Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290162
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
Don't count on it.
"This may be my last year," Alexander said Friday.
Alexander is thinking seriously of applying for the National Basketball Association draft and taking advantage of a new rule that gives underclassmen the option of returning to school within 30 days of the draft without losing their eligibility.
"I feel there's nothing to lose at all," said Alexander, a junior. "If it wasn't for the new rule, I'd definitely be coming back [to Virginia]."
Alexander, still wearing a cast and walking on crutches, said the lure of the NBA would be one of his chief motivations for playing again this season.
"And I still intend on coming back and playing," he said. "The biggest thing for me now is, `Do I want to come out this year [and apply for the draft], or do I want to come back to school?'
"I don't think I'll slip in the draft, especially if I come back and play well, but I wouldn't have any problem coming back to school. I wouldn't put myself in a bad situation.
"If I was drafted anywhere in the second [round], I'd come back. No question. If it was late first [round], it would depend on what team it was."
Coach Jeff Jones said in December that Alexander's injury ruled out a jump to the NBA after this season, "but it would not bother me if he were to apply," Jones said Friday night.
"I expect him to make a full recovery and eventually return to a high level, but not at such a high level right away that I would expect Cory to leave after this year.
"For Cory to be thinking about that now is premature and will make his recovery that much tougher. He needs to be taking one step at a time instead of looking down the road."
Alexander is eligible for a hardship appeal to the NCAA and could gain an extra year of eligibility if he sits out the remainder of the season, but he says that would not be a consideration, even if he were not cleared to play before March.
"I still may do it," he said. "I've never been a person to make conservative decisions."
After Alexander was injured in the ninth minute of a loss to Connecticut on Nov. 29, team physician Dr. Frank McCue estimated that he would be sidelined for at least six weeks. Alexander hoped he could return in five weeks, but quickly realized that a longer rehabilitation was imminent.
"I sensed it wasn't going the way I wanted," said Alexander, who underwent X-rays following the Cavaliers' trip to Las Vegas on Jan. 3.
"I don't fault Doc [McCue]. We knew it was an uncommon injury. The way I feel, my foot was probably broken a long time before the Connecticut game. All it took was one play to make it snap. It didn't look like anything on the tape."
Alexander has yet to take more than a couple of steps on the ankle, but he is optimistic about the next round of X-rays Wednesday.
"I expect them to take it off this time," he said. "It will be nine weeks."
Then, how long does it take to return to game condition?
"I think, if I keep going at the pace I'm going now, it's probably going to take me another week [or] a week-and-a-half to get ready to play," he said. "If you ask me, I'm not even out of shape. I've dropped 10 pounds."
Alexander admits he could change his mind, but says his plans have been in place for a couple of weeks.
"The scenario has changed about 10 times," he said. "There have been times when I've told myself, `Just sit out.' At other times, I've decided I'm probably going to come back.
"A lot depends on how comfortable I feel when I get back out and play. If I come back out [for practice] and find it's going to take me a lot longer to get back to normal than I think, then most likely I'll come back [to school]."
Alexander, second-team All-ACC as a sophomore, would be rejoining a team that has won eight of 10 games and will be no worse than second in the conference standings after today's games.
"I don't know if [returning] is easier when the guys are winning or when they're losing," he said. "When they're losing, they need you. When they're winning, you don't know if you're going to mess up the chemistry or what."
Alexander has been on the bench for every game, hobbling through airports and across ice-slickened campuses.
"I think that's being part of the team," he said. "Guys get hurt all the time, maybe not guys who are expected to lead the team in scoring, but I look at Maurice Watkins [who had knee surgery during the summer]. He's a walk-on and he's been with us all the time. I'm no more special than he is.
"There were a couple times when I thought about not going. I said something to Junior [Burrough] one time and he said he thought I should go. He and Jamal [Robinson] took offense to it. But everywhere we go, somebody has to take my bags to the room and stuff. I don't want to be a burden."
Alexander has been surprised at the Cavaliers' play, particularly in an 81-77 upset of North Carolina, then ranked No. 3 in the country. Freshman Harold Deane has taken Alexander's place in the starting lineup and consistently scored in double figures, although senior Cornel Parker performs many of Alexander's point-guard duties.
"We still don't have a bona-fide scorer," Alexander said. "Junior can score, but he's still not consistent. It seems like we find somebody different each night."
Alexander joins in the postgame celebrations, but he leaves the locker rooms within minutes after the games.
"It hurts," he said. "A lot of the times, especially after the games, I go home and sit by myself. I don't hang out. It's hard to sit there and think about what's happening and not be a part of it."
by CNB