THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280517
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Virginia's Harold Deane, who once had thoughts about jumping to the NBA after his junior season, no longer is the Cavalier drawing attention from pro scouts.
In the opinion of Keith Drum, a scout for the Sacramento Kings, Deane has dropped down to the second level of prospects in the ACC while freshman Courtney Alexander has jumped into the limelight.
Drum, a former Durham, N.C., sports editor, shared his evaluations with the ``ACC Insider'' newsletter.
Drum ranked Alexander as the third-best prospect in the league, behind Wake Forest's Tim Duncan and Georgia Tech freshman Stephon Marbury.
``He (Alexander) is one of a few guys you will see anywhere who can take the ball at 20 feet and get a shot at 12 feet,'' Drum said.
Others among his top-five prospects were North Carolina freshman Antawn Jamison and North Carolina State senior Todd Fuller.
Drum, who says there are at least 20 potential pro prospects in the ACC, puts Deane in the bottom group.
``He is so competitive and very strong,'' Drum said. ``But he is not a good shooter and doesn't have great quickness.''
Interestingly, Drum told the Insider's Barry Jacobs that talk among pro scouts is that Marbury will apply for the draft while Duncan, a junior, will return to Wake Forest for his senior season.
SAYING GOODBYE: Norfolk's Ed Geth, who redshirted one season and has played very little the other three, apparently will not be back on the North Carolina bench next year.
Geth was introduced along with other graduating seniors prior to the Tar Heels' final home game last Saturday.
Coach Dean Smith said Geth would return only ``if all of sudden everyone got sick and we didn't have anybody.''
The next stop for Geth could be a European pro league or graduate school.
BOMBS AWAY: North Carolina is being hounded by an old problem - defending against the 3-pointer - and that best explains why the Tar Heels had lost four of their last six ACC games before playing Wake Forest Tuesday night.
N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Florida State all had outstanding shooting games from outside the arc in recent wins over UNC.
Almost 42 percent of all the points scored against North Carolina this season have come from 3-point goals.
SHRINKING 'NOLES: Florida State's win at North Carolina eased some pressure on coach Pat Kennedy, but W's and L's are only part of the problem in Tallahassee.
Seminole fans, accustomed to playing for championships in football, have yet to be hit by ACC hoops fever.
FSU ranks last in league attendance, which has shrunk by a third since it entered the ACC in 1991-92.
The Seminoles' Civic Center seats 12,500, but the average crowd is less than 6,000.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Chris Collins is averaging 22.3 points in Duke's current four-game winning streak. ... League-leader Georgia Tech is the only team to use the same starting lineup in every game this season. ... Virginia's Courtney Alexander is averaging 21.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over the last seven games. ... Maryland's Johnny Rhodes is three steals from tying a league record (328) set by N.C. State's Chris Corchiani (1988-91). by CNB