTOS
Maryland's Joe Smith leads the No. 7 Terps against Georgia Tech.
Smith, a former Maury star, is averaging 20.5 points.
Duke's Cherokee Parks has powered the 11th-ranking Blue Devils'
inside game, averaging 20.3 points and 9 rebounds.
Virginia's Junior Burrough brings a 16.8-point average to Flordia
state.
North Carolina's Jerry Stackhouse leads the top-ranked Tar Heels as
they take on North Carolina State. The sophomore forward is
averaging 21.6 points.
by CNB