THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503120428
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Rasheed Wallace had too much game and two many shots for Maryland.
Virginia lost because it couldn't climb Mount Duncan.
If put in the position of having to analyze Saturday's ACC matinee double feature - instead of doing the instinctive thing of kicking back and savoring every last drop of it - you might conclude that power won out.
When two exhibitions of grit and verve had melted away into a pool of high drama, it was a couple centers - North Carolina's Wallace and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan - who looked down on the rest.
In the second game, North Carolina's 97-92 overtime victory, Wallace put away his provocative elbows and all-conference pout to deliver the Tar Heels to today's championship game.
Said Maryland center Joe Smith, who was shackled by first-half foul trouble: ``Rasheed did a great job of calling for the ball inside. Today, they just gave him the ball more than they did in the previous games between us.''
It wasn't until Wake Forest began giving the ball to Duncan in the second half that the Demon Deacons dropped the hammer on U.Va.
While Duncan's 20 points couldn't match Wallace's 33, the tender sophomore - he won't turn 19 until April - had 14 rebounds to go along with his six blocked shots.
Following Wake's 77-68 victory, Duncan's rejections seemed to make the biggest impression on Jeff Jones.
``Those six blocked shots are a potential 12 points for us,'' said the U.Va. coach. ``They were hustle plays where we had layups, and he said, `No you don't.' ''
Jones alternated his biggest bodies on Duncan, who got three Cavaliers in foul trouble. With some success, U.Va. attempted a similar strategy last week against Maryland's Smith.
``But it's not the same,'' protested Jones. ``Joe Smith's a finesse player. Duncan is a power player. Duncan is a center. I don't know what the books say, but he must weigh a good 20 pounds more than Joe Smith.''
It's true, of course: Smith plays center so well, but with a forward's physique.
If Duncan thrives at the power game more than Smith, so Saturday did Wallace, who hit 13 of 19 shots.
Smith did more than OK for himself (24 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks), but once he picked up his second foul, North Carolina went right at Joe, and to Wallace.
``The kind of game (Wallace) played today,'' teammate Jerry Stackhouse said with a wink, ``is what they pay him for.''
Who is the better soph may or may not be determined today when Wallace and Duncan meet in the paint. Duncan, though, is the more mature person and steadier personality.
In case the memory of being outplayed by Duncan in a recent loss at Chapel Hill isn't vivid enough for Wallace, Dean Smith fed his wheelhorse some heavy-handed postgame pop psychology.
``I was listening to Jerry West on the radio coming over,'' El Deano told the press, ``and he said that Tim Duncan is the best player in America hands down.''
Uh huh.
Dean gets so little opportunity to practice the underdog schtick, it's no wonder he telegraphs his intentions.
``Maybe we can eke out one this time,'' he went on. ``They have chemistry, yet they have depth. I hope we can stay with them.''
If you're a basketball fan, you'll want to stay with this tournament for one more big game, to be decided, most likely, by two big kids. by CNB