THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 30, 1996 TAG: 9601300410
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Need further proof that this is a down year for the ACC? Billy Packer's got 50 reasons.
On consecutive weekends, Packer worked games in which Villanova beat North Carolina by 20 points and Connecticut beat Virginia by 30.
``That's 50 points combined,'' Packer said. ``It doesn't take me - this is not brain surgery - to say that this is not a vintage year for the conference.''
Packer, in town Monday to speak at the Norfolk Sports Club, said he doesn't expect to see an ACC team in the Final Four this year.
``Or the Final Eight,'' he said. ``Every one of these teams has a hole, and it's a hole that's almost impossible to repair this season.''
The ACC has had at least one team in the Final Four every year since 1988, and at least one in the final eight every year since 1980.
``I don't think they have a team that can beat a top 10 team, on a consistent basis. Normally they'd be saying: `Not only can we beat a top 10 team, we got three of `em in the league.''
Packer's theory is that the league is a victim of its own success, and of the changing face of college basketball.
Elite schools compete to sign top players early, before they've played a game as high school seniors. When players are signed that early, mistakes are made. With only 13 scholarships available - as opposed to 15 a couple years ago - recruiting mistakes are magnified.
``That's what happened with Duke,'' Packer said. ``Right now they've got more McDonald's All-Americans than any team in the United States. These were all kids who were supposed to be great, coming into their senior year in high school.
``You make mistakes now and you can't recover from them.
``Then you've got the mistakes they don't make - the really super-duper players, and they're leaving early. That's really had a leveling effect, and it's really caught up with the league.''
The flip side is that the conference is more wide-open than it's ever been.
``It's been a lot of fun to broadcast, because you've got no idea what's going to happen,'' he said.
Packer touched on a few other subjects in a 30-minute talk. Among them:
The struggling Cavaliers, who have fallen to 7-9 with the loss to Connecticut: ``I've never noticed a lack of effort. (Sunday) was the first time I noticed a feeling of, `Oh my God, what's happening here!' And that's scary.''
On Virginia Tech: ``I don't know if they have enough size to go to the Final 16, but I think they, probably more than any ACC team, are capable of playing a top 10 team and playing competitive.''
On embattled North Carolina State coach Les Robinson: ``Is the team everything the State fans would want it to be? The answer is no. Can somebody else now take it now that he's gone through all the tough times to put it there? The answer is probably yes. Will he get the chance? The answer is probably maybe.'' ILLUSTRATION: Don't expect an ACC team in the Final 8, broadcaster Billy
Packer warned Norfolk Sports Club listeners.
by CNB