THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502170667
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
The nasty, crescent-shaped scar on Curtis Staples' left arm appears to be the result of a painful accident.
But it was no accident.
Staples, the smooth-shooting freshman guard for the University of Virginia, did it himself.
He twisted a piece of iron into the shape of a C, placed it on the burner of a stove until it glowed a vibrant red, then pressed it against his skin.
``I did it before the season,'' said Staples, a Roanoke native who was one of the nation's most sought after recruits a year ago.
``It really didn't hurt at all, not as badly as everyone thinks it did.''
But why do such a thing?
``I wanted to be original, so I decided to brand my initial on my arm,'' Staples said matter-of-factly.
He hardly had to go to such an extreme to express his originality.
He is doing that eloquently on the court with one of the sweetest long-distance jump shots ever launched by a freshman in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Despite playing a reserve role, Staples is the most prolific 3-point gunner in the league, taking 136 and making 63 in 23 games.
The only freshman to make more 3-pointers in league history was Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott (98) in 1988.
But even he, playing as a starter, did not specialize in the 3-pointer as much as Staples, who rarely puts up a shot unless he is behind the arc.
Teammates say only half jokingly that Staples would shoot his free throws from 3-point range if allowed.
In Wednesday's 64-58 victory over Duke, Staples was 5 for 9 from the field. All five goals were 3-pointers and only one shot was from inside the arc.
Staples has a green light from coach Jeff Jones to fire up a 3-pointer any time.
Indeed, that was the reason Jones devoted so much effort to recruiting the 6-foot-1 guard, and a reason Staples selected Virginia over Wake Forest and North Carolina.
``Some teams, like Carolina, play structured offenses. But coach Jones told me he was pretty much going to let me play my type of game,'' Staples said.
``I believed him because Virginia had scoring problems in the past and (Jones) stressed to me how much he needed shooters.''
Staples felt good about selecting Virginia for another reason, too.
``I would like to start a trend of All-America high school players staying in the state,'' he said.
``I look back and see guys like George Lynch, J.R. Reid and Alonzo Mourning who left the state. If they had played at Virginia we would have won a national championship by now.''
Staples, though, may have followed Reid and Lynch across the border to play for North Carolina if the Tar Heels had not been so fickle in their recruiting.
``When I had some bad times, Carolina got sort of light on me and slowed up the mail,'' said Staples, who was a Tar Heels fan while growing up.
``Virginia was always on my side, through the good times or bad times. Carolina has tons of high school All-Americans. I felt I could be an asset to the state of Virginia by coming here.''
Even so, he would not have picked Virginia if he had not thought the Cavaliers could compete for a national title.
``I shoot for the stars and have pretty big goals,'' he said.
Staples proved that by leaving Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke after his team won the state championship his sophomore season.
He attended a Maryland prep school his junior year and transferred to Oak Hill for his senior season.
He hit 164 of 342 3-point attempts (48 percent) on the Oak Hill team that finished No. 1 in the USA Today national poll.
``A lot of people didn't understand why I left Patrick Henry after we won the state championship,'' Staples said.
``I felt I had to prove myself on a national level, and I was going after a dream of winning the national championship.''
Many recruiting services listed Staples as the best jump shooter coming out of high school last season and one of the nation's 10 best overall prospects.
``He can be a scoring machine, and may have the best contested jump shot in his class,'' talent evaluator Brick Ottinger told a preseason magazine.
Staples' jump shot is so smooth and consistent it seems a natural talent. He says that's not true.
``I didn't know I was that good of a shooter probably until the end of my junior year,'' he said.
``I ran into a coach, Kevin Sutton, at Prospect Hall prep school who taught me a lot about shooting and balancing myself. Balance is the key in shooting, along with repetition.
``I hear people saying I am a natural shooter, but I don't feel like that. It comes from working on my shot.''
Jones says Staples is one of the hardest workers he has been around and compares him to former Virginia greats Jeff Lamp, Rick Carlisle and Bryant Stith.
``All of those guys went the extra mile, but none of them put in any more time than Curtis,'' Jones said.
Jones considered moving Staples into the starting lineup when guard Cory Alexander was lost for the remainder of the season with a broken ankle last week.
He may yet do that. But right now Jones and teammates like the lift Staples provides off the bench.
``When the game starts, every thing is kind of even,'' guard Harold Deane said. ``Then Curtis comes in and gives us a spark.''
Jones did ask Staples pick up his scoring to compensate for Alexander's absence.
``Coach told me, `You are doing fine, don't get me wrong, but I need for you to play a little above what you have been doing,' '' Staples said.
``That was what I wanted to hear. It showed he has a lot of confidence in me and I really appreciate it.''
Staples, who was averaging 9.4 points per game before Alexander's injury, has averaged 20 points while shooting better than 52 percent from 3-point range in the three games since. For the season, he's now averaging 10.7 points a game.
Staples caught teams by surprise early in the season with his quick outside shot, but opponents have played him more closely lately.
He moves so well without the ball and has such a quick release, though, it hasn't made much difference.
``He is so quick that if you let him square up he's is going to get that shot off,'' said Duke acting coach Pete Gaudet.
Staples says he knows North Carolina will be trying to cover him ``like a robe'' in Sunday's game in University Hall.
``People are starting to find out I don't need a lot of room to shoot the ball,'' Staples said.
``But, I feel I am always going to get an open look and if anyone gives me a step, that is a shot. I don't need much space to get it off.''
Staples says he is always ``pumped up'' for league games, and even more so for those against North Carolina.
``People doubt us when we play Carolina and think it is automatic we are going to lose,'' Staples said. ``I take that personally, because I know we can beat those guys.
``We came close to winning down there, and I feel we will do it on our court with our fans behind us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Curtis Staples, No. 5, has averaged 20 points a game in the three
games since Cory Alexander was lost for the season. Teammates joke
that he'd shoot free throws from 3-point range.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BASKETBALL by CNB