ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 28, 1996 TAG: 9610290020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: ACC BASKETBALL
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
As captain of the Virginia men's basketball team, Jamal Robinson is prepared to be the Cavaliers' leader this year.
It wouldn't bother him to be UVa's leader next year, though.
Robinson, who played point guard during Harold Deane's absence from a European tour, said he has talked to coach Jeff Jones about sitting out this season as a redshirt and returning for a fifth year in 1997-98.
``I spoke to Curt [Staples] and Harold before I spoke to him about it,'' Robinson said. ``One morning, I had a meeting with him and we got it all out. He said, `If it happens, it happens. Don't go into the season thinking about it.'''
Deane, who joined Robinson in UVa's 1993 recruiting class, will be a senior this season and there are no other point guards in the program. Nevertheless, Robinson doesn't think a redshirt year would guarantee him 30 minutes per game in 1997-98.
``No, it wouldn't,'' he said. ``Believe me, things happen. But, if he came to me, I would think about it. I love Charlottesville, [and] school is great. Maybe it's something I should do, but it's in coach Jones' hands.''
Deane played almost 36 minutes per game last season, when he led the Cavaliers in scoring, but his status was placed in doubt when he was arrested on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest.
Deane was required to meet academic and social guidelines that remained in effect even when his leave of absence ended and, while there is nothing to indicate his eligibility is in jeopardy, all sides are proceeding cautiously.
Robinson redshirting will not become an issue ``unless I bring it up,'' Jones said, ``and I have no intention of bringing it up. My concentration is this year and I think Jamal can help this year's team.''
Robinson has started games in parts of three seasons, mostly at small forward, although he has served in a variety of roles. Robinson sometimes has had problems adjusting to those roles, although he insists he will not be distracted this season.
``I'm not into roles any more,'' said Robinson, who made first-team All-ACC Tournament as a freshman in 1994. ``Starting or not starting doesn't matter to me. Holding back and listening to other people talking, I've only hurt myself.''
PRESEASON PICKS: The Cavaliers, who were picked for fourth in the ACC last year and finished seventh, were a fifth-place selection this time behind Wake Forest, North Carolina, Clemson and Duke.
``I would attribute a lot of that to the type of season we had last year on and off the court,'' said Staples, who joined Jones and Robinson at the ACC's annual Operation Basketball.
``People keep going back and pounding on the issue that Virginia was a troubled team,'' Staples said. ``I think that's why people are kind of writing us off. The main thing we're keeping in our minds is, we know we're a better team than that.''
Only 34 points separated the first five teams in the ACC women's voting, which found regular-season champ Virginia third and tournament winner Clemson fifth. North Carolina led the way despite fewer first-place votes than UVa.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Florida State coach Pat Kennedy said Tommy Polley, a freshman linebacker who was an All-American at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, is being redshirted in football and is practicing with the basketball team daily.
* Wake Forest coach Dave Odom says guard Jerry Braswell is hoping to receive clearance Nov.1 to resume practice after suffering a broken foot this summer. Backcourt mate Tony Rutland is operating at 85-percent effectiveness after knee surgery, Odom said.
* First-year N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said 6-11, 240-pound Steve Norton is out indefinitely after knee surgery and that 6-7 freshman Damon Thornton from Atlantic Shores Christian School in Virginia Beach is the Wolfpack's probable starting center.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart: ACC Basketball polls.by CNB