THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170693
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Whether your name is St. Peter's, Stanford, North Carolina-Charlotte, Tulsa, Illinois or Old Dominion, you couldn't pick a better site to be an NCAA sleeper than Knickerbocker Arena.
Long ago, this part of the Empire State was home to that all-time, All-American sleeper, Rip van Winkle.
Rip conked out for 20 years while waiting for ESPN to come to Sleepy Hollow. Two decades into a sound slumber, he was awakened by a cable installer at his front door.
Today, another sleeper could be similarly aroused by the arrival of television and its NCAA spotlight.
Why shouldn't it happen here? Why can't it happen for Old Dominion?
``This is March Madness,'' says ODU center David Harvey, ``and like they say, a lot of strange things happen.''
That kind of innocent optimism is what the first couple days of this tournament are all about, from Manhattan to Miami of Ohio.
And unlike Rip, ODU will have the advantage of going into the Villanova game tonight with both eyes wide open.
It was with a game like this in mind that the Monarchs played an ambitious non-conference schedule, traveling to places like Arizona State and Tulane, and meeting North Carolina at Scope.
ODU took its lumps, but emerged with a tougher hide, and an attitude that welcomes challenges.
``We played in environments where there were 15,000 people,'' coach Jeff Capel said Thursday, ``so no matter what kind of atmosphere we face here, it won't faze us.''
In Villanova's Kerry Kittles, the Big East player of the year, ODU goes up against a wondrous individual talent. For him, adjustments must be made.
And yet, Capel says, the Monarchs ``don't look at Kerry Kittles as a superman. We've played against Jerry Stackhouse, so we're not in awe of any one player, and we're not in awe of this team.''
Nor should they be.
Of course, Villanova has played an even more grueling schedule than ODU. The men from Philadelphia's Main Line, coach Steve Lappas pointed out, ``have been in some of the toughest arenas in America.''
'Nova finished the season on a big roll, so the Wildcats have every reason to feel good about themselves. If you're ODU, you're counting on them feeling just a little too good.
When a couple of Rip van Winkles sprung upsets in Thursday's opening-round games, it motivated ODU even further. The Monarchs are going to need every bit of hope they can muster.
At the same time, those surprises should only strengthen Villanova's resolve not to get caught looking ahead.
The talk - from both sides - is cheap, not to mention unenlightening.
ODU, for instance, can't even depend on seizing the psychological advantage often associated with the underdog.
Villanova is suddenly a Super 'Nova of hoops; many pick the Wildcats to shine on through to Seattle. But the bandwagon effect aside, this is the first NCAA appearance for Kittles' club. Its success is new and fresh.
Strange things happen in March. But the van Winkles of Norfolk have to know that when they take the Knickerbocker Arena court, they will not be playing an opponent that expects to sleepwalk through a first-round game. by CNB