
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 16, 1995                   TAG: 9502160078
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HOKIES HURTING FOR UNCC

Virginia Tech trainer Jimmy Lawrence had better get ready. He may have to suit up tonight.

Indeed, Lawrence will be one of the few healthy bodies on the Tech bench tonight when the Hokies travel to North Carolina-Charlotte for a key Metro Conference men's basketball game.

Coach Bill Foster's incredible shrinking Hokies are down to seven players after top reserve David Jackson sprained his right ankle during Tuesday's practice. The 6-foot-5 swingman, Foster's only frontcourt option off the bench, is expected to miss the next three games - at least.

``If we're lucky, we'll have him back for South Florida'' on Feb.25, Foster said.

With Jackson out, Tech's bench for tonight's game will consist of 6-1 freshman guard Myron Guillory (2.1 points per game) and 6-2 freshman guard Kelly Mann (1.9 ppg), a former walk-on placed on scholarship for the second semester.

Brandon Price (1.1 ppg), a seldom-used 6-9 sophomore center, could be on the bench. Price has not dressed for the past three games because of mononucleosis.

Jackson, who ranks fifth on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg) and minutes (576), was injured when he landed on another player's foot after driving to the basket.

``We had had a nice practice ... we were only 15 minutes away from finishing,'' Foster said. ``David, like always, was going to the basket like a bull in a china shop and came down on somebody's foot.''

The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for Tech (17-6 overall, 3-4 Metro), which needs to finish strong in its final six games to gain a coveted NCAA Tournament berth.

``When it rains, it pours, I guess,'' Foster said. ``It's unbelievable, really. I guess we'll get a good look at Kelly now. We've been saying we need to get him some minutes.''

Jackson will join his twin brother, Jim, and forward Keefe Matthews in street clothes on the Tech bench. Jim Jackson, a two-year starter, and Matthews have missed the season because of injuries and are being redshirted. Another player, freshman forward Shawne Browne, has not been cleared for competition by the NCAA and has missed the season.

Tech's starting five, which has shown signs of fatigue the past two games, won't get much rest tonight. Compounding Foster's problem is the fact the 49ers regularly use a nine-man rotation.

``We've got to adjust ... somehow,'' Foster said.

by CNB