Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 1, 1993 TAG: 9301310214
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
HOKIES' OWN FAB FIVE PLAY A WINNING TUNE
No, Bill Foster said, it wasn't by design that Virginia Tech had five freshmen on the floor to end the first half Saturday night at the Richmond Coliseum.Frankly, the Hokies' 59-53 comeback victory over 15th-ranked Virginia wouldn't have been possible without them.
"It was a pretty good baptism," said Foster, who could not remember a sweeter basketball victory in his two years as the Hokies coach. "A ranked team away from home. This has got to be one of the nice ones."
Foster had used four freshmen simultaneously in earlier games, but it was a first when Tech had a lineup of Jim Jackson, Shawn Smith, Shawn Good, Damon Watlington and Travis Jackson to end the first half.
"I noticed it for the first time tonight," said Good, who started at point guard and played 33 minutes. "Normally, I'm not looking for things like that."
One reason for the all-freshman lineup was Foster's desire to save junior guard Jay Purcell, who had two first-half fouls. However, several of the freshmen had key roles in Tech's rally from a 15-point second-half deficit.
Smith finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Jim Jackson made nine free throws and seldom-used Travis Jackson made a 3-pointer with 9:04 left to trim the deficit to 46-42.
"I've really been having good practices," said Travis Jackson, who had not played in Tech's three most recent games. "The coaches didn't exactly say I was going to play tonight, but I had an inkling."
The 3-pointer came on his second attempt of the game and third of the season. Teammates had noticed, however, that he was in a groove during pregame warmups.
"He's definitely got the green light," Foster said. "He's the best 3-point shooter on the team. We work a lot in practice on 3-pointers. Maybe it's starting to pay off."
Travis Jackson, a 6-foot-8, 215-pounder from Peterstown, W.Va., started a preseason game when upperclassmen Jimmy Carruth and Thomas Elliott were injured, but he had played 20 minutes before Saturday night, when he played 12.
"I feel maybe I was a little too satisfied too early," he said. "But you always feel better when you've earned something than when it's given to you."
Nobody was more elated after the game than Smith, a 6-6, 255-pounder from Gastonia, N.C., who hugged UVa's Cornel Parker as the game ended. Smith went to Fork Union Military Academy, as did Parker and Ted Jeffries from UVa.
In fact, Smith and Jeffries (6-9, 247) have worn the same number, 42, in college and military school. At Fork Union, they may have worn the same uniform.
"You noticed that?" Smith said. "We're a couple of big guys. I've got a lot of friends on that team. [UVa sophomore] Junior Burrough is my best friend from high school."
It was Burrough who was a victim of a three-point play by Smith as the shot clock was about to run out that put the Hokies ahead 57-53 with 47.8 seconds left.
"The play was set up for Jim Jackson," said Smith, who played with Jackson and Good at Fork Union, "but I could see we were running out of time. All I wanted to do was get up in the air and maybe draw the foul. I wasn't really hoping to make the shot."
Tech had lost 12 of its previous 15 games with UVa, but that was news to the freshmen. The motivation, Smith said, was to win the game for seniors Elliott and Steve Hall.
"This is probably the biggest win of my career," said a gracious Elliott. "I can't ever remember a comeback like this since I've been at Tech. . . . I know we haven't beaten UVa."