THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 7, 1995 TAG: 9502070436
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Dean Smith had not seemed so jittery since giving up cigarettes several years ago.
In the final minutes of a recent game, the North Carolina coach was on his feet, staring down the row of chairs at his reserves as the Tar Heels battled to protect a lead.
Normally, it's the kind of situation Smith loves.
With the opponent desperately fouling and stopping the clock, it is an opportunity for Smith to push buttons - sending in a player for defense and at the next time out reaching into his arsenal to pull out another player for an offensive possession.
But now there are not nearly as many buttons for Smith to push.
So, after giving a quick look at his thinnest bench in 20 years, Smith returned to his seat and allowed the players on the floor to finish off the victory.
Ironically, only a year ago Smith had so much surplus talent some coaches claimed they could have finished second in the ACC with his reserves.
Critics even blamed North Carolina's early exit from the NCAA playoffs on the team having so much talent that it never jelled.
Smith had five prep All-Americans on the court and almost as many sulking on the bench when they were not in the game.
He has five prep All-Americans on the floor again this season, but on the bench are as many walk-ons, including top reserve Pearce Landry.
No one sulks. Those who don't play are happy just to have a front-row seat for the games.
But while the number of blue-chip players are down, one number remains the same.
North Carolina again is No. 1 in the polls as well as in the ACC standings entering tonight's key game against Maryland in College Park, Md.
A victory by the Tar Heels would give them a comfortable two-game lead in the standings.
Maryland, which lost to North Carolina in Chapel Hill last month, slipped from a first-place tie in the league with a defeat at Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Tar Heels, meanwhile, were avenging their only loss and moving back on top of the polls by defeating North Carolina State, the team that had knocked them out of the No. 1 ranking in early January.
While North Carolina's status as a national contender and ACC-frontrunner is hardly unusual, the method of accomplishment this time around is definitely different.
Even Smith admits ``you normally don't see five walk-ons on a team contending for the national title.''
It is especially abnormal for North Carolina.
The shortage developed after four seniors graduated from last year's talent-rich team and sophomore Larry Davis transferred to South Carolina to get more playing time.
The only scholarship player North Carolina brought in was guard Shammond Williams.
Smith lost a couple of prospects who thought they had little chance to play right away on a team with only one senior starter, Donald Willliams.
Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, and Jeff McInnis are sophomores and Dante Calabria is a junior.
The depth problem became more serious when senior Pat Sullivan underwent back surgery in December.
Some coaches had hoped the depth problem would take a toll on the Tar Heels in what most believe is one of the most competitive seasons ever for the league.
But the only thing the Tar Heels have not been able to survive so far was losing Calabria to an ankle injury for the N.C. State game.
They won in double-overtime at Duke last Thursday with center Wallace fouling out before final overtime session, and came back in less than 48 hours to beat a deeper and well-rested Wolfpack team.
``If there is a (depth) weakness, I haven't seen it,'' says Maryland coach Gary Williams.
A major problem could develop, of course, if one of the starters were injured.
But, for now, the Tar Heels are playing better than last season, when Smith was often criticized for shuffling nine players in and out of the lineup.
Center Eric Montross was the only Tar Heel to average more than 30 minutes per game last season.
All five starters are logging more than 30 minutes this year.
``I think it helps more than it hurts them,'' Virginia guard Cory Alexander said after his team's 79-76 loss to the Tar Heels.
``It gives the players a chance to get into the flow of the game.''
While the Tar Heels have had only one player (Hubert Davis, 21.4, 1992) to average 20 or more points in the last eight years, they may have two this season.
Stackhouse is averaging 20.3 and Wallace 18.2.
Donald Williams was the leading scorer last year with a 14.3 average.
Tonight's game begins at 9 p.m., but is being tape-delayed for a 10 p.m. start by television station WGNT.
Program manager Scott Benton said the station did not want to pre-empt Paramount Network programming to televise the game live. by CNB