THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100442
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG DOUGHTY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Clearly, the Virginia players are not the people to ask about the Cavaliers' ACC tournament history.
The first question was an easy one: How many championships has U.Va. won?
``Two,'' senior Jason Williford said. ``Maybe.''
``I can't remember one,'' freshman Curtis Staples said. ``Have they won any?''
``None,'' sophomore Jamal Robinson said. ``No, one. They had to have won with Ralph Sampson.''
Even when given the answer - one - none of the players could come close to the year.
``I've been watching Virginia basketball my whole life,'' sophomore guard Harold Deane said. ``If I can't remember, it's been a while. I know it's about time.''
For the record, it was 1976.
``Is that right?'' senior forward Junior Burrough asked. ``Wow. I was 3 years old at the time.''
One Cavalier, Staples, wasn't even born when U.Va. won its last title. The Cavaliers have finished second five times since 1976, the last time when they fell to North Carolina, 73-66, last year.
``That's a long time - 19 years,'' Staples said. ``This has been a year for Virginia to do a lot of things it hasn't done in a while. Maybe we can get an ACC title as well.''
First, Virginia needs to worry about Georgia Tech, its opponent today (noon, WAVY) in the first quarterfinal at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets defeated U.Va. nine consecutive times between 1990-94.
The Cavaliers' luck changed with a pair of overtime victories over the Yellow Jackets and they made it three in a row Feb. 22 with an 83-60 upset victory at Georgia Tech - the Jackets' worst loss of the season.
``That definitely makes them a little more frightening,'' Burrough said. ``No team likes to be embarrassed. I would have been embarrassed. If we had an opportunity to play that team again, I would be looking for revenge.''
One difference for the Yellow Jackets (18-11 overall, 8-8 ACC) is the return of junior guard Drew Barry, leading the ACC with 6.7 assists per game. Barry had a sprained ankle when Virginia visited Atlanta.
In Barry's absence, U.Va. dusted off a diamond-and-one defense it hadn't used all year and was able to shut down Travis Best, who shot 4 of 16 from the field and finished with 12 points. by CNB