THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503190153
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Michael Jordan is back, but Dean Smith isn't talking about it.
On the eve of Jordan's return to the Chicago Bulls, and of North Carolina's second-round NCAA tournament game with Iowa State, the Tar Heels' coach was uncomfortable discussing his former pupil and essentially chose not to.
``He called last night and I wasn't in. I called back at 12 and left a message,'' Smith said Saturday at a news conference. North Carolina-Iowa State follows Georgetown-Weber State today. ``I knew what he was going to talk about and, uh, that's the end of that story.
``I will say he looked pretty good playing against us that day (Jan. 6) he practiced. I didn't see any loss of skill.''
Smith would not say if he was happy Jordan was back in the NBA or if he had reservations.
``I just hate to get into it because anything you say could be misquoted,'' Smith said. ``I know you wouldn't, though. You guys are perfect.''
THE MAYOR RULES: Iowa State, seventh-seeded in the Southeast, are led by a former Cyclones' ballboy and Ames, Iowa, native Fred Hoiberg, an All-American Guy if there ever was one.
Hoiberg, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, averages 20.2 points and 5.7 rebounds and shoots 42.2 percent from 3-point range. A fresh-faced blond, ``The Mayor'' carries a 3.23 grade-point average in finance and proposed marriage to his girlfriend, two years his senior, last Christmas Day.
His nickname comes from his popularity in his hometown, where he received a write-in vote for mayor in 1993. In fact, before the recent Big Eight tournament, Ames' real mayor, Larry Curtis, was rushed to the hospital after cutting off the tip of an index finger and breaking a thumb while using a snowblower.
Alerted in advance that the mayor had been injured, hospital workers were in a panic until Curtis, not Hoiberg, arrived. ``Oh, Larry,'' they said, ``it's just you.''
SCOUTING REPORT: Iowa State, ranked No. 24 by the Associated Press, are 23-10 but were only 6-8 in the Big Eight. However, they beat Kansas two of three times this season. The Cyclones lost to Oklahoma State in the final of the conference tournament, 62-53.
Coached by Tim Floyd in his first year in Ames, the Cyclones are big and slow but start four seniors - Hoiberg, 6-10 Julius Michalik, 6-10 Loren Meyer and 6-5 Hurl Beecham - and use another, 6-7 James Hamilton, off the bench.
Theirs is a methodic, half-court game. Iowa State shoots free throws at a 75.8 percent clip, but Floyd acknowledges a thinness at point guard, where sophomore Jason Kimbrough starts but rarely shoots.
``I hate to say it, but it reminds me of Boston College,'' Smith said, referring to the team that beat the Tar Heels in the tournament's second round last year. `An experienced team that has gone through a lot.''
North Carolina and Iowa State have met once - in 1990, when the Tar Heels won, 118-93, in the Tournament of Champions in Charlotte.
Saun Jackson, the only current Cyclone to play in that game, was asked what he remembered from it.
Said Jackson: ``I remember we got blew out.''
UNC UPDATE: Smith said injured center Rasheed Wallace would start today and forward Dante Calabria, who sprained his left ankle late in Friday's game, was ready to go.
Floyd fretted Saturday about North Carolina's wealth of talent, but said he has had an assistant coach studying tapes of the Tar Heels since Monday. Iowa State only brought North Carolina tape to Tallahassee, though, which Floyd said he regretted Friday as Murray State threatened to upset the Tar Heels.
``At halftime, I was scratching my head,'' Floyd said. by CNB