Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 19, 1990 TAG: 9003192543
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Although they had exchanged handshakes earlier, it was the first opportunity for the rival basketball coaches to share their thoughts on Syracuse's 63-61 victory over Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament East Regional.
"I should have known it wouldn't be easy," said Boeheim, whose Orangemen led by 15 points with less than 12 minutes left but needed a block from center Derrick Coleman with seconds remaining to preserve the win.
Boeheim has been at Syracuse for 15 years - only one less than Holland has been at Virginia - but before Sunday their only previous meeting had been in the semifinals of the 1984 East Regional.
Some may have forgotten the particulars of the '84 game, won by Virginia 63-55 at the Omni in Atlanta, but the Orangemen gained a permanent place in the minds of Cavaliers fans by beating UVa in Holland's last game.
"If they had been playing anybody else, I'd have been rooting for them," Boeheim said. "Even if they had been playing somebody in our league, I'd have been rooting for them a little bit.
"You can find something not to like about most coaches - yes, most of us - but it's hard to find anything not to like about Terry Holland."
You can count Boeheim among the multitudes who wonder how Virginia could have allowed Holland to move to Davidson, where he will be the athletic director as of May 1.
"It's great when a coach can retire on his terms," Boeheim said, "but if Virginia could have done anything different to get him to stay, [the school] should have done it."
Boeheim said Virginia won't find another Holland "unless they're very lucky. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be saying, `Now, where is he?' "
Holland, 47, hasn't ruled out a return to coaching, although his wife may have been pushing the timetable when she said they would re-evaluate after one year.
"Terry was very young when he started, just as I was very young," Boeheim, 45, said. "It used to be, you would coach somewhere for 16 years and you'd be 60."
Boeheim can sympathize with Holland, who was criticized in the early 1980s for not winning an ACC or NCAA championship despite going 112-23 during the four-year career of Ralph Sampson.
"No one gave Terry much credit," Boeheim said, "but sometimes it's harder to coach talented kids. I don't know how they could have won more games over that time."
Boeheim also has had to deal with lofty expectations from a Syracuse media contingent that covers the Orangemen like an NBA franchise.
"Every game we play, we have to win," Boeheim said. "After 30 games, our kids are used to that. When we lost to Connecticut the first time, it was like we'd lost to a Division II team. Nobody's beaten us who couldn't play."
It never appeared Virginia would beat Syracuse on Sunday, although Boeheim admittedly got worried when UVa's Bryant Stith hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.
"When they cut it to five [with 34 seconds left], I wasn't worried," Boeheim said. "But when Stith pumped and ducked under Stevie [Thompson] for the 3-pointer, I said, `Oh, -.' "
When Billy Owens missed the front end of a one-and-one with 14 seconds, UVa had the ball and a chance to tie or go ahead for the first time since the opening minute.
Kenny Turner was open for a split second on the left wing but when Thompson came flying out to the perimeter for a second time, Boeheim could relax.
"Stevie made the right play running at Turner," Boeheim said. "The last thing we wanted to give them was a chance to win it with a 3-pointer.
"Then, once they got it inside to Stith, I saw Derrick and I knew we were OK."
The Orangemen (26-6) had survived to make the trip to New Orleans, where they will play Minnesota on Friday night in the semifinals.
"I imagine I'll see Terry somewhere down the line," Boeheim said. "We had to win today because for the next 20 years Terry could say he was undefeated against me."
by CNB