ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 7, 1997 TAG: 9703070045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
The evidence was right there, in black and white. It was on display Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The nine ACC men's basketball coaches each were asked to select five players to an all-defensive team. Sixteen players received at least one vote.
One of them was Curtis Staples. This is the same guy Virginia coaches once said didn't guard anyone except the manager who was trying to put away the ball rack.
However, Staples has become more than a shooter. The junior guard from Roanoke has been the Cavaliers' most consistently productive player. It's no stretch to say the 6-foot-3 guard belonged on the All-ACC third team.
``Think about where we'd be without him,'' said UVa assistant coach Anthony Solomon. ``He's really grown.''
Even with the old Staples, the Cavaliers likely would be playing North Carolina tonight, then probably packing their uniforms after a second consecutive mediocre season. Instead, they're 18-11 and headed to another NCAA bid.
``We'd like to think we're going to go,'' Staples said of the NCAA Tournament. ``We've played a tough schedule, and for the most part, even when we lost, we played good teams tough. Still, we should have a better record than we do.
``This isn't pressure now, from here on out. Pressure was last Sunday [against Maryland]. We knew we had to win. Had to. That's pressure.''
Staples has improved his field-goal shooting percentage from .374 to .446 this season. He's taking better shots, and he's driving to the hoop more.
He's gotten more good looks at the basket because he's learned the shot-fake.
``He still needs to move better without the ball,'' Solomon said. ``You have to be hard to guard.''
Staples ranks fourth in ACC history in 3-point goals, but he's certainly no mad bomber. His percentage from beyond the arc is up from .329 last season to
When he's fired it, he's gotten more - with less. Staples ranks among the ACC's top 10 in scoring, although he doesn't rank among the top 10 in field-goal percentage.
It's not because he isn't accurate - he would rank eighth if he qualified - it's because a player must average five baskets per game. Staples is getting his 14.1 points on 4.8 field goals per game.
While Staples has trimmed his shots per game to fewer than 11, his durability has become another plus. In the league, only teammate Harold Deane, Wake Forest's Tim Duncan and Maryland's Keith Booth have played more minutes.
``I really keyed on doing more than shooting 3-pointers going into the season,'' Staples said. ``The team needed more from me. I don't get as anxious to shoot as I used to.''
He's averaging 10.8 shots per game. As the Cavaliers have won an NCAA-necessary three of the past four after a four-game skid, Staples has 71 points on 40 shots. He's 19-of-34 from long distance in those four games.
``In a way, I think I should have made'' All-ACC, Staples said. ``I kind of feel like I got the short end of the stick there. Coach [Jeff] Jones told me to keep my head up and remember what I've meant to this team.''
Staples has contributed more than his ACC-leading 92 3-pointers. While Deane has been hobbled and Courtney Alexander has been mercurial, Staples has scored in double figures in 24 of 29 games. Virginia is 1-4 when he hasn't.
In UVa's victories, Staples is shooting 49.8 percent; in the losses, 35.1 percent.
As the Cavaliers' ACC tournament media guide says of Staples, ``As he goes, frequently so goes Virginia.''
And the Cavaliers are going to the NCAA Tournament.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB