Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993 TAG: 9303170062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SYRACUSE AS GOOD A PLACE AS ANY FOR CAVS TO PLAY
As they waited to learn where they would be sent for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Cornel Parker turned to Yuri Barnes and said Orlando, Fla., might be a nice destination."But, when I saw we were playing in Syracuse (N.Y.), it didn't bother me at all," said Parker, a junior forward for Virginia. "The Carrier Dome is one of those places you see all the time on TV. I guess everybody would like to play there once.
"I know it's going to be cold, though."
UVa seniors Ted Jeffries and Doug Smith played on the 1991 UVa team that was ousted from the NCAA Tournament by Syracuse University, but that game was played at the Richmond Coliseum. The Cavaliers have never played in Syracuse.
That will change Friday, when sixth-seeded Virginia (19-5) meets 11th-seeded Manhattan (23-6) at approximately 2:45 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA East Regional. Manhattan, incidentally, is not located in Manhattan, but in Riverdale, N.Y., which is in the Bronx.
"The first thing I thought of when I saw Manhattan go up on the board was Keith [Bullock]," said UVa sophomore Cory Alexander, who joined the Jaspers player and another Cavalier, Junior Burrough, on an NIT all-star team that toured Europe last summer.
"I didn't play well on that trip, Junior didn't play well on that trip and I don't know how well Keith played because I hadn't seen him play before, but I think everybody wants to show how much better they've gotten," Alexander said.
Alexander described Bullock as "pretty quiet," but it was Bullock who reportedly told a New York writer, "After we win the game hopefully people will realize Manhattan is good enough to play with the big boys."
UVa coach Jeff Jones took offense to the quote, although the quote can be taken two ways, depending on the punctuation.
"Their players seem to be saying, `After they beat Virginia, they can beat anybody,' " Jones said. "They've been a little more outspoken than our players."
Burrough said his first reaction upon seeing the draw was that Manhattan was a classic underdog, "but," he said, "then I got to thinking and they're trying to accomplish the same things we are."
Alexander said Bullock, at 6 feet 7 and 245 pounds, is shorter but possibly stronger than Burrough (6-8, 240).
"I can attest to that," Burrough said. "We got about the same amount of playing time [on the trip], but I got more shots. He didn't look to put it up as much."
Bullock has a higher scoring average (18.4 points per game) than Burrough (14.8), although the Cavaliers play against a higher level of competition, according to USA Today. Computer analyst Jeff Sagarin ranks the ACC as the No. 1-rated conference; the Metro Atlantic, of which Manhattan is a member, ranks 17th of 33.
"We're going in saying, `We're an ACC team; we play in the best conference in the nation,' " Alexander said. "But we're definitely not overlooking anybody. I've had people ask me, `Are you going to beat [possible second-round opponent] Massachusetts?' I tell them, `Wait, we've got to get past Manhattan first."
The Cavaliers were just beginning to learn about Manhattan's team after the arrival of tapes Tuesday. Jones, for one, knew little about the school or its nickname, which comes from Brother Jasper of Mary, who allegedly brought the seventh-inning stretch to baseball.
"That's a lot of stuff on the periphery," Jones said. "It's much more important that we know about Bullock and [center Jamal] Marshall than about what a Jasper is."
\ NOTES: UVa assistant Dennis Wolff is among the candidates for the opening at Loyola (Md.), one of Manhattan's rivals in the MAAC. . . . Minnesota visits UVa next year as part of a home-and-home arrangement that was interrupted after the Cavaliers visited the Gophers in 1991-92. Other non-conference opponents include Nevada-Las Vegas, Stanford, North Carolina-Wilmington and William and Mary. . . . Six players accounted for 196 of 200 minutes for UVa in its 74-56 loss to North Carolina in the ACC semifinals. Sophomore forward Yuri Barnes played a season-low four minutes - two games after scoring a season-high 15 points in 17 minutes against Maryland.