ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603110066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: ACC TOURNAMENT NOTES
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
A seemingly innocent question provoked a surprisingly emotional reaction from Wake Forest basketball coach Dave Odom following the ACC championship game.
What was it like, a reporter asked Deacons' center Tim Duncan, to be playing in front of his father for the first time this season?
``I don't know why it struck me like that,'' said Odom, who was at a table with Duncan and point guard Tony Rutland, ``but, it occurred to me that the three of us had a great common denominator.
``My mother is no longer living, Timmy's mother died five or six years ago and now Tony's mother is back in the hospital. I told Timmy, `As proud of you as your dad [is], I want you to know your mother is watching as well.'''
Rutland's mother has suffered from cancer and was hospitalized during his freshman year in 1994-95, although she was believed to be in remission until a recent flare-up.
RUSTY TO RESCUE: Rusty LaRue came to Wake Forest on football scholarship and set several NCAA passing records this fall, but he is more likely to be remembered for his part in two ACC basketball championships.
LaRue had 14 points Sunday in the Deacons' 75-74 victory over Georgia Tech and played point guard for most of the final 14 minutes after an injury to Rutland.
Odom said Saturday that LaRue was almost like a walk-on, but that while LaRue might not have appealed to any other ACC teams, he could have played for all of them.
``He knows his limitations,'' Odom said. ``He can't play point guard, but he'll try it. He can't drive on Stephon Marbury, but he did. He can't make Drew Barry go 1-for-11, but it happened.
``He's one of those guys, when it's all said and done, that you've got to say you couldn't have won without him.''
DUNCAN UNDECIDED: The Wake Forest fans serenaded Duncan with choruses of ``One more year, one more year,'' after the game. But, Duncan was noncommittal on his future.
It will be impossible to handicap the 1996-97 ACC race until it is certain that three prominent underclassmen are staying in school - juniors Duncan of Wake Forest and Jeff McInnis of North Carolina, and Marbury, a freshman for Georgia Tech.
Wake Forest insiders say the only thing for certain with Duncan is that he's 100 percent undecided. As for Marbury, people close to the program think that he's staying but outsiders say he's going.
McInnis picked up three technical fouls in North Carolina's last two regular-season game and has been hard to handle. If it appears he will be a first-round pick, Carolina might not fight to keep him.
STAYING PUT: Virginia junior Harold Deane, who never has said publicly that he was considering a jump to the NBA, confirmed again this week that he would return for his senior year.
Deane did not have a good season, shooting less than 35 percent from the field and committing more turnovers than he had assists (104-99). However, he remained a consistent scorer, partly because of his ability to get to the free-throw line, where he was 143-of-177 (80.8 percent).
TEAM ON RISE: It appears that the ACC has not heard the last of Clemson, which upset North Carolina despite starting four freshman.
``When the votes come out in the preseason, you'll be voting for them in the top three,'' said Odom, whose Deacons held off Clemson 68-60 in the semifinals.
``They'll be in the upper division in the league, if they're not right now. I have an awful lot of respect for Clemson.''
The Tigers are headed for the NCAA Tournament in only their second year under coach Rick Barnes, who made three NCAA appearances in his six seasons as the head coach at Providence.
``The last two years, I walked away from the ACC's media day after being picked last and I told our team, `We will not finish last,''' Barnes, whose first Clemson team made the NIT, said Saturday.
``There's no doubt we're on our way. I was very concerned coming in here with so many young players, but a lot of good things have happened to us the last two days.''
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Wake Forest coach Dave Odom (second from right) andby CNBplayers (from left) Tim Duncan, Tony Rutland and Ricky Peral cut
down the nets at the Greensboro Coliseum.