THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170479
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
After lighting up Maryland for 31 points on Jan. 6, Antawn Jamison turned his attention to North Carolina teammate Vince Carter, who was dressing at the locker next to his at Cole Field House.
Jamison scored on his friend Carter just as easily as he had on the Terps.
``What was that, Vince?'' Jamison said with a shy grin. ``USA Today?''
Carter could only smile. Yes, he was the player picked to the newspaper's first-team All-USA basketball squad. Yeah, Carter was expected to be the Tar Heels' next freshman sensation.
But here was Jamison dropping 31 on the Terps, just two days after scoring 26 against North Carolina State. Here was Jamison, making 14 of 16 shots, including the game-winner at the buzzer in an 88-86 win over Maryland.
Here was Jamison with the media pack around his locker, while Carter sat off to the side.
``I really did feel sorry for (Carter) because there were so many expectations for him,'' Jamison said. ``I think it took a lot of the pressure off me.''
Jamison was a high school All-American, too. Dean Smith rarely recruits anyone who isn't.
But no one could have forecast the ease with which the 6-foot-8 Jamison, whose name is pronounced AN-twan, has made the transition to the ACC.
``He's certainly exceeded our expectations,'' Smith said. ``He thought he was going to be learning behind Rasheed (Wallace). He's had his chance and he's made the most of it.''
Heading into tonight's game at Virginia, Jamison is second in the ACC in shooting percentage (.658), third in rebounding (9.3 per game) and ninth in scoring (16.2). He's a close second, behind Georgia Tech's Stephon Marbury, in accolades earned by an ACC freshman.
``A great freshman,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ``He's probably as good as when Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse were freshmen.''
``He's got excellent quickness, great balance and he gets off the floor,'' Clemson coach Rick Barnes said after Jamison scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Sunday's win over the Tigers.
Jamison gets off the floor as quickly as anyone in the conference, snatching offensive rebounds and getting off shots around the basket before the defense can react.
``He's a tough matchup,'' North Carolina's Dante Calabria said. ``He's quick, and reads the ball off the boards real well. And he has that little runner. I've never seen anybody have that.
``I knew he was going to be good, I just didn't know how quickly he was going to grasp everything.''
Jamison, 19, has a firm grasp on most everything in his life, including his newfound stardom.
``I still don't see myself as an offensive player,'' he said. ``I thought, coming in, I'd get the boards and things like that. But I've been getting a lot of open shots and I think teams are going to concentrate harder on boxing me out.''
Jamison certainly has benefited from the attention teams have given North Carolina's guards, Calabria and Jeff McInnis. Both have been able to penetrate, draw defenders and dish to the freshman.
``You have to play those guards, and Antawn moves very well without the ball,'' said Bob Angley, who coached Jamison at Providence High in Charlotte. ``He's hard to pay attention to.''
Jamison was the center of attention at Providence High, where he averaged 27 points and 13 rebounds and took the team to its first-ever playoff game.
``For all the recognition, he never really got a big head,'' Angley said. ``He was in my first-period Algebra II class, and everybody obviously knew who he was, but he sat right in the front row, and was the first guy to raise his hand if he had a question.''
Playful ribbing of Carter aside, Jamison comes by his modesty naturally, Angley said.
``His dad does the best job of anybody I know of ruling his household like the Bible says to,'' Angley said. ``Antawn was disciplined. He broke the rules and he knew he had to pay the penalty.''
Albert Jamison, a renovation carpenter for the city of Charlotte, has a few simple rules that apply even now, when his increasingly famous son comes home to visit.
``If I buy the food, and my wife cooks it, (the kids) need to wash the dishes,'' he said.
``I have no problem with him being out late at night, but he's going to have to call me to let me know where he is, and when he's coming home.
``Everybody has rules, and everybody should be accountable for his actions.''
Words to live by for Antawn Jamison.
``I just try to do the best I can,'' he said. ``I never expected this much success.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
TOM COPELAND/Landmark News Service
North Carolina's Antawn Jamison is second in the ACC in shooting
percentage (.658) and third in rebounding (9.3 per game). ``I still
don't see myself as an offensive player,'' he says.
by CNB