THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602030465
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Three teams - two of them big surprises - are in hot pursuit of the ACC title going into the final half of the season, which begins today with four league games.
North Carolina, relying on freshman Antawn Jamison, has defied skeptical preseason predictions and moved atop the standings with a 7-1 conference record. Wake Forest and Georgia Tech are tied for second.
Jamison, who did not have the advance publicity of Georgia Tech freshman Stephon Marbury, averages 14.9 points and 9.7 rebounds.
Player-of-the-year favorite Tim Duncan kept Wake Forest in title contention. He leads the league in rebounds (11.9), blocks (4.1), and is second in scoring (19.3).
Georgia Tech, led by the trio of Marbury, Matt Harpring and Drew Barry, has won seven of nine after a 6-7 start.
``We still have a long ways to go,'' coach Bobby Cremins said, ``But I think the character of this team has come to light. We had our backs to the wall and responded positively.''
While no other team is in position to challenge for the title, most of the others remain hopeful of landing an NCAA tournament bid.
Among them is Clemson, which started four freshmen and a sophomore to overcome injuries and finish the first half with a 4-4 conference record.
``After the top three, we are looking at six teams trying to make moves in the second half of the season to get to the tournament,'' Florida State coach Pat Kennedy said.
The major disappointments of the half-season were Maryland and Virginia, both considered title contenders in November.
Those two were tied with North Carolina and Wake Forest for first place last season and each returned four players with starting expereince.
``I said before the season there was a lot of pressure on those two teams because they were picked to finish so high, and that pressure has been reflective in their play,'' Kennedy recalled.
Maryland's shortcomings have been explained in many ways, from not being able to get over the loss of Joe Smith to simply not working hard enough.
``We haven't had an inside presence guy (like Smith) blocking shots this year,'' says coach Gary Williams.
``And this isn't the hardest working team I've had, either. I just hope we have to understand we have to get better if we are going to win consistently in this league.''
Virginia coach Jeff Jones says he miscalculated both the youth and inexperience of his team and the length of time it would take some players to become front-line performers.
``I certainly underestimated the impact that losing our top three rebounders from last season would have,'' Jones said. ``That has been a major problem.''
He also failed to insist on a balanced offense, even when it became apparent early that other teams were not going to give guards Harold Deane and Curtis Staples many open shots.
The only coach who seems in trouble at the midway point is North Carolina State's Les Robinson, who indicated before the season he would resign if there was not significant improvement.
The improvement has been significant, but is not reflected in the record as the Wolfpack lost four league games by five points or less in January.
A midseason look at ACC teams, including first-half grade, All-ACC candidates, and NCAA tournament chances:
North Carolina (16-4, 7-1): Grade: A. Freshmen Antawn Jamison and Ademola Okulaja have made Carolina the best rebounding team in the league, but the Tar Heels may be only a sprained ankle away from being ordinary. All-ACC candidates: Jamison, Dante Calabria, Jeff McInnis. NCAA chances: Excellent.
Clemson (13-4, 4-4): Grade: A. Rick Barnes already may have locked up coach-of-the-year honors by beating Wake Forest and Georgia Tech with four freshmen and a sophomore. All-ACC candidates: Greg Buckner, Terrell McIntyre. NCAA chances: Good.
Wake Forest (14-3, 6-2): Grade: B. Coach Dave Odom is showing considerable patience with this team which has not played with much passion. All-ACC candidates: Tim Duncan, Tony Rutland. NCAA chances: Excellent.
Georgia Tech (13-9, 6-2): Grade: B. Who ever knows what to expect from the Yellow Jackets? All-ACC candidates: Drew Barry, Matt Harpring, Stephon Marbury. NCAA chances: Very good.
Duke (12-8, 3-5): Grade: B. The pride and the passion are back, and the Blue Devils could be a big factor in the second half. All-ACC candidates: Chris Collins, Jeff Capel. ACC chances: Fair.
North Carolina State (12-8, 2-6): Grade: D. The Wolfpack is on the verge of being a good team. The question is if it will happen in time to save coach Les Robinson's job. All-ACC candidate: Todd Fuller. NCAA chances: Poor.
Florida State (10-7, 2-5): Grade: D. The talent is here, so it must be the coaching. All-ACC candidate: James Collins. NCAA chances: Extremely poor.
Maryland (10-7, 3-4): Grade: F. It isn't too late for the Terps to turn things around, and they won three of their last four league games. All-ACC candidate: Johnny Rhodes. NCAA chances: Poor.
Virginia (7-10, 2-6): Grade: F. Just another example that you don't win in this league without an inside game. All-ACC candidate: Harold Deane. NCAA chances: Forget it. by CNB