THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 25, 1995 TAG: 9503250481
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG DOUGHTY, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO. LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Don't be surprised if Virginia senior Jason Williford one day winds up on the staff of Cavaliers' basketball coach Jeff Jones.
Just after the public-address announcer said that Williford would be making his final appearance at University Hall, Jones whispered to Williford, ``At least as a player.''
Never mind that Williford has gotten three technical fouls this season and was benched for the last 35 minutes of U.Va.'s 128-98 victory over George Mason after threatening to throw a basketball at official Terry Nobles.
When asked earlier this month if Williford had ``a little bit of a short fuse,'' Jones said there was no little bit about it.
``He's had to fight that short fuse,'' Jones said. ``He and I have clashed on a number of occasions when he has not controlled it.''
Nevertheless, Jones admires Williford's intensity and drive, not to mention his loyalty. Williford stayed with the program despite playing a total of 36 minutes as a freshman in 1991-92. Williford was either Jones' first or second recruit, depending on how one classifies Cornel Parker. Parker first signed with U.Va. in 1989, when Terry Holland was coach, before spending a year at Fork Union Military Academy.
There is no indication that a spot on the U.Va. staff will become available any time soon, although restricted-earnings coach Pete Herrmann has expressed interest in a head-coaching position.
SERIOUS ABOUT GOLF: College basketball analyst Dick Vitale has named Kansas coach Roy Williams to his list of the top five golfers among college basketball coaches.
Joining Williams were his former boss at North Carolina, Dean Smith; Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim; Indiana coach Bobby Knight; and Arkansas' Nolan Richardson, who, like Williams, has a team in the Midwest Regional.
Williams has a 7-handicap and has played with multiple Masters winner Tom Watson, who consulted with Williams on coaching strategy before serving as Ryder Cup captain.
Last year Williams won a charity tournament sponsored by Richardson, who uses a set of golf clubs he was given by President Bill Clinton, a former Arkansas governor.
NO COMPARISON: Richardson said Thursday that UCLA's record string of seven NCAA championships from 1967-73 would be impossible under the current format.
``I don't want to take anything away from UCLA, but those days are over,'' said Richardson, whose Razorbacks won the 1994 title. ``They've been over for so long.
``You're talking about a program that only needed four games to win the national championship. It takes four games just to get to the Final Four today.''
COOLING OFF: Kansas, second in the Big Eight in field-goal percentage, had failed to shoot 50 percent in 11 of 12 games before Friday night. Forward Sean Pearson was in a 7-for-39 slump before going 5 for 8 against Western Kentucky.
RARE MEETING: Of the 2,969 games Kansas had played before Friday, the only one against a team from Virginia was in 1987 against Hampton University. . . . U.Va. had never played a team from Kansas.
STATISTICAL VOID: Norman Nolan, a projected starter for Virginia next year at power forward, did not have an assist in 31 games before Friday night. Nolan, a 6-foot-8, 249-pounder, had one blocked shot in the first 26 games. by CNB