THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140696
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
He is eligible to play another college season after this one. But nobody will be more surprised than Virginia point guard Cory Alexander if he isn't in an NBA training camp at this time next year.
Alexander on Thursday left little doubt that this will be his final season with the Cavaliers. A second-team All-ACC guard as a sophomore, Alexander broke his right ankle in the 11th minute of U.Va.'s opener last season and missed the rest of the season.
So what should be his senior year now becomes his junior year. But Alexander said he will graduate in May and move along to pro basketball.
Alexander compared his situation to that of former Virginia wide receiver Herman Moore, who left with a year of eligibility remaining and nothing more to accomplish in college.
``He was in a situation where he would be a very high NFL pick. Hopefully, that's what they're projecting for me, and I'm looking forward to doing that,'' Alexander said at U.Va.'s media day. ``I've made my mark on Virginia basketball, and hopefully I can add a last chapter this year.''
Knowing his finale awaits, on top of taking last year off, has only added to his anticipation for this season, he said. That and the chance to play alongside such younger talents as Jamal Robinson, Harold Deane and an impressive freshman class of Curtis Staples, Norman Nolan and Chase Metheney.
``These are guys I've never really played with in a situation where there's a crowd and people coming to watch us play,'' Alexander said. ``I'm just ready to get the chemistry started. I've never been so much ready to go into something in my life.''
ODU LOOMS: Coach Jeff Jones didn't talk about it long, but his sincerity was unmistakable when he discussed U.Va.'s opener against Old Dominion on Nov. 16 in the preseason National Invitation Tournament.
``We play ODU in the first game. That should say enough about the importance of getting off to a good start,'' Jones said. ``I could care less if it's the preseason NIT or a game late in the season and we were on the (NCAA tournament) bubble. Playing ODU is a huge game.''
HIGH OPTIMISM: Virginia went 18-13 last season despite shooting 38.7 percent from the floor. With Alexander back and increased experience throughout, Jones thinks the Cavaliers can live up to the top 10 ranking they are expected to receive.
``People should expect a lot from this basketball team,'' Jones said. ``We're going into the year not trying to lay back and play possum and make people think that maybe we're going to be good. I think we're going to be good.''
TALL ORDER: Virginia's women's team will be the biggest ever under 18th-year coach Debbie Ryan.
``There's a lineup I could use where everybody would be over 6-foot or right around that,'' Ryan said. ``We're moving away from small, quick guards to bigger, stronger guards.''
Ryan, though, will be without freshman guard Tiffany Bower from Richmond. Bower tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee last summer at the high school all-star game and will sit out the season. by CNB