Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 12, 1990 TAG: 9003122840
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
They are that - and more.
Georgia Tech's trio of terror makes the Yellow Jackets a legitimate threat to reach the NCAA basketball tournament's Final Four.
Terry Holland agrees. Having seen his team fall 70-61 to Georgia Tech on Sunday in the ACC Tournament final, Virginia's retiring coach paid tribute to the victors.
"They're fun to watch, unless you are on the other sideline," said Holland, whose team edged Tech twice during the regular season on buzzer-beating shots but had no weapons - legal, lethal or otherwise - remaining.
"I've said all along they are a Final Four-type team, because of their ball-handling and shooting ability. And their savvy," Holland said. "If they get you in an open-court situation, it's almost a sure two points."
Those two points are likely to be scored by Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver or Kenny Anderson, the ACC's greatest triumvirate since North Carolina's 1982 national championship team featured James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan.
What sets the Tech stars apart - besides the 70 points they contribute on average - is their durability. They simply never leave the game.
Oliver played 80 minutes in the first two ACC games, then sat out 5 1/2 minutes in the second half Sunday after reinjuring his left ankle. (He has played, in pain, with a stress fracture of the left foot since November.)
He returned to nail a 3-pointer during Tech's winning drive, in which the Yellow Jackets outscored UVa 11-0. There were two other 3-pointers in that push, one by each of Oliver's partners.
Scott sat out 1:05 after committing his third foul before halftime of the second game. Otherwise, he never left the court.
Anderson played 117 of 120 minutes, including the entire game each of the last two days. "I was pushed today," he said. "But he [Cremins] told me to gut it out."
So the team with no depth should have been dragging near the finish, right?
Wrong.
Tech trailed N.C. State by 10 points at halftime and won by nine, pulling away at the finish. The Yellow Jackets were losing 49-42 against Duke in the second half, were tied at 60 with 7:38 remaining and won by 11.
Against UVa, Tech led 48-46 with 9:22 left and, with less than two minutes to play, was up by 16.
What makes Tech so potentially dangerous in the NCAA Tournament is that it is difficult to appreciate how good Oliver, Scott and Anderson are the first time you play them. In the tournament, there will be no second chance.
Tech was undefeated in 13 games against non-conference opponents.
At Freedom Hall, where Louisville is very hard to beat, Tech blew away the Cardinals in the second half.
Louisville tried to play straight man-to-man defense and got destroyed.
"I think it's very hard to play us man-to-man," said the magical Anderson, whom Cremins said had been slowed recently by a severe case of shin splints.
The freshman point guard, who dribbles as if the ball is a part of his hand, had 19 assists and just nine turnovers in the three ACC Tournament games. As a team, Tech turned it over just 30 times, almost never on the fast break.
"Kenny Anderson is the best ball-handler I've ever seen," Cremins said. That is not coaching hyperbole.
To have a great team, Cremins says, you need "a scorer, a point guard who can lead and score, and a great leader."
Sounds like Scott, Anderson and Oliver to me.
by CNB