THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9601040467
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
There was a lot of finger-pointing Wednesday night after Virginia opened its ACC season with a 69-64 loss to Florida State in University Hall.
Coach Jeff Jones blamed a lack of inside offense while guard Curtis Staples, mired in a season-long shooting slump, blamed teammates who he said were ``playing as individuals.''
Staples and Harold Deane, his backcourt partner, hit only 6 of 25 field goal attempts.
Jones said opponents all season have been ``taking liberties'' defending Virginia's perimeter shooting because they don't respect the team's post offense.
Senior center Chris Alexander took only five shots, making two of them.
Meanwhile, it appears that Jones might soon have an alternative in the frontcourt if he chooses.
Melvin Whitaker, a 6-foot-10 center, reportedly has left Hargrave Military Academy and wants to enroll in Virginia for the second semester.
Whitaker committed to Virginia last spring but did not obtain the necessary SAT score. He since has qualified while at Hargrave.
Jones would not comment after the game when asked if Whitaker was going to enroll for the second semester.
Sources said Jones would be reluctant to play Whitaker if he did enroll, but he could practice with the team.
The Seminoles (9-2, 1-0) had lost their ACC opener to the Cavaliers (5-4, 0-1) the last three years.
This time, they jumped out to a 9-0 lead and trailed only briefly before opening a 10-point lead with 9:21 remaining.
Staples, who missed his first 11 shots, bagged three straight, including a pair of 3-pointers, as the Cavaliers cut the margin to 63-60 with 3:26 left.
But the Seminoles hit enough of their free throws (6 of 10) in the final 1:07 to preserve the victory.
Both Staples and Jones seemed upset that Staples did not receive the ball after he hit three straight outside shots to put Virginia back in the game.
He didn't touch the ball again until the final 15 seconds when the game already had been decided.
``We should have been looking to get the ball to him,'' Jones said.
Staples didn't call names, but he clearly was upset with some teammates.
``People are pointing at me and Harold (Deane) for not hitting our shots, but the problem goes a lot deeper than that,'' Staples said.
``We have to start playing together and filling our roles. Right now we have people playing like individuals.''
With Staples going scoreless in the first half and Deane getting only two points on a layup, the Cavaliers depended on six-point halves by Norman Nolan, Courtney Alexander, Jamal Robinson, and Scott Johnson to stay in the game.
Florida State led 32-29 at intermission, but jumped into a 45-37 advantage in the first five minutes.
The Cavaliers began coming back after Jones was hit with a technical foul for protesting a call with 7:39 left.
Deane scored on a layup following a steal and then Staples hit a two-pointer for his first goal of the night.
He followed with back-to-back 3-pointers before the Seminoles regained control of the contest. by CNB