ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 24, 1997 TAG: 9702250079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: UVA NOTES
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
As the Virginia men's basketball team makes a late-season push for postseason play, the status of coach Jeff Jones' contract has been a topic of increasing speculation.
Athletic director Terry Holland said Saturday that he was unfamiliar with the contract until Jones brought the matter to his attention.
``I hadn't looked at it,'' Holland said. ``I asked him exactly what he had left on his contract. I thought he said he didn't know, either, but he may have said, `I think, one more year.'
``It's not something you carry around with you and look at. Jeff has indicated that he'd like to talk about it after the season. I just told him, `Whenever you have some time and I have some time, let's sit down.'''
Under normal circumstances, Jones might have received a contract extension after taking the Cavaliers to the NCAA Mideast Regional final in 1995; however, athletic director Jim Copeland had resigned the previous December.
Holland was not hired until the summer of 1996 and subsequent developments have not put a new contract for Jones at the top of his list of priorities.
The Cavaliers (16-11 overall, 6-9 ACC) must play well this week or risk missing the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1979-80. UVa is 12-21 in its past 33 games against ACC opposition.
Sources say Jones believes he will receive a long-term extension, despite the restlessness of some fans. America Online has a UVa message board on which the topic ``JJ Must Go'' has sparked a running dialogue, pro and con.
``I understand that somebody questioned his game management against Clemson,'' said Holland, a former UVa coach. ``I watched that game and, even when there was a tough call, he was up signalling the defense. They'd have been pulling me off the floor.''
STAPLES SHIFT: Curtis Staples' first-half shooting barrage against N.C. State caused Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek to try something he had not previously done in his coaching career - have his defenders switch every time Staples came off a screen.
``It's not something we ever did before,'' said Sendek of his response to Staples' seven 3-point field goals. ``It's not something we wanted to do. At times, you are switching your `five' man onto a guard.
``It's possible, when you do that to have [6-foot] Justin Gainey guarding [6-8] Norman Nolan after one or two switches, but Staples had as good a single performance as I have seen first-hand in the ACC this year.''
WOLFF REMEMBERED: Dennis Wolff, highly regarded as a UVa assistant from 1990-94, is 22-4 in his third season as head coach at Boston University, where his starters include Duke transfer Joey Beard.
``Knowing what I know now and, with my relationship with Coach Wolff, I probably would have gone to Virginia,'' said Beard, who went to South Lakes High School in Reston, the alma mater of former Duke All-American Grant Hill.
WOMACK UPDATE: Virginia has received permission from the NCAA to hire a lawyer to interview the principals in the recruiting of Antoine Womack, an All-America running back from Phoebus High School in Hampton.
Womack, who committed to Penn State on Jan.17, said he was ready to sign with the Cavaliers before he was scared off by anonymous calls and letters suggesting UVa had committed a recruiting violation.
Although it is unlikely the NCAA would provide immunity from charges that might surface at a later date, UVa hopes the lawyer's report will help put Womack's mind at ease.
``They haven't told us anything yet,'' Womack's mother, Ella, said Sunday night. ``I'm hoping we hear something this week. Basically, we want to get this over and done with.''
DELAYED HIRING: Virginia football coach George Welsh called N.C. State assistant coach David Turner on Monday and, by Tuesday, Turner had accepted a position as defensive tackles coach on the UVa staff - all without an interview.
``It was a situation where they didn't need to interview me,'' Turner said. ``I knew most of the UVa coaches, and Coach Welsh knew me from when he interviewed me four years ago.''
Turner, then an assistant at James Madison, decided to take an offer from Kentucky and its defensive coordinator at the time, Mike Archer, rather than wait to see what the Cavaliers did. He has been at N.C. State for two years.
With its latest hiring, Virginia for the first time has two full-time assistants who are African-American, Turner and running backs coach Andre Powell. They also are the only two Cavaliers assistants under the age of 30.
SOCCER RESURGENCE: Virginia, winner of NCAA men's soccer titles from 1991-94, signed six players ranked among the top 25 prospects in the country by USA Today.
Heading the list is Jason Moore, a midfielder from Lawrenceville, Ga., who was named a Parade All-American as a junior. He already has graduated from high school, and is training with the United States under-20 national team.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Jonesby CNB