THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 11, 1997 TAG: 9702110446
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 111 lines
Not too long ago, the ACC was known as a finesse league, a place where sleek athletes played a hard-fought but refined brand of basketball. It was a style that purists considered a cut above the rough stuff played in ``football'' conferences like the Big Ten.
But look at the ACC now.
Check out the slow, grinding pace of many games. Watch the skirmishes under the boards. Then see if you don't agree with Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, when he says:
``There's not a coach in this league that would call us a finesse league anymore.''
Nor could you find one who would call the ACC a high-scoring league. Or a shooter's league, for that matter.
Get a load of these games, which must have had blue-blooded fans everywhere averting their eyes.
Maryland 54, Wake Forest 51: Maryland shoots 36 percent, Wake 32.
Clemson 51, N.C. State 42: Clemson proves it is possible to shoot 30 percent and win. N.C. State lights it up for 39 percent.
Wake Forest 53, N.C. State 45: The Wolfpack keeps the score where it wants it - under 100 points, combined.
Eight of the nine teams in the ACC are averaging fewer points in conference games than a year ago. For seven teams, shooting percentages are down.
In that sense, the league is reflective of a national trend. Scoring across the nation is down four points per game from last year, seven from 1995. Shooting percentages are down half-a-point from last year, more than two points over the last five years.
But the ACC is not only following the trend, it's on the cutting edge of it. According to NCAA mid-season statistics, the ACC leads the nation in scoring defense (holding opponents to an average of 61.3 points) and field-goal percentage defense (38.66).
Through mid-season, league teams were averaging 75.1 points per game, down a point from last season, down two points from the 1994-95 season, and down 10 points from the golden age of offense - the mid-1970s, when teams averaged 85 points.
The drop has been more pronounced in league games. Teams averaged 72.7 points in leagues games last year, 65.2 this year.
The league's overall shooting percentage, 45.1 percent, is down slightly from last year's 45.3. The all-time league high came in 1979-80, when teams shot 51.4 percent.
Why the drop in scoring? And shooting percentages?
Everyone's got a theory. Most of the league's coaches say it boils down to one thing: better defenses. Coaches are putting more emphasis on defense, and have bigger, quicker athletes at their disposal. Getting an uncontested shot is tougher than it has ever been, coaches say.
``The defenses have caught up with the offenses,'' N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said.
Caught up with 'em, mugged 'em, and left them bruised and battered, some would say. There's no doubt the league is more physical now than five or 10 years ago. Young coaches such as Virginia's Jeff Jones and Clemson's Rick Barnes have earned a reputation for fielding physical teams. Other teams have followed suit, and officials have allowed the new style to take hold.
``Defenses are allowed to do a lot more than 10 years ago,'' North Carolina coach Dean Smith said. ``Somehow this has come about, maybe through the pro (NBA) influence in officiating. Defenses are allowed to do a lot more off the ball.''
Other leagues are physical, too, but as Florida State coach Pat Kennedy says: ``Our physicalness comes with great athletes.''
Scouting has come a long way in the last decade, too, and Odom, for one, thinks that has as much to do with the lower scores as anything.
``There are maybe three or four games that we're not on some form of TV this year,'' Odom said. ``That means every team in my league is going to have 24 of my games in film study.
``The league is just so close and everybody knows so much about each other that it is very difficult to score. They blunt you at every stop. They put road blocks up at every turn.''
Even at the free-throw line, apparently. The ``defenses are better'' theory can't explain the drop in free-throw shooting percentages. The national average, 66.5 percent, is the lowest since 1958. The current ACC average, 66.9 percent, is the lowest since 1954.
Enter those who say players simply don't shoot as well as they once did. Bob Gibbons, one of the nation's premier high school basketball scouts, says many of today's players don't spend enough time working on their jump shots.
``I'm personally troubled by what I consider to be a departure from the fundamental skills of basketball,'' Gibbons said. ``The 3-point shot is a factor, but the worst is the dunk. These are things kids really spend time trying to master.''
Poor shooting fundamentals are rampant, Gibbons says. At the same time, the 3-point line is tempting more players to shoot from 20 feet.
Smith says the 3-point line has contributed to the drop in shooting percentages.
``In past years, before the 3-pointer, we wouldn't consider those good shots,'' Smith said.
Layups are good shots, but fewer ACC teams run the fast-break anymore. Duke, Maryland and North Carolina try to create layups through defense. But most other league teams prefer a half-court style.
Running any style successfully requires a good point guard, and this year's crop may not be as strong as in recent years. Georgia Tech's Stephon Marbury and UNC's Jeff McInnis left for the NBA. Virginia's Harold Deane has been hobbled by injuries. Freshmen like UNC's Ed Cota and Georgia Tech's Kevin Morris have struggled learning on-the-job.
It doesn't stop at point guard. You could make a case that the talent level across the league is down. Earlier in the season, when then No. 3 Clemson played No. 10 Maryland, Kennedy pointed out that: ``You've got 3 playing 10, and you'd be hard-pressed to say there are NBA players on the court.''
Of course, there's an upside to having a low-scoring league.
``It's produced an amazing amount of close games,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Which is what the ACC has always been about, anyway. ILLUSTRATION: Chart
ACC SCORING BY TEAM
For copy of chart, see microfilm