Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 2, 1993 TAG: 9302020120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
OFF DAYS, NOT NIGHTS WELCOME
In its slide down the Division I men's basketball rankings, Virginia came up two spots short of oblivion Monday.Two weeks after peaking at No. 7, the Cavaliers dropped to 24th.
Coach Jeff Jones, who never put much stock in the polls when UVa was riding high, wasn't as upset by the Cavaliers' new ranking as he was their play Saturday night in a 59-53 loss to Virginia Tech.
"We put an awful lot into that game," Jones said. "I'll be honest with you, after losing that one, that's about as low as I can remember feeling."
The Cavaliers led by 15 points on five occasions, the last at 41-26 with less than 16 minutes remaining.
"As much as the losses to Georgia Tech and Wake Forest hurt, the Virginia Tech loss was much worse because of the way it happened," Jones said. "Three field goals in the last 18 minutes . . . it just blows your mind."
When the Cavaliers lost to Georgia Tech, Jones said he was happy the team would be in action two nights later at William and Mary. UVa will not play again until it visits Maryland on Thursday, and this time Jones will take all of the practice time he can get.
"There are some things we need to work on," he said. "There are technical things we need to address, things that are occurring and recurring, mostly in terms of understanding time and score."
Jones was not pleased with UVa's shot selection late in a 75-73 loss to Wake Forest, when reserves Yuri Barnes and Doug Smith both took low-percentage shots with the Cavaliers trailing by one point.
Just as distressing for Jones has been the inability of UVa's post players to score close to the basket.
"It's so demoralizing when you're getting 3- or 4-foot opportunities with very little defensive resistance and you can't convert," he said. "When you keep coming away empty-handed on those, it serves as a big confidence-booster for your opponent."
Virginia Tech had great success stripping the ball from post players Junior Burrough, Ted Jeffries and Barnes, who had no assists but combined for 13 turnovers. Burrough has 15 turnovers in the past four games.
Jeffries called UVa's performance Saturday "a team effort or lack thereof," and it was hard to argue with his reasoning. Perimeter players Cory Alexander, Cornel Parker and Smith were 5-for-28 from the field, 0-for-14 in the second half.
\ MEDIA BAN PART II: Jones, who put his players off limits to the media after an earlier victory over Old Dominion, allowed only Jeffries and Smith to speak to the media Saturday. "I didn't have a whole lot of answers myself," Jones said, "but it's part of my job to be there [the interview area]. I don't try to program the players, but certain individuals tend to say things sometimes without thinking."
\ SHAPE-UP TIME: Jones said Burrough will receive added attention on and off the court during the layoff. "I don't believe Junior's in shape right now," Jones said Sunday night on his radio call-in show. "I think his conditioning might have a role in him getting up and down the floor."
Burrough received a cut above his left eye early in UVa's game with Wake Forest and required nine stitches. He missed all four of his free throws after the injury was bandaged, but was 7-of-10 from the line against the Hokies.
\ WATCHING SAT SCORES: UVa's top-ranked signee, 6-foot-7 Jamal Robinson from Queens, N.Y., received tutoring before he took the Scholastic Aptitude Test last week for the third time. Robinson was not tutored before the second test, when he scored lower than he did the first time.
Robinson, considered one of the top prospects in New York City, was rated No. 58 in the country by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons. Robinson is averaging close to 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Monsignor McClancy, which is 15-3.
\ DAVIS CHARADE OVER: Sources indicate that former high-school All-American Ben Davis was unhappy after transferring from Kansas to Florida and investigated the possibility of going to Virginia. Davis had 12 days from the time he enrolled at Florida to withdraw without penalty, but apparently Gators' coach Lon Kruger was able to put his mind at ease.
\ IN THE BONUS: Virginia's 28.8-percent shooting against Virginia Tech was its worst performance since the first round of last year's ACC Tournament, when the Cavaliers shot 24.6 percent in a 68-56 loss to Georgia Tech. UVa won its next 16 games after that. . . . Smith has gone scoreless from the field in three of the past five games. In the other two, he was 10-for-15 on 3-pointers.