Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 19, 1992 TAG: 9203190128
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
There wasn't one, if you can believe men's basketball committee chairman Roy Kramer.
"The last two or three teams went in together," Kramer said Tuesday in a phone interview. "There probably were eight or 10 or 11 teams we were considering at the time."
Kramer said the committee was not influenced by the number of teams from one conference, although fellow committee member Charles Harris indicated there was some debate over fellow ACC members Virginia and Wake Forest.
"I think [UVa's] record was a factor," said Harris, athletic director at Arizona State. "They would have gone in with the worst record in the field [among at-large teams.]"
Wake Forest made the field at 17-11; Virginia, which was 15-13 but finished higher in the ACC standings, did not.
"What we tried to do was take the best 34 teams," Harris continued. "The thing we kept coming back to, in comparing Virginia and Wake, was `which was the better team?' "
Kramer said he could not recall a comparison between Virginia and Wake Forest, although numerous comparisons took place.
"We weren't analyzing those teams against Duke; we were analyzing them against each other," Kramer said. "But it certainly would be significant that Wake Forest beat Duke.
"Yet, we have no parameters by conference. Until we picked the teams and they were put on the board, I was not aware how many teams were going from each conference."
Several sources have indicated that Virginia was hurt badly by its offensive showing in a 68-56 loss to Georgia Tech, when the Cavaliers shot 24.7 percent from the field.
"We are very aware of tournament games and get significant statistics," Kramer said.
Virginia has built its case on power rankings and strength of schedule, but Kramer warned against placing too much stock in the computer rankings compiled for USA Today by Jeff Sagarin. The committee has its own computer program.
"There are some major differences," Kramer said. "The Sagarin rankings allow for scoring differential, which, we feel, can be very misleading."
\ Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster said all the Metro Conference schools would benefit from the four member schools that received at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament - regular-season champion Tulane, tournament champion North Carolina Charlotte, Louisville and South Florida.
"It's amazing; when we call this week to talk to a kid about playing here, getting those four teams in has really helped," Foster said. "You can't believe this fall how tough it was selling the Metro, because everybody had us written off.
"Going into the fall, we weren't winning, there was a lot of uncertainty, new coaching staff, the league was just getting absolutely bombed: `Who's in the Metro now?' We've only gone 10-18 [but] we beat [three] clubs that are in the field of 64. With the league doing well, I think we're putting ourselves in a better position to recruit."
\ Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said sophomore guard Randolph Childress likely will be in uniform for the Deacons' first-round NCAA Tournament game, although he will not play. Odom decided, if Childress had not rehabilitated fully from knee surgery by Jan. 1, that he would be redshirted.
Odom said he hoped the presence of Childress on the bench would give the Deacons an emotional lift against Louisville in Tempe, Ariz. Childress, now close to 100 percent, and transfer Charles Harrison from Georgetown reportedly have been giving the Wake guards fits in practice.
| Odom was surprised (and maybe a little offended) by reaction to the NCAA bids in Charlottesville, where Virginia coach Jeff Jones said "it would be a bitter pill to swallow," if Wake made the field and UVa didn't.
Odom also was disturbed when North Carolina forward George Lynch said the Tar Heels were motivated by Rodney Rogers' statement that he would score 50 points if that's what it would take to prevent Carolina from winning its 20th game. Odom said he has seen no evidence that Rogers ever made the comment.
\ After his basketball team won its semifinal game in the ACC Tournament, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was informed that his wife and three daughters were seen doing the tomahawk chop in support of Florida State in its semifinal with North Carolina.
"For this tournament, I don't know what the hell my family's up to," Krzyzewski said. "They don't spend much time in the room because all I do is watch film. They're approaching this like they're Duke groupies.
"I think the tomahawk chop will have little or no relevance to how we perform [in the final] and what my family does will have even less relevance."
\ Two-time ACC player of the year Christian Laettner from Duke is one of the players who has tentatively agreed to play in an all-star game April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Bassett. Organizers also have received a favorable response from N.C. State's Tom Gugliotta and North Carolina's Hubert Davis, and are hopeful of lining up Bryant Stith from Virginia.
\ VMI's basketball staff recently entertained Johnny Watkins, a 6-foot-3 guard from North Stanley High in New London, N.C., on a paid visit. The Keydets have made no secret of their interest in Lord Botetourt guard Bobby Prince and Patrick Henry center Jonas Callis, both of whom were on hand for a recent Keydets' home game.
| Kevin Simmons, rated one of the top 12 juniors in the East by talent scout Tom Konchalski, will enroll at Oak Hill Academy after spring break. Simmons, a 6-7, 215-pounder, played at Christ the King in Middle Village, N.Y., but had a lengthy commute and developed academic difficulties.
by CNB