THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290507
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Old Dominion center Odell Hodge's knee was operated on Wednesday, and the rest of the Monarchs could be surgically cut to pieces when No. 1 North Carolina visits Scope tonight.
The Monarchs, however, aren't interested in what conventional wisdom says about this game.
``Everyone's talking about how they're going to have a field day and we don't have anybody to stop them,'' said David Harvey, who will start at center for ODU. ``Personally, I feel North Carolina is in trouble. They feel they're going to come in here and it's going to be a cakewalk, and it's not going to be like that.''
Big words, but North Carolina (7-0) - perhaps the premier program in college basketball - is accustomed to being the biggest game on everyone's schedule.
ODU (5-5) is coming off its worst effort of the season and has dropped two in a row. In the losses to Hawaii and Washington, the Monarchs squandered sizable second-half leads, shot less than 40 percent from the field and were held to their two season-low point totals.
``For the first 10 games, (Washington) was a low point,'' forward Mario Mullen said. ``But good teams always bounce back from stuff like that. We can't let that get to us or North Carolina will come in here and blow us out.''
Avoiding a blowout, keeping it close . . . ODU coach Jeff Capel wants to hear none of that.
``We're not going to talk about getting blown out,'' Capel said. ``We're going to talk about what a great opportunity there is for us. A lot of players go through their entire careers and never get an opportunity to compete against the No. 1 team in the country.''
No one has ever had that opportunity at Scope. The previous highest-ranked team to play in the building, which opened in 1971, was No. 3 Syracuse in 1980. The Monarchs won.
ODU has played a top-ranked team twice. The Monarchs upset No. 1 DePaul Jan. 10, 1981, at the Rosemont Horizon, and lost to No. 1 Duke March 15, 1986, in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Greensboro.
Tonight will mark the Monarchs' third home sellout in the last seven seasons. One of the others was in 1989, when North Carolina's J.R. Reid of Kempsville High in Virginia Beach played in his homecoming game at Scope. Ed Geth, a Tar Heel frontline player from Norfolk's Granby High, is the reason for this UNC appearance. The sophomore reserve, who averages 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game, is expected to make a rare start because the Tar Heels are playing in his hometown.
The players Geth backs up are ODU's primary concern. Power forward Jerry Stackhouse averages 20.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, while center Rasheed Wallace averages 16.7 and 8.3. Their combination of size, quickness and athletic ability will be difficult for ODU to handle. Dante Calabria and Donald Williams both are adept 3-point shooters, so there is no one the Monarchs can ignore to help inside.
This may be the game in which ODU has the most difficulty compensating for the loss of Hodge, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament almost four weeks ago.
``It's a shame that Old Dominion has lost Hodge,'' North Carolina coach Dean Smith said. ``Even with the tough road losses and the loss of Hodge, I still think Old Dominion has an excellent chance to play in the postseason, either in the NCAA or the NIT tournaments.''
To have a chance tonight, Capel said, ODU must handle UNC's multiple defenses and traps, and avoid turnovers that lead to easy North Carolina transition baskets.
ODU freshman point guard Brion Dunlap, who lived in Charlotte as a child, said he attended several North Carolina camps when he was young and has been a Tar Heel fan for years.
He'll learn Carolina doesn't have similar affections for opposing point guards.
``I know their traps and how they like to come at you,'' Dunlap said. ``You've got to be ready for it all the time.''
Two other keys for the Monarchs are defense - at times excellent this season, but awful against Washington - and rebounding. Other than the Washington game, ODU has won when it had more rebounds than its opponents, lost when it was outrebounded.
ODU fans aren't likely to be outnumbered in their own building. But Capel said he figures close to 4,000 fans could be backing Carolina blue, not Big Blue.
``That's fine,'' Capel said. ``We've fared better in environments where there was a good crowd, whether it was for us or against us. I expect we'll come out and play well.''
Hodge had successful surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament and repair cartilage in his left knee. Dr. John J. Schaffer, who performed the surgery at DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, said Hodge should be ready for practice next fall. Schaffer, has recommended that Hodge not play in a summer league, but rather spend the time on rehabilitation.
Hodge, who has been redshirted, will be on crutches a week. He might be released from the hospital today and be at Scope tonight. ILLUSTRATION: Color file photo
North Carolina center Rasheed Wallace
by CNB