ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 7, 1997 TAG: 9703070044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY THE ROANOKE TIMES
Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning went to a good source for advice on whether to stay in college, although it came in a strange setting.
Manning, a spectator when Virginia entertained Wake Forest in men's basketball Feb. 22, asked to talk to Deacon' center Tim Duncan after the game.
Duncan was faced with a similar decision last year, when he could have been a No. 1 or 2 draft pick, but elected to return for his final year of eligibility. Manning made the same choice Wednesday.
``When they told me that Peyton Manning wanted to come in our locker room,'' said Wake coach Dave Odom, ``my first question was, `Why? What's he doing here?' When somebody told me why, I said, `Of course.'''
Manning dates Ashley Thompson, a fourth-year UVa student who is the sister of walk-on Cavaliers quarterback Will Thompson. Manning has been to two UVa football games and two basketball games during this school year.
``I've seen him play before,'' Duncan said. ``I knew he was a great player. It was strange to see him. We'd never met. But, at the same time, I could see why he was there.
``I'm one that's been through it. I've been through it for a year. He asked me why I came back, and I told him he could look for much of the same and [about] all of the fun he could have.
``He asked about risk and getting injured and all that stuff. Whenever you play, whether it's college or whatever, you have a chance of getting injured. You could tell he had a lot on his mind. He had mixed emotions.''
TERP TURNAROUND: One of the surprise teams in the ACC was Maryland, which was picked for eighth in the preseason after losing four starters from its 1995-96 team.
The Terps (20-9 overall, 9-7 ACC) finished in a fourth-place tie with their first-round ACC tournament opponent, Clemson, and were in contention for the regular-season championship until the final two weeks.
``Last year, everybody seemed to have their own agendas,'' junior Sarunas Jasikevicius said. ``Nobody cared about the team. We had four seniors and they all wanted to go to the NBA. It didn't really help us.''
TRENDS: Georgia Tech became the third team in the 43-year history of the ACC to go from first place to last place in the regular-season standings in one year - all three times in the 1990s.
Clemson was the first team to accomplish the dubious feat in 1990-91, followed by Duke in 1994-95. The Yellow Jackets (9-17 overall, 3-13 ACC) led N.C. State by two games in the standings before losing their last six games.
``This is, without a doubt, the worst year I've had in coaching,'' said Georgia Tech's Bobby Cremins, whose worst previous record was in 1979-80, when he was 12-16 at Appalachian State.
RECRUITING: Oliver Simmons, who began his college career at Kentucky, enrolled at Florida State for the second semester. Simmons, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward, had played sparingly for Kentucky before he was injured early in the season.
Simmons joined his girlfriend, a Kentucky volleyball player before she transferred to Florida State. Both Simmons and his girlfriend are paying their way until scholarships become available in their respective sports.
PROMINENT VISITOR: Virginia's football staff entertained 25 juniors Sunday at the Cavaliers' basketball game with Maryland, including Hampton High School quarterback Ronald Curry, the No.1 prospect in the country. Curry wants to play football and basketball in college.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS Clemson's Iker Iturbe uses a giantby CNBrubber ball to assist in stretching exercises during the Tigers'
practice session.