THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050582
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The North Carolina Tar Heels had a choice to make Thursday night. They could either concentrate on stopping North Carolina State's Todd Fuller, the ACC's leading scorer, or they could try to contain the Wolfpack's dangerous 3-point shooters.
``You can't do both,'' coach Dean Smith said.
Oh yes, the Tar Heels could - and did - in a 96-72 win over the Wolfpack in the ACC opener for both teams at the Smith Center. North Carolina held Fuller to 19 points - just two in the second half - and also limited the Wolfpack to 24 percent shooting from 3-point range.
N.C. State (8-3, 0-1 ACC) helped the Tar Heels by launching treys indiscriminately all evening. The Wolfpack attempted 41, one short of the school record.
``We know what a good shot is and what isn't,'' guard Curtis Marshall said. ``I think we don't have any patience.''
The Wolfpack had been feeling pretty good about itself after a strong showing in the Rainbow Classic last week. N.C. State beat Missouri and lost close games to Massachusetts and Illinois.
But after hanging close in the first half, N.C. State was dismantled by a North Carolina team that was without starting point guard Jeff McInnis, who is out with leg and groin injuries.
The Tar Heels (10-2, 1-0 ACC) were led by Antawn Jamison, whose career-high 26 points were the most by a North Carolina freshman since J.R. Reid scored 31 in an NCAA tournament game in 1987.
Freshmen Vince Carter (18 points) and Ademola Okulaja (10) also set new career scoring highs. So did point guard Shammond Williams (14 points), starting for McInnis.
``It was just my night,'' Jamison said. ``I was feeling it, and Dante (Calabria) was looking for me.''
Calabria scored just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting. But with McInnis out, the senior guard shifted his focus to penetrating and dishing to North Carolina's big men. Jamison was the primary recipient of his passes.
But the 6-foot-7 freshmen also picked up a dozen points working the offensive boards. Of Jamison's nine rebounds, eight were offensive.
Many of North Carolina's defensive caroms came off long Wolfpack misses. N.C. State was shooting 43 percent from behind the arc coming into the game, but never found the range Thursday.
``We don't want to be a team that lives and dies on threes,'' N.C. State coach Les Robinson said. ``When you're invited to take them, they're there. We've got to be a team that hits them.''
The treys were available because the Tar Heels spent much of the second half in a 2-3 zone, with the intention of preventing Fuller from getting the ball.
It worked. Fuller, 8 of 10 from the field in the first half, was 0 for 6 in the second.
The shots Fuller's teammates were missing were a little more difficult. Starters Ishua Benjamin and Danny Strong were both 0 for 5 from 3-point range. Jeremy Hyatt was 2 for 9 and Jason Sutton 1 for 6.
``They were shooting too many jump shots, and we were getting the rebounds and beating them down the floor,'' Jamison said. ``I guess they felt they had to shoot jump shots to get back in the game.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
North Carolina's Jeff McInnis, who missed Thursday's game with leg
and groin injuries, liked what he saw.
by CNB