Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 8, 1991 TAG: 9103080072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Long
"I was kind of upset," said Stith in an obvious understatement. "More than anything else, it shocked me. I have to realize I must be able to accept the negative as well as the positive."
Nevertheless, Stith obviously was having a hard time dealing with a column entitled "Stith may not rate with the best," in Wednesday's edition of the Cavalier Daily.
The student columnist wrote that Stith did not compare with some of the best small forwards in the country, referring to Billy Owens (Syracuse), Stacy Augmon (UNLV), Jimmy Jackson (Ohio State) and Malik Sealy (St. John's).
"I think it will make me a stronger player," Stith said. "I think I have a lot to prove to that particular person [Russell DePalma]. I'm not going to shortchange myself. I believe I can play with the best."
Stith was so shook up Wednesday that he called home in Freeman, Va., to commiserate with his parents.
"They told me, `That's life,' " Stith said. "I found my teammates were behind me, as well as the coaches and my parents. More than anything else, I want to win the ACC Tournament for that reason.
"The best always have criticism and I feel I'm no different. I'm susceptible to mistakes. I definitely have the fire in my eyes. Every time I step on the floor, I will be thinking of Russell DePalma."
The Virginia-Wake game will be one of three games today at the Charlotte Coliseum, where regular-season champion Duke (25-6 overall, 11-3 ACC) will practice at 11 a.m. and enjoy a first-round bye.
Maryland is on two-year NCAA probation and, because the Terps may not appear on television, they are ineligible to play in the tournament. Duke is the first team to receive a bye since 1979, the year before Georgia Tech became the ACC's eighth member.
Today's action begins at 2 p.m., when No. 2 seed North Carolina (22-5, 10-4) faces No. 7 Clemson (11-16, 2-12). The second session convenes at 7 p.m. with No. 4 N.C. State (18-9, 8-6) against No. 5 Georgia Tech (16-11, 6-8).
Third-seeded Wake (18-9, 8-6) and No. 6 Virginia (20-10, 6-8) split a pair of regular-season games, with the Cavaliers winning 83-80 in Charlottesville, Va., and Wake returning the favor 76-68 in Winston-Salem.
Stith has averaged more than 27 points against Wake Forest over the past two years, so Demon Deacons' coach Dave Odom isn't sure how much more excited he can become.
"Knowing Bryant Stith as I do, I don't think anything affects him negatively," said Odom, who was an assistant at Virginia during Stith's first season. "If you want my personal opinion, I don't think it will have any bearing on the game.
"I hope he understands that I didn't write the article. None of our players did. I don't think he has anything to prove to Russell DePalma or anybody else, let alone Wake Forest."
Virginia coach Jeff Jones called his players together Wednesday before practice and addressed the article.
"Bryant and his teammates were very shook up about it," Jones said. "I basically told Bryant that there were 21 people in that room who believed in him."
The column appeared the day after Stith, a 6-foot-5 junior, was selected first-team All-ACC for the second year in a row.
"I'm not going to go down line-by-line," Jones said, "but to single out Bryant Stith and insinuate he's the problem with the team. . . . The article was so ridiculous, I'm not sure what the point of it was."
The column noted that Stith's scoring has dropped (from 20.8 points per game to 20.2), his rebounding has dropped (from 6.9 to 6.1) and he has contributed only 35 assists.
Confronted with that evidence, Jones was asked Thursday if Stith has played as well this year as he did as a sophomore.
"It might be legitimate to wonder, but it's irrelevant," Jones said. "He's had a good year. If he had fallen flat on his face and had a bad year, then maybe. He's had two consecutive years All-ACC, that on the heels of making rookie of the year."
Odom said he isn't surprised that Stith's numbers are down.
"Chris King's are down," said Odom, referring to the Deacons' junior forward, who has been supplanted by freshman Rodney Rogers as Wake's leading scorer and rebounder. "Does that make him a worse player? I don't think so.
"I would say it's a product of more balance and other teams going after [Stith] a little bit. If you know there's poison sitting around on the other team, you want to dilute it as much as you can."
Jones agreed that Stith might be able to use his anger to his advantage when the Cavaliers take on Wake.
"If it serves as motivation, then [fine]," Jones said. "If he can use it positively and take his play to another level, then great. I think a lot of people play better when they're hungry or a little bit angry." And, Stith is at least a little bit angry.
"It has a tendency to affect your ego a little bit," Stith said. "I was surprised at all the people who commented on it, who told me, `Don't worry about it. Don't believe it.'
"I think I had success both my junior and sophomore years. With the loss of Anthony [Oliver], I've gotten more attention from defenses, but I accept full responsibility for that. I won't back down from this challenge or any other."
by CNB