Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 16, 1991 TAG: 9103160066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: SALT LAKE CITY LENGTH: Medium
Then, you remember that UVa beat North Carolina State by 32 points and Duke by 17, and wonder what went wrong.
Jeff Jones probably would have been named ACC coach of the year if the balloting had been conducted Feb. 1. Now, the jury is out, which is the way it probably should be with a first-year coach.
Jones took a team that was 20-12 in 1989-90 and, with all five starters back, finished 21-12. The Cavaliers were 6-8 and tied for fifth in the ACC both seasons, and received a seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament both years.
The seasons were virtual carbon copies aside from the fact that UVa finished strong in 1989-90, reaching the ACC final and winning an NCAA Tournament game, and faded this year, losing eight of its last 12.
Many would argue that UVa should have been better, if only for the sake of experience. If the late season slide showed anything, however, it was that the Cavaliers' talent ranks in the second division of the ACC.
Virginia never had an inside game, couldn't shoot and had no offense off the bench. Moreover, it is hard to think of a single player who was better this year than last.
Senior point guard John Crotty was outstanding down the stretch, but All-ACC forward Bryant Stith lost his shooting touch and was no longer capable of carrying the team on his shoulders. Stith was better as a sophomore than he was this year as a junior.
Jones said senior forward Kenny Turner showed improvement, but Turner was so worn down by the end of the season that he rarely played well at the end of the games. Turner missed his last 13 shots Thursday night in the 61-48 loss to BYU.
There is reason to question whether the 6-foot-6 Turner, a veteran of five knee operations, ever should have been allowed to play at 232 pounds. But Jones bristles at questions about the team's conditioning.
"We're not developing a track team here," said Jones, who replaced fitness nut Terry Holland. "I'd have to say it's ridiculous to question our conditioning. Fatigue, maybe. Some of the guys may have played too many minutes."
Some of the guys may not have played enough minutes, most notably Terry Kirby. Kirby did not get off the bench for the last four games, although many consider him the most talented shooting guard in the program.
It's debatable whether Anthony Oliver, who starts at the position, can even be classified a shooting guard. Oliver made one 3-pointer all season and was 0-for-5 from the field against BYU.
Oliver can play good defense but he has a tendency to pout when not involved in the offense. And he often loses his cool, as he did when he fouled BYU's 7-foot-6 Shawn Bradley 35 feet from the basket.
Oliver's understudy, Cornel Parker, had 15 points Feb. 9 against North Carolina and did not have more than two field goals in any of the last 11 games. Parker also stopped rebounding, which had been one of his strengths.
Also experiencing a drop-off was Matt Blundin, a starter on UVa's final eight team in 1989. Blundin has never been a big scorer, but he's never been as unproductive as he was this year, when he did not score from the field in the last five games.
"He's worn down," said Jones in an interview on the flight home from Utah. "It's basketball-football, football-basketball. He's a guy who relies a lot on his inner fire, and it appears that's been dampened a bit."
The player who seemed more refreshed than anybody was Crotty, who went 40 minutes in the altitude of Salt Lake City, but scored 10 of his 20 points in the final 5:01 and did not have a turnover.
It was a strange game in that the Cavaliers took 28 more shots than BYU from the field, had 12 more offensive rebounds and committed 11 fewer turnovers, but lost going away.
This is not the worst shooting team in the history of UVa basketball - indeed, the Cavaliers had a lower shooting percentage in 1989-90 - but it was an awful shooting team at the end of the year.
UVa was 1-for-15 on 3-pointers against BYU and 10-for-62 for the last four games. Stith was 1-for-21 and Turner was 3-for-18 during that stretch.
Jones has played and coached under one system since coming to Virginia, so maybe it's time to re-evaluate the x's and o's. But UVa's greatest shortcoming is its talent deficit.
That's why Jones' most significant accomplishment took place before the season, when he signed four players who constitute UVa's best recruiting class in the past decade.
Chris Alexander and Yuri Barnes are shot-blockers, Barnes and Junior Burrough score along the baseline and Jason Williford can hit the 3-pointer. If point guard Cory Alexander joins them, Virginia might have the top-ranked recruiting class in the country.
Too many of UVa's current players were signed after the Cavaliers couldn't get their first choice. If you keep relying on overachievers, some nights they're going to play down to their potential.
by CNB