THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996 TAG: 9601290177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG DOUGHTY, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: HARTFORD, CONN. LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Once rejected by Virginia, Ray Allen continued to show the Cavaliers the error of their ways Sunday.
Allen scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as fourth-ranked Connecticut handed U.Va. its worst loss of the season, 76-46, before 16,294 at the Hartford Civic Center.
It was an 18-13 game with less than seven minutes remaining before halftime when the Huskies went on a 17-0 run. Allen, second in the Big East with 23.2 points per game and the 3-point shooting leader (49.6 percent), scored nine points in that stretch.
``I think their backcourt is pretty damn good,'' said Jones, referring to Allen and point guard Doron Sheffer. ``Ray Allen is as good a player as there is in the country, maybe the best player offensively.''
Jones didn't need to be reminded that the Cavaliers backed off Allen during the fall prior to his senior year at Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, S.C.
``When I started the recruiting process, there were two or three schools I wanted to visit,'' Allen said. ``One of those was Virginia.
``I was kinda pysched about going to visit Virginia. But, as I was setting up my campus visits, Virginia sent me a letter to tell me they weren't recruiting me anymore.
``They said they had checked their personnel and realized they already had somebody with my talents, so they were terminating me (as a prospect).
``It bothered me. It bothered me a lot.''
Allen later figured out that the Cavaliers had decided to pursue Jamal Robinson, a taller (6-7) perimeter player with good ball-handling skills but nothing close to 6-5 junior Allen's scoring ability.
The loss was the fourth in the row for Virginia, all by more than 14 points. The Cavaliers (7-9) had not previously suffered four consecutive double-figure losses since the 1964-65 season.
The Cavaliers shot only 27.3 percent from the field, their lowest since the last UConn game, when they hit 22.6 percent as the Huskies rolled to a 77-36 victory in the 1993-94 season opener in Charlottesville.
Freshman Courtney Alexander, originally from Bridgeport, Conn., led U.Va. with 10 points. Curtis Staples had nine, Scott Johnson eight and Harold Deane only seven after missing his first nine shots from the field.
UConn (19-1) hasn't lost to a non-Big East team in Hartford since U.Va. beat them 72-59 in 1987, a string of 40 games.
The Cavaliers are off until Thursday, when it entertains Maryland, and it's an understatement to say Jones is concerned.
``I think there's an underlying issue of toughness for us, both mentally and physically,'' Jones said. ``We've got problems, problems that run deeper than losing a few ballgames.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ray Allen hits a 3-pointer in the first half. He got 18 of his
game-high 24 before the break, nine of those in a 17-0 run that
cooked the Cavaliers.
by CNB