Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 29, 1995 TAG: 9506290057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``It's huge,'' said Alexander, who was selected by San Antonio on Monday night with the 29th - and final - pick of the first round.
Alexander and Virginia teammate Junior Burrough were selected within minutes of each other, with Burrough going to the Boston Celtics on the fourth pick of the second round - the 33rd overall.
``I would have liked to go higher,'' said Alexander, a 6-foot-1 point guard who passed up his final season of college eligibility, ``but, in my opinion, I was very fortunate to fall to 29th.
``When I was talking with my family and agent [George Bass], this was the one place I wanted to go. There's no situation that's more promising to getting a ring.''
The Spurs had the best record in the NBA during the regular season, which is why they had the final pick in the first round. San Antonio was eliminated by eventual NBA champion Houston in the Western Conference finals.
``When I first talked to San Antonio, I wasn't sure there was much interest,'' said Alexander, who missed the last six weeks of the season after breaking his right ankle for the second year in a row.
``Things went very well during my visit, and they told me, if I was there at [No.] 29, they were going to take me. They said they might try and move up so they could make sure I was still around.''
The Spurs' starting point guard is Avery Johnson. He was backed up by mid-season acquisition Doc Rivers, but Rivers is an unrestricted free agent who is free to deal with other teams.
``It's not that important for me to start right away,'' said Alexander, who started all 85 games in which he played for Virginia and averaged 15.1 points. ``Coach [Bob] Hill told me they would use me immediately.''
No UVa teammates had been selected at such an early stage of the NBA draft since 1987, when Olden Polynice was the 11th pick overall by Houston and Andrew Kennedy went 43rd to Philadelphia.
Burrough finished his career with 1,970 points, good for fifth place on UVa's all-time scoring list. His relative lack of height (6-7) for an NBA power forward probably kept him out of the first round.
Commentator Hubie Brown speculated that Burrough would be Dino Radja's backup at power forward for the Celtics. Burrough could not be reached for comment at his home in Charlotte, N.C.
by CNB