ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
Do you know how far it is from Virginia to Salt Lake City? Harold Deane Sr. and Bruce Staples will.
Deane and Staples, whose sons form the starting backcourt for Virginia, have been driving since Tuesday to watch the Cavaliers' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Iowa tonight in the West Regional.
``I didn't think there was any way possible," said Curtis Staples, a junior from Roanoke. ``When my father told me [Monday] that he was checking on reservations, I told him not to do it and to watch it on TV.
``I found out the next morning that he had left. I called him on the phone and he was gone already. They're alternating doing the driving. It's 29 hours, from what I hear. They're driving right now.''
The subject was raised when a reporter asked if Virginia's - or any other Eastern team's - placement in the West was a disservice to the parents who might want to see their sons play.
``I guess they've got 10 or 12 hours to go,'' said Deane, whose father was a standout player at Roanoke's Lucy Addison High School and coached at Virginia State. ``They got an opportunity to come and they'll be here on game day. We're every appreciative.''
Frequent fliers: The trip to Salt Lake City pushed the Kentucky Wildcats over the 20,000 mark for miles traveled this season.
Kentucky opened the season at the Great Alaska Shootout, then racked up the rest of the miles on its usual journeys through the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats traveled 1,765 miles to Salt Lake City and expect to go another 765 to San Jose, Calif., for next week's regional semifinals. Top-seeded Kentucky hopes to go another 191 miles northwest of Lexington to defend its national title at the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Midwest Regional
One that got away: Iowa State coach Tim Floyd will see Illinois State's leading scorer, Rico Hill, for the first time since unsuccessfully recruiting the forward from Chicago's Brother Rice High School when the Cyclones face the Redbirds today in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Hill was considering Iowa State after Floyd made a home visit, but Hill decided to stay closer to his family. Hill did not accept an invitation to visit Iowa State.
``Coach Floyd felt I never gave Iowa State a chance,'' said Hill, a sophomore. ``Now I get the chance to face him and see if I made the right decision.''
So far so good for Hill, who averaged 18.9 points and eight rebounds per game to lead the Redbirds (24-5). He was the MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament after averaging 27 points a game.
East Regional
Jamison leaving? North Carolina fans won't like to hear this, but second-team All-American Antawn Jamison has not ruled out leaving school for the NBA after this season.
That's all the Tar Heels need after sophomores Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace left early for the NBA two seasons ago and junior Jeff McInnis went hardship last year after his junior year.
``I can't say I will, I can't say I won't,'' the 6-foot-9 sophomore said this week. ``My biggest dream is to make it to the NBA, but right now it's about helping this team. If I go out there thinking about having to do this or do that to build up my stock it's only hurting my team.
``After the season, coach Smith and I are going to sit down and talk and discuss the situation. If it happens, then that is what's going to happen.''
Princeton: If you're looking for some showtime out of the Tigers, forget it. The Ivy League champions have a grand total of five dunks this season in 27 games. In contrast, the Tigers have made 236 3-pointers.
``I like what we can do. I try to focus on the positives,'' Princeton's Sydney Johnson said when asked about the team's lack of dunks. ``We've got some gutsy players, guys with a lot of heart. We can hit the 3, and we can play defense.
Although not flashy, the Tigers upset UCLA in the NCAA Tournament last season and played No.4 North Carolina close this season.
Princeton has lost three times in 27 games this season, but two of their conquerors happen to be in the East Regional. The Tigers, riding a 19-game winning streak, last lost Dec.22 to North Carolina, the region's No.1 seed, while Indiana, also in Winston-Salem, N.C., beat Princeton on Nov.20 in the Preseason NIT. Princeton's other loss was in overtime to Bucknell on Dec.10.
Southeast Regional
River of fortune: The Mississippi River is beckoning Kansas coach Roy Williams.
Somebody told him once that spitting in a river was good luck. He tried it in 1982 while an assistant at North Carolina, spitting into the Mississippi River, and the Tar Heels won their first NCAA Tournament championship.
He tried it again in 1993 with Kansas. Williams spit into the Mississippi during the regional in St.Louis, and his Jayhawks reached the Final Four.
``That's the only two spitting episodes, but I'm still getting credit for it,'' said Williams, who likes to rub the Phog Allen statue on the Kansas campus for luck during his daily jog.
``But somebody told me the name of this river, so there might be some more spitting,'' Williams said.
The Mississippi runs behind the Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn., where his Jayhawks play Jackson State today in the Southeast Region.
Musselman back: South Alabama is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in 29 years of basketball, its first since 1991 when the Cougars lost to Utah in the first round.
The lapse has been a lot longer - 25 years longer - for second-year coach Bill Musselman. He last took a team to the tournament in 1972, when his Minnesota squad won the Big Ten championship.
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. California's Michael Stewart dunksby CNBduring Wednesday's practice as the Golden Bears prepare for today's
game against Princeton.