Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990 TAG: 9003182386
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The rest, of course, is a highlight of UVa history. The Cavs won 86-80 and reached the Southeast Regional final.
Now, for Virginia to make it to the same regional final again, the Cavs will have to beat another of college basketball's heavyweights, Syracuse.
If anything, the Orangemen are a more formidable opponent, but there is one major difference: This time, nobody is saying UVa can't win.
"I think it's kind of funny," UVa forward Kenny Turner said Saturday. "Last year, they didn't consider us. Now, in Coach [Terry] Holland's last year, we're finally getting some respect.
"Personally, I don't think Coach Holland has gotten enough respect."
There are comparisons to be made between the last two UVa squads.
Last year, after being picked to finish seventh in ACC preseason polls, the Cavs wound up tied for second and were 18-9 in the regular season. Still, after losing to Duke in the ACC semifinals, nobody expected Virginia to be a factor in the NCAA Tournament.
And, as Turner is quick to point out, "a lot of people talk about [UVa] going to the final eight, but we got blown out [by Michigan 102-65]."
This season, UVa was picked seventh in the ACC writers' poll, although the coaches selected them No. 6. Virginia finished 17-11 and finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the league standings, arguably not as impressive as in '88-89 season.
But this team beat Duke and North Carolina once each and Georgia Tech twice.
If there is one significant difference in the way UVa is perceived by most of the media, it is because it defeated North Carolina and regular-season champion Clemson in the league tournament before losing to Georgia Tech.
It didn't hurt that UVa drew Notre Dame in the opening round, although the Irish had fewer victory (16) than any team in the field.
"I'd much rather have played Notre Dame than Northern Iowa," Turner said. "You never think of Notre Dame as being an underdog, and I don't think they were. They were damn good."
The Cavs, though, were better, turning in an impressive 75-67 victory in which they led virtually all the way.
They did it with the help of a masterful 28-point, five-assist, zero-turnover performance by point guard John Crotty, who always seems to take his game up a level in the NCAA Tournament.
This time, attention has centered on Holland, the departing coach, which has allowed a genuinely loose team to be even more pressure-proof.
All parties have handled it well, something that seems to puzzle the national media who don't know Holland.
"We can't have a `Win one for the Gipper' attitude," Turner said. "If we do, it might be the last for the team.
"For all the right reasons, I think we're playing for the team."
There could be a team reward for their departing coach, who, Turner said, "has loosened up a lot this year."
"We'd like to get him to the Final Four. We'd like to take him to Denver," Turner said.
Last year, nobody would have considered that a possibility. This time, when each game may be Holland's finale, the attitude is the opposite.
"Anybody can win it," Turner said. "It might as well be us."
Still, there are occasions when this team is downgraded.
A portly Eastern sportswriter - who once worked in Richmond and should know better - asked Turner about playing Syracuse "because they're from the Big East and get all that publicity."
Was that extra incentive? the writer wanted to know.
Turner answered politely, then, later, turned a quizzical eyebrow and said, "Does that guy know how intense it is to play against Duke? North Carolina gets a little publicity."
What Turner did not say is that only one of the power leagues survived the first round undefeated. The ACC was 5-0.
Maybe the lack-of-respect factor still exists.
by CNB