
DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997            TAG: 9702250292

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  103 lines

COX'S JAIME IRVINE HAS A THOROUGHBRED LINEAGE THE SON OF FORMER VIRGINIA SQUIRE GEORGE IRVINE, HE LEARNED FROM SOME OF THE GAME'S GREATS.

George Irvine insists he never pushed his son to play basketball.

Then again, he didn't have to.

As the son of a former Virginia Squire from the old ABA and longtime NBA coach/front office man, Jaime Irvine has had the virtues of the game extolled to him by some of the game's greats.

He's gone one-on-one with NBA assists leader Mark Jackson and gotten schooled by Indiana Pacers Dream Teamer Reggie Miller.

``It's incredible how nice he is,'' Jaime said of Miller, the player he considers his idol. ``He's like a kid himself. I just wish I had his shooting touch.''

Jaime's also absorbed basketball's nuances from Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsey and current Pacers boss Larry Brown.

He knew ESPN analyst Clark Kellogg - a former Pacer - before he knew ESPN. He's even had a Duke cap playfully slapped off his head by former North Carolina star-turned-His Royal Airness Michael Jordan.

``He's been around this game since birth,'' George Irvine said of Jaime, a junior and the leading scorer for Beach District regular-season champion Cox High School. ``You're around it as much as he's been, you're bound to pick up some skills.''

Jaime will put those skills on display tonight, when his Falcons host Menchville in an Eastern Region quarterfinal game at 7.

Making the game even more special for Jaime is the fact that for only the second time this season, his father, now an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, will be in the stands watching him play.

``It'll be fun to watch, not as a coach, but as a parent,'' George said.

It may also be a good omen. The last time the elder Irvine was able to take in a Cox game, Jaime torched the nets for 35 points - 21 more than his average - in a 46-34 victory over Tallwood.

George Irvine marveled at the idea that his son could personally outscore another team. But he really got excited when, after drilling a three-pointer, Jaime pumped his fist and let out a mild roar.

``To see him get a little emotional was a real thrill,'' said George, who was on hand while the NBA was on its All-Star Game break. ``I'm not used to seeing him do that.''

George Irvine didn't do much fist-pumping during his Squire days either, said Jack Ankerson, the team's general manager in 1974.

``A real team-first guy,'' Ankerson recalled.

But there are plenty of similarities between George and Jaime on the court. George was a lean 6-6 perimeter player who could be deadly from the outside. Jaime, a wiry 6-5, stroked eight three-pointers against Tallwood and followed that up with a 36-point night in the Beach District quarterfinals against Bayside.

Like father, like son? Not exactly. George had a reputation as a quality defender.

Jaime?

``Let's just say Jaime's not known for his defense,'' Cox coach Kenny Edwards laughed. ``But we had a game earlier against York where this kid Tommy Klump was killing us. We put one guy on him and he picked up four fouls, then we put another guy on him and he picked up four fouls.

``Finally, Jaime comes over and says `Coach, I can take him.' You can imagine my reaction. But wouldn't you know Jaime shut him down for the last six minutes and we won the game in overtime?

``It took a lot out of him and he had to sacrifice his offensive game. But that's Jaime. He always puts the team first.''

Sound familiar?

Jaime was born in Denver, where his father was traded along with North Carolina State whiz David Thompson to the ABA's Nuggets in 1975 and began his coaching career two years later. But Jaime spent most of his early years in Carmel, Ind., where George spent nine years with the Indiana Pacers.

When his parents divorced, Jaime stayed with his mother and older brother Toby in Indiana until Toby graduated from high school. When Toby became a student at the the University of Arizona, Jaime and his mother, Joan Irvine, relocated to Virginia Beach. Jaime began his ninth-grade year at Cox, where he quickly became the only freshman to win a starting job in Edwards' five years as the Falcons' coach.

``You could tell he had a feel for the game most players don't acquire at such a young age,'' said Edwards.

Jaime was the Falcons' third-leading scorer as a sophomore and has tallied a career-best 15.8 points per game this season.

``He's a natural scorer, but he's almost too unselfish,'' Edwards said. ``We actually have to tell him sometimes to shoot more.''

Edwards' words strike a pleasant tone to the ears of George Irvine.

``There are plenty of players out there at a young age who are more intent on scoring a lot of points, and winning comes secondary,'' he said. ``I don't believe that's true with Jaime.

``Besides, he knows if he starts doing that, I wouldn't be real enthusiastic.'' ILLUSTRATION: File photo

George Irvine played for the Virginia Squires of the ABA. Irvine is

shown with the ball at Scope in a game against the Kentucky

Colonels.

[Photo]

MIKE HEFFNER

As the son of longtime NBA coach and front-office official George

Irvine, Jaime Irvine has shot hoops with the likes of Reggie Miller

and Mark Jackson. Jaime Irvine's Cox Falcons host Menchville tonight

in an Eastern Region playoff game. It will be just the second time

this season that George Irvine, an assistant coach for the Golden

State Warriors, will be in the stands to see his son play.