Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 14, 1991 TAG: 9103140120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Moody, a fifth-year senior, has started the past five games for Nebraska, which carries a 26-7 record into tonight's first-round Midwest Region game with Xavier of Ohio in Pontiac, Mich.
Moody, who played football and basketball at Herndon High School, was on the Hokies' depth chart at quarterback when he decided to leave before spring ball in 1987.
"My grades weren't too hot," Moody said, "but they had just made a coaching change [from Bill Dooley to Frank Beamer] and I was worried that I might get overlooked."
Moody spent the 1987-88 school year at Northern Virginia Community College, where he did not participate in sports, before transferring to Hagerstown (Md.) Junior College to play basketball.
"Even when I was at Tech, I used to play basketball every day after [football] practice," Moody said. "I even played a couple games for the JV.
"Looking back on it, I wish I had played basketball coming out of high school, but I had a lot of success in football and people just assumed that was what I would play in college. I never came out and said it."
Moody said he would not have been opposed to playing football for Nebraska and Cornhusker officials went to the point of inquiring to see if he had another season of eligibility (he didn't).
Moody had some differences with basketball coach Danny Nee during Nebraska's 10-18 season in 1988-89, but he was one of the first subs off the bench this year until recently moving into the starting lineup.
Moody ranks second on the team in assists and averages only 4.9 points per game, but he hit a score-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation in the Cornhuskers' 117-113 victory over Oklahoma in the Big Eight tournament.
"As a point guard, that's [scoring] not really my role," Moody said, "but that's probably my best memory from college."
\ Shawn Bradley, Brigham Young's 7-foot-6 freshman center, will not be the tallest player Virginia has seen this year, with the operative word being "seen."
When the Cavaliers played UCLA in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout, they got a look at 7-7 UCLA junior Mike Lanier. Lanier dressed for the game, but is being redshirted this season.
Bradley said he doesn't know exactly how high he can jump, "but I have hit my head on the rim before," he said.
\ Brigham Young guard Scott Moon, who had promised to get a flat-top haircut if the Cougars beat Utah for the Western Athletic Conference final, was able to convince three teammates to join him at the barber shop.
\ Utah officials expressed disappointment that 2,000 tickets remained Wednesday for first-round NCAA Tournament action at the 15,000-seat Huntsman Center.
Brigham Young frequently sells out its games at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, located 40 miles from Salt Lake City, but the availability of tickets will keep tonight's BYU-UVa game off local television.
"To be very honest, with Wyoming, [the tickets] would have been gone by now," said Monty Howard, ticket manager at Utah, where there is no love lost for BYU.
\ Utah coach Rick Majerus has been raging at the continued reference to BYU as the Western Athletic Conference champion after the Cougars beat the regular-season champion Utes in the WAC championship game.
"You know, the WAC came out and handed a nice trophy to the winner," Majerus said. "Do you know we haven't got s--- from the WAC. We haven't got a f------ handshake.
"I'm not upset for me. I'm upset for 15 players who spilled their guts for me and their fans and now have gotten the shaft by calling BYU [the] WAC champs. Let's just remind people that BYU lost five games in the real WAC."
\ Rodney Monroe's chances of breaking Dickie Hemric's 35-year-old ACC scoring record depend on how far N.C. State advances in postseason play. Hemric had 2,587 points in his Wake Forest career, followed by Duke's Johnny Dawkins (2,556) and Monroe (2,507).
The Wolfpack's scoring has become more balanced with the emergence of sophomore center Kevin Thompson. Thompson, who scored in double figures five times in the first 23 games, now has scored 10 points or more in the past six.
\ This is the first year ever that the four ACC schools from North Carolina - North Carolina, Duke, N.C. State and Wake Forest - have all received NCAA Tournament bids in the same year. The NCAA did not take more than one team from a conference until 1975.
\ One of the surprise players in the ACC this year was Georgia Tech junior Jon Barry, son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry.
The younger Barry replaced Brian Oliver at shooting guard and scored in double figures in 27 of 28 games. Barry also ranks second in the ACC with 74 3-pointers.
Barry was one of two junior-college recruits for Tech in 1990. The other, Bryan Hill, scored in double figures five times all season, once in the past 13 games, and shot 52 percent from the free-throw line.
\ Radford (22-7) was one of five Division I teams with 20 wins not to make the NCAA or NIT. The others were Southwestern Louisiana (21-10), Middle Tennessee State (21-9), Texas-Arlington (21-9) and Texas-San Antonio (21-8). Ex-VMI coach Marty Fletcher coaches Southwestern Louisiana.
\ Georgetown coach John Thompson on the prospect of meeting first-round NCAA Tournament opponent Vanderbilt: "They shoot 40 percent from the 3-point line. We don't shoot 40 percent from the layup line."
by CNB