Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503180049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO LENGTH: Medium
It was all about getting to the point. That was apparent on Virginia's first possession Thursday afternoon at Dayton Arena. The Colonels wanted to make problems for UVa's point guard, Harold Deane.
No, they needed to do it, and they couldn't, which is why the Cavaliers eventually cruised to a 96-72 victory and Saturday's second-round Midwest Region date with the almost-homeboys from Miami of Ohio.
``We didn't think Virginia had as much depth as it did at the guard position,'' said Rickey Broussard, Nicholls' coach.
Actually, the Cavaliers don't, since the season-ending injury to Cory Alexander in February. It's Deane, Curtis Staples and the often-erratic Jamal Robinson. Across the street from Dayton Arena, the 2-foot Great Miami River may be deeper.
Nicholls couldn't cope with Deane, and the Cavaliers can't cope without him. No matter who UVa plays and however long it stays on its 13th NCAA trip, it is the sophomore son of a former coach who must handle the pressure.
True, Deane had five turnovers in the first half against the Colonels, but considering how tough he was being played, that wasn't so awful. On several occasions, coach Jeff Jones or Deane's teammates had to implore the point man to ignore the bumping.
At the defensive end of the floor, Deane was ``great,'' Jones said. Nicholls was having difficulty completing guard-forward passes. As for ball reversal by Nicholls, forget it. At least 10 times Virginia kicked away Colonels passes.
Yes, that gave Nichols a renewed 35-second clock, but it also was frustrating and slowing an offense that was averaging 91 points per game. After halftime, when it still was a game, Deane began occupying even more of the Colonels' attention.
``Harold was probably, along with Junior [Burrough], the guys that were most guilty of rushing things at the offensive end,'' Jones said of the first half. ``Nicholls State was very conscious of Harold, even more so than Curtis'' and his 3-point shooting.
``Every time Harold decided to penetrate the lane, they had four people in the lane,'' UVa's coach said. ``We just told Harold the wings would be open and he'd just have to draw the defense and just make the easy pass out because it's probably not going to be there for you.
``He kind of fought that in the first half. In the second half, he slowed himself down, made things much simpler and ended up having an excellent half.''
Deane had only two field goals in each half, and he missed nine shots to go with seven turnovers. However, the number that may mean most was Deane's 33 minutes, thanks to the rout. That's the fewest he has played since Feb.1.
Entering the NCAA Tournament opener, Deane had played all but three minutes in the previous six games. Jones did try to give his point guard a brief break from the Nicholls body language midway through the second half, but two consecutive UVa turnovers brought Deane back sooner than expected.
``I was surprised with Deane's overall quickness,'' said Nicholls' senior point guard, Ray Washington. ``He's a great player.''
He's an indispensable one for the Cavaliers, although one who was shocked to get the attention of four collapsing Colonels on his paint penetrations.
``I wasn't going to let them get to me,'' Deane said. ``I know I'm the guy that's going to handle the ball against pressure. I want the ball in my hands. Maybe I make a few turnovers, but at crunch time, I think I can get the ball to the right people.''
The Colonels tried a different kind of crunch time on Deane. They learned he's no pushover.
by CNB