Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 30, 1995 TAG: 9510300105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
However, that's mostly a reflection on the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, who were picked fourth and fifth, respectively, at the ACC's annual Operation Basketball.
Maryland and Wake Forest, two of the teams that ended the 1995 regular season in a four-way tie, each lost a first-team All-ACC player but were picked 1-2 by the media Sunday.
Maryland received 43 of 83 first-place votes and a total of 680 points - not far ahead of the Deacons, who had 28 first-place votes and 650 points. Virginia was chosen for third on 10 ballots and had 602 points.
North Carolina and Duke were followed in order by Georgia Tech, Florida State, N.C. State and Clemson. It was the lowest Carolina has been picked since 1985 and the lowest Duke has been picked since 1987.
DEANE SHARP: Virginia point guard Harold Deane almost seemed embarrassed that word had gotten out that he scored 40 points in the Cavaliers' first preseason scrimmage.
``It was game conditions [with] two 20-minute halves and everything,'' said Deane, a second-team All-ACC selection last season as a sophomore. ``But, a point guard shouldn't be scoring that much.''
Deane said he has worked on his shooting and defense during the off-season, but that the biggest improvement in his game has been in the area of ball-handling.
BENJAMIN UPDATE: North Carolina State coach Les Robinson said he expects to reinstate sophomore point guard Ishua Benjamin by the start of the new year.
Robinson suspended Benjamin, leading vote-getter on last year's ACC all-freshman team, for poor class attendance and a bad attitude toward his schoolwork last spring.
``He's a nice kid; he never talked back, but he never went to class and sort of rebelled in that area,'' Robinson said. ``I probably should have done something earlier.
``I became too doggone perception-conscious of academic problems at N.C. State. What I said to myself was, `Accept that and do things the right way.' I can sleep good at night.''
TIGERS' SCARE: Clemson sophomore Iker Iturbe, whose physical play touched off a confrontation between Tigers' coach Rick Barnes and North Carolina coach Dean Smith at the ACC tournament, may be out for the year.
Iturbe, a 6-foot-7, 230-pounder, was hospitalized Friday night in Greenville, S.C., after a blood clot was discovered in an artery leading from his right shoulder to his heart.
``They now believe the problem was further along than they first thought,'' said Barnes, who said Iturbe will be treated with blood-thinners for the next 3-6 months. ``I will be surprised if they tell me he can play.''
OTHER INJURIES: Wake Forest sophomore Steve Goolsby, labeled the Deacons' ``x'' factor by coach Dave Odom, has a stress fracture of the tibia (shinbone) and has not practiced yet.
Maryland's point guard of the future, freshman Terrell Stokes, has been sidelined for most of the preseason with back spasms.
WOMEN'S POLL: Virginia has had the dominant ACC's women's basketball program for more than a decade, but seldom have the Cavaliers enjoyed such overwhelming support in the preseason poll.
UVa received all 40 first-place votes and the maximum of 360 points. North Carolina State was second, followed by Duke and defending champion North Carolina.
The Tar Heels' top returning player, Marion Jones, is taking a redshirt year in basketball while devoting all of her athletic energy to making the U.S. Olympic team in track and field.
by CNB