THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602170487
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
Crashing into courtside seats for a loose ball or swishing a 25-foot 3-pointer, Dante Calabria is a perfect fit for his professionally designed North Carolina blue uniform.
He is smart, aggressive, dedicated, and extremely talented - much like hundreds of others who have played in coach Dean Smith's program the last 35 years.
Most of them seemed to have popped from the same mold.
But out of the uniform, or the coat and tie required for road trips, the handsome, dark-haired Calabria hardly fits the image of a high-profile college star who can't wait to make millions in the NBA.
Still, that doesn't stop people from recognizing him in his baggy pants, slouchy shirt and earring when he is out with friends.
``A lot of times when I go out around here, or at Wrightsville Beach in the summer, people just point and whisper `He plays basketball,' '' Calabria said.
``There is nothing you can do about it, of course, because your picture is in newspapers and magazines and on television, and people want to get to meet you.
``But I would rather be known for the person I am and not just because of who I am.''
What kind of person is Calabria, who has played every position except center for the Tar Heels and is one of the school's all-time leading 3-point shooters?
``I'm a laid-back guy who likes to listen to heavy-metal music,'' Calabria once said on a UNC basketball questionnaire.
On that survey this year, Calabria listed playing guitar in a rock alternative band over playing guard in the NBA.
``I'm pretty serious about it. I definitely want to play in a band,'' insisted the senior from Beaver Falls, Pa.
``I am not very good with the guitar right now, I just fiddle around with it. I've never taken lessons or anything. But I am planning on getting out and learning after I get done with school.''
As far as pro basketball, Calabria thinks it would be fun to play for a couple of years in Italy. And, like most others in the ACC, he has fantasized about playing in the NBA.
``You got to have the dream to play (professionally) because that is what drives you,'' Calabria said. ``But I am not a person totally dependent on basketball as a career.
``Give me a place to stay at the beach, a little basketball, something to eat, and I am happy. I am not dependent on making a lot of money.''
Calabria, who once listed ``Beavis and Butt-head'' as his favorite television program, says he's had no problem fitting into Smith's regimented program.
``You can look at me and tell I am not the coat-and-tie type,'' Calabria said, pointing toward his casual attire.
``But I have no problem with the way they operate the program here. If it is a rule that we wear a coat and tie, I will wear it.
``I don't expect anyone to adjust what they do for me. I mean, I am here to play for (Smith), and I will adjust to what he does.''
UNC became interested in Calabria when he was only a sophomore in high school.
Assistant coach Phil Ford saw him play in an AAU tournament in San Antonio, and soon Smith was coming to his games.
``I think one thing Carolina liked about me was that I am a pretty smart and savvy player,'' Calabria said. ``I can read the situation and make plays that maybe some people can't.''
Calabria showed that kind of ability earlier this season when he made a pass while lying on his back to teammate Antawn Jamison for a last-second shot that beat Maryland in overtime.
He also made a tip-in with 6.5 seconds left to give the Tar Heels a hard-fought victory against Duke on Jan. 31.
Calabria was a freshman when the Tar Heels won the national championship three years ago, and he led the ACC in 3-point field goal accuracy (49.6 percent) last year when the UNC made another Final Four visit.
Most of his contributions, on defense and scrambling for loose balls, are not reflected in statistics or highlight films, though, and Smith says Calabria has been on of the ACC's most underrated players the last two years.
Calabria agrees, but says he understands why.
``I am not a guy who is going to dunk the ball all the time,'' he said. ``I don't really like to dunk, but you get a guy doing a nice dunk and people are going to remember that.
``They are not going to remember the guy diving on the floor four or five times to save the ball. That is fine with me. I'm not a guy looking for accolades. The coaching staff and team appreciates what I do, and that is all that matters to me.''
Calabria no longer lists ``Beavis and Butt-head'' as his favorite television program. ``It's gotten a little lame. They don't do anything anymore,'' he explained.
But he still doesn't pick winning the Final Four as his ``biggest sport thrill,'' either.
Instead, Calabria listed winning the ``Graham Court 3-Do Basketball Tournament.''
``It is a computer game. We had about 45 people playing in a double-elimination tournament. It is not an easy thing to play, or win, but I wound up winning.''
But, more special than winning the Final Four?
``I was pretty happy about it,'' Calabria said, smiling. ``Winning the Final Four definitely was special, but that was an obvious answer. I wanted to be different.''
He is different, too. But only when out of uniform. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
While most in the ACC put the NBA first, UNC's Dante Calabria says
playing guitar in a rock band is his chief post-school ambition.
by CNB