Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270080
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
His Tar Heels have won 20 or more games for 25 consecutive seasons, but the departure of Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace after All-ACC sophomore seasons has left the Tar Heels with only eight scholarship players.
``That's [the streak] something I'm not concerned with,'' Smith said. ``I just want us to be competitive. I think it's unrealistic, given our schedule.''
Carolina's non-conference schedule includes games at Villanova, Texas and Pittsburgh, and home games with Georgia, Tulane and possibly Stanford or UCLA.
``It's an extremely difficult schedule, which was designed for a very good team,'' Smith said.
Three of Carolina's scholarship players are freshmen: Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Ademola Okulaja. Jamison only recently met NCAA standards for freshman eligibility.
``I don't think there's been a team in ACC history with only five scholarship players in the top three classes,'' said Smith, probably unaware Virginia this could have as few as four this season.
``Of course, I had decided to start cutting back because in 1994, for the first time, we really had too many [good players]. Like I've always said, I don't want a 10th man who feels he ought to be starting.''
The decision to downsize, coupled with the early departure of Stackhouse and Wallace to the NBA, left Carolina in its current predicament. Stackhouse and Wallace were the Nos.3 and 4 picks in the NBA draft.
``I thought Stackhouse and Wallace, based on their play as freshmen, might be around for a while,'' Smith said. ``Our rule here is top five; then, certainly, we understand you should go. When I called around, nine of the 11 teams where I had friends projected them in the top five.
``Our philosophy hasn't changed. You still want to take the best student-athletes available. Anybody would take [No.2 pick Antonio] McDyess for two years. I know some coaches make 'em feel guilty and keep people, but I've never done that, nor will I begin.''
CAVS EYE DUCHARME: It appears interest is mutual between Virginia and basketball prospect Colin Ducharme, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond.
Ducharme, an outstanding student with a 1,340 score on the Scholastic Assessment Test, improved his stock during the past week with his play at the AAU 17-and-under national championship in Winston-Salem, N.C. Ducharme has an older brother and sister who went to UVa.
RICH GET RICHER? Florida State is awaiting results of an arraignment Monday before deciding whether to accept USA Today's offensive player of the year in football, Randy Moss. The receiver, released from a letter of intent to Notre Dame when the Fighting Irish's admissions department rejected him, was charged malicious wounding for his part in a fight at DuPont High School in Belle, W.Va.
IN THE BIG EAST: Boston College has received a commitment from quarterback David Robbins, who passed for 2,001 yards and 21 touchdowns last year at Berwick (Pa.) High School. Berwick wide receiver Brian Remley earlier committed to Virginia Tech, which was a finalist for Robbins.
DIAMOND NOTES: The state of Virginia was well represented in the final NCAA Division I baseball statistics. Sean Casey of Richmond led the nation in batting average (.461), Old Dominion's Kevin Gibbs was third in steals (48 in 52 games) and Monarchs teammates Maikka Symmonds and Rob Morgan were sixth in doubles and triples, respectively.
Radford finished fourth in doubles, Virginia Tech was 12th in home runs and 15th in fielding and VMI was 19th in stolen bases. VMI second baseman David Groseclose from Alleghany High School struck out only nine times in 197 at-bats, ranking 17th in that category, and teammate Ryan Glynn was 19th in runs batted in.
Michelle Collins, a senior on UVa's softball team, led Division I in strikeouts with 10.5 per game (200 in 133 innings). An injury caused Collins to miss the last half of her senior year after a 1994 season in which she went 25-13 and struck out 335 in 271 innings.
BANNER YEAR: North Carolina set an ACC record with 12 conference championships during the past season, far outdistancing Duke, which was second with four. The previous record of 11 had been set by the Tar Heels in 1993-94.
Five of Carolina's championships were in the related endeavors of cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field. The others were in men's and women's swimming and diving, women's soccer, women's cross country, field hockey, men's golf and wrestling.
Carolina finished second to Stanford in competition for the Sears Cup, which rewards all-around athletic prowess on a national scale. The Tar Heels won the inaugural Sears Cup in 1994.
ON TRACK: Franklin County's Leticia Claytor, winner of the Group AAA title in the long jump, has accepted a scholarship to East Tennessee State. Claytor, also a sprinter, placed in four events in the Northwestern Region meet.
by CNB