Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 16, 1992 TAG: 9202160106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL BRILL
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
POINT GUARDS REASON FOR MEDIOCRE ACC THIS SEASON
The aircraft carriers, Al McGuire's vintage characterization of big men, get the big bucks.If Shaquille O'Neal turns pro and leaves LSU, the first three draft picks will be the Shaq, Christian Laettner and Alonzo Mourning.
The slashers - players such as Grant Hill, Jimmy Jackson, Malik Sealy - get the headlines.
But in college basketball, you win - or lose - at the point.
After beating Virginia 69-60 Saturday, NCAA Tournament-bound Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said, "The league is not very good this year."
And the ACC mirrors the nation.
Want some evidence that basketball mediocrity is as widespread as the recession? Check home-court records. Road victories seem to be at an all-time high. "Good teams should never lose at home," Odom said.
What's the problem? No good point guards.
Last year, the ACC had Kenny Anderson, Chris Corchiani, John Crotty, Bobby Hurley and Walt Williams. Only the latter two are back, and Williams no longer plays that position.
The second-best point man is Wake Forest senior Derrick McQueen, who would have been no better than No. 6 previously.
McQueen is vastly improved, no doubt about that, but he is not a superior talent. He is a tough little guy with experience and renewed confidence in his jump shot.
That is why Wake is 14-7, even without injured Randolph Childress, who would have been the scoring guard this flawed team misses.
"It goes in cycles," Odom said. "The [ACC] point guards are very, very young."
How much difference can point guards make? In a pitiful first half, Wake Forest shot 34.3 percent and led Virginia by nine because the Cavs shot 26.9 percent.
McQueen sprained a knee 1:56 into the action and went to the locker room. In his absence, the Deacons' offense went stiff.
Cory Alexander, the UVa freshman who is just starting the learning process, was 1-of-6 from the field with two assists. He took three quick 3-pointers, ill-advised shots that had no chance.
In the second half, Alexander played well. He scored 11 points, was 3-of-4 from beyond the line, and had five assists.
But McQueen won it for the Deacs. He scored a dozen points and didn't make a mistake.
Unlike the first half, which ended 28-19, both teams scored 41 points after intermission. Why? Better distribution of the ball, getting it to people in scoring position.
The point guard also can key the defense. Last year, the ACC point guards all were effective in different ways, from Hurley's constant pressure to Corchiani's steals.
Even as well as Alexander played offensively in the second half Saturday, he can't do that at the other end yet. Wake Forest had five turnovers, lowest in Odom's three years here, and only a couple were forced. Four of the five were by their star, Rodney Rogers.
Wake's guards not only didn't have a turnover, they didn't come close to one. There was no pressure on the ball by UVa.
The Cavs didn't turn up their defense with McQueen icing down his knee in the locker room. Odom took his longtime coaching cohort, Jeff Jones, off the hook by explaining: "Things like that happen spontaneously. Coaches have a hard time doing something you don't do every day [in practice]."
It's more likely Jones doesn't think Alexander is advanced enough to perform that task.
The lack-of-point disease is widespread. Odom's son, Lane, is an assistant at Alabama, which may be 19-5 but isn't nearly the team it was last year.
"They don't have Gary Waites," Wake's Odom said. "They are a perfect example. They have almost everybody back but the point guard, but they're not as effective."
The few quality teams are blessed. "To be a fluid offensive team, you've got to have a director," Odom said. "If you don't, it also hurts you at the other end" because opponents score off mistakes.
In the college game, the point guard is the guy with the baton. Without a good one, there's no string music.