DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711090251

SECTION: SPECIAL                 PAGE: Z5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: 1997-98 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

SOURCE: BY ED MILLER

LENGTH: 77 lines

THE BUZZ [ACC BRIEFS]

Recruits are the best mouthwash

Dave Odom says the taste of last year's season-ending loss to Stanford is still in his mouth.

``And I don't like it,'' he said.

Wake Forest was beaten 72-66 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. More significantly, the Demon Deacons were beaten up by the boys from the Left Coast. Stanford's big men pushed All-American center Tim Duncan all over the court.

It was not the first time Duncan was handled roughly.

``Tim by his very nature was a tall, skilled aggressive player,'' Odom said. ``But nobody ever called him physical.''

To prevent the Deacs from getting sand kicked in their faces again, Odom has added three players who have been called physical: 6-foot-8, 242-pound Rafael Vidaurreta, 6-9, 225-pound Aaron McMillian and 6-9, 225-pound Josh Shoemaker.

Odom hopes they can help Wake Forest play a tougher brand of basketball.

``We're going to put our bodies on people,'' Odom promised.

Now that they've got the bodies to do it. Matt who?

He's not a household name, maybe not even in Cole Field House. But Maryland's Matt Kovarik has the distinction of being the most experienced returning player in the ACC.

Kovarik, a 6-5 guard, has played in 97 games. A fifth-year senior, he's played three full seasons and also played in five games as a junior in 1995-96, before taking a medical redshirt.

Kovarik has started just three of those games and has never averaged more than two points per game. Still, coach Gary Williams says he's a valuable guy to have around. He's played on two NCAA Sweet 16 teams, is a good defender, and can play three positions.

``He's like having a great utility infielder,'' Williams said. One more call for the zebras

Most ACC coaches say they like the ``new'' five-second closely guarded rule, which has been reinstated by the NCAA after being dropped following the 1993-94 season.

The rule states that any player in the frontcourt who is guarded by a defender standing within six feet may hold the ball no more than five seconds.

``What taking it out did was introduce more dribbling, and less passing,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Coach K thinks the return of the rule will increase scoring, because it will force more team play. But other coaches worry that it's just one more call for officials to blow.

``It won't be called enough,'' Georgia Tech's Bobby Cremins said. ``Until late in the game.'' Duke has its Wojo working

Duke point guard Steve Wojciechowski doesn't need a calculator to figure that his assist total could go up this season. With freshmen Elton Brand, Shane Battier and Chris Burgess on board, Duke has more talent inside, and that should translate to more high-percentage shots.

``Last year when I passed the ball to a guy he was 22 feet from the basket and trying to score,'' Wojo said. ``It's a little bit easier to make a bucket from two feet than 22 feet.'' Communication breakdown

Virginia's Curtis Staples, known as a 3-point specialist, spent the summer working on his ballhandling and mid-range jump shooting. He even played a little point guard for the World University Games team, and says he'll look to create his own shot much more this season.

That's all fine and good. But perhaps Staples should have checked with coach Jeff Jones before embarking on his summer project. Asked at the league's media day what he expected from Staples this season, Jones didn't mince words.

``We don't want him to do a whole lot of creating,'' Jones said. ``That's not what he does best. We want him to come off screens and shoot the ball.'' KEYWORDS: SPECIAL SECTION SUPPLEMENT BASKETBALL

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu