Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 31, 1994 TAG: 9411120048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Now, Jones has no other choice.
``I think that's a lock now,'' Jones said Sunday at the ACC's annual Operation Basketball.
Senior Jason Williford, who has started every game in each of the past two seasons, suffered a severely sprained ankle Oct.22 that is responding slowly to treatment.
Jones said Williford may be available Nov.16, when UVa entertains Old Dominion in the Preseason NIT, but it is highly unlikely Williford would be 100 percent.
``I can't see how he could be,'' Jones said. ``He might be out another two weeks. Jason is getting treatment every day [and at] a number of different times, but it's not something that's going to go away quickly.''
There were those who suspected Williford might be sidelined indefinitely.
``We moved to the other end of the floor but I just kept looking down there at him,'' said UVa point guard Cory Alexander, who missed virtually the entire 1993-94 season with a broken ankle.
``When I saw him go down, it was like a flashback to last year. When I went down, a lot of people didn't think mine was broken. I thought Jason's was broken.''
Williford was the team's third leading scorer and rebounder last year, but Robinson made his case for a bigger role when he was named first-team All-ACC Tournament.
``I know you're not going to believe this,'' said Jones, who two years ago started the same lineup in all 31 games, ``but we've actually talked about varying our lineup from game to game this year.''
HEART SCARE: Florida State freshman Avery Curry underwent a procedure Friday in Atlanta to correct a rare heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which is characterized by a rapid heartbeat.
Seminoles' coach Pat Kennedy said the procedure was scheduled to last three or four hours, but required six hours. Then, tests Saturday morning revealed a recurrence.
``My reaction is, I just want to get together with the doctors and the trainers and Avery and his mother and make sure everybody is comfortable,'' Kennedy said.
``It's not like he has a hernia or they scoped his knee. When he gets back, I don't want hear it's OK. I want the doctors to tell me everything bad that can happen.''
ON WAIVERS: Clemson senior Devin Gray, who suffered a heart attack in April, has been cleared to play this year after co-signing a waiver with his mother.
``A lot of people don't know what happened,'' Gray said. ``I had an artery spasm. It's not [an irregularity] that I was born with, like Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis had.''
Gathers and Lewis both collapsed and later died from heart conditions, but Gray's condition is treatable with aspirin and blood-thinners. The only problem was Gray spent the summer eating and sleeping.
``I would sleep 12 or 14 hours a day and, when I wasn't sleeping, I was eating,'' said Gray, who weighed as much as 258 pounds, up from his playing weight of 235. ``Whenever I got down, I turned to the refrigerator.''
ON THE MEND: Duke assistant coach Pete Gaudet stood in for head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who may return to practice this week after surgery to correct a degenerative disc in his back.
``One of the things they had him do [before surgery] was hop on one leg and he almost keeled over,'' Gaudet said. ``As soon as he came out of anaesthesia, there was an immediate relief of pain. He knew he had done the right thing.''
Duke center Cherokee Parks said the players knew Krzyzewski was in ``a lot of pain. Through the course of practice, he'd be in 20 different positions, against a wall, against the basket, lying on the floor.''
INJURIES GALORE: N.C. State coach Les Robinson said he was leaning toward redshirting senior guard Curtis Marshall, still experiencing numbness after cutting his arm in a freak accident. ... Georgia Tech freshman Matt Harpring, impressive in early workouts, has had arthroscopic knee surgery.
THE POLLS: Virginia, ranked as high as sixth in the country in some preseason magazines, was selected fourth in the conference behind North Carolina, Maryland and Duke in a poll of coaches and media.
The Tar Heels were a runaway choice for first, with 70 of 97 first-place votes and 827 of a possible 873 points, but the next three teams were between 701 and 641.
Wake Forest was a distant fifth, followed by Georgia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina State and Clemson. The Tigers, with a first-year coach in Rick Barnes, were last on 88 ballots.
Randolph Childress of Wake Forest was the preseason choice as player of the year, outpolling Joe Smith of Maryland, 60-18. Corey Louis of Florida State edged out Duke's Trajan Langdon for rookie of the year.
nVirginia received 27 of 41 first-place votes to finish ahead of reigning ACC and NCAA champion North Carolina in the women's poll. UVa's Wendy Palmer was the choice for player of the year and UNC's Tracy Reid for top rookie.
by CNB