Underachievers take note: there's still time to rally

Sporting News, The, Feb 9, 1998 by Mike DeCourcy

They all wish to be like North Carolina. This seems easy enough to say, but not so simple to accomplish, considering the Tar Heels' tradition, following and spectacular facilities. But all that staff is beside the point.

Clemson, Fresno State and UNC Charlotte are thinking of the present, and therefore the immediate past. They want to be like Carolina was last year: commiserating February 1, celebrating March 1.

The Heels made a remarkable recovery in 1996-97, from 13-6 on Groundhog Day to a 16-game winning streak and Final Four finish. They present hope to these teams that had every reason to expect greatness this season, had those suspicions confirmed by TSN's preseason predictions, then quickly stumbled out of the Top 25.

"We're probably written off," Fresno State point guard Rafer Alston says, "We were a top 20 team, and we lost to teams like St. Mary's and Pacific. ... We need to settle down and win a lot of games. I don't think we can lose again this year."

Each of these teams offers its reasons (and excuses) why numbers in the loss column have grown at such an alarming rate, but they are short on time to find solutions.

Here's a look at how these schools have fallen, and whether they can get up in time:

Clemson, preseason No. 6. The Tigers blame their 12-9 record on free-throw shooting. Thus can one sense the desperation.

Foul shooting is the handiest of basketball alibis, being obvious, correctable and universal. Everybody misses free throws, even an 81 percent shooter like Terrell McIntyre, so everybody's at fault.

The dysfunction is deeper than this. The Tigers lost five consecutive games decided by fewer than six points. Once known for demonic defense, they permit opponents to shoot 43.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from 3-point range. Coach Rick Barnes still has not discovered how to play this team; within a week, guard Johnny Miller went from starting at the point to playing five minutes.

"I think we're being tested now. This is probably the greatest test since I've been here," Barnes says. "We've got to find ways to win basketball games. We put ourselves into situations where you almost have to execute perfectly every time."

One ACC coach suggests the foot injury that keeps McIntyre from practicing has damaged the Tigers. He is a dynamic player but not the truest of point guards, and he can't get better without work.

The remainder of the schedule is about as easy as the ACC allows, which means it's just this side of brutal. If the Tigers defend with urgency, there's no game they can't win, but this is a team that knew NC State could do little but shoot 3-pointers and still allowed the Wolfpack to make 15-of-21 in an overtime home loss.

UNC Charlotte, preseason No. 16. Coach Melvin Watkins tried to prevent the illness of freshman Charles Hayward from being an excuse for his team's struggles, but the impact was fairly obvious.

With the diagnosis of Hayward's leukemia, the 49ers not only lost a promising forward, but also their enthusiasm.

There were losses to Appalachian State, Western Michigan and Boston U. in an 11-7 start, Valuable forward Versile Shaw has played on a bad knee most of the season, and point guard Sean Colson was suspended and missed a couple weeks of practice and two games.

Watkins says those problems impacted UNCC's ability to practice. He also admits, "I think we read our press clippings, We do have talent, but talent alone is not going to get the job done."

Pover forward DeMarco Johnson has been uniformly excellent, ranking first in Conference USA in rebounding (9.8) and second in scoring (20.8). But Colson's performance is decisive. When UNCC wins, he shoots 42.3 percent from the field and averages 7.7 assists. in losses, he's at 30.8 percent and 4.0 assist.

A road loss to Memphis last week means the 49ers must win out for any shot at an NCAA at-large berth, but they have road games remaining at Marquette, Louisville and Cincinnati.

Fresno State, preseason No. 17. Looking at the talent collected on the Bulldogs' roster, it's hard to explain two or three defeats, let alone an 11-7 record.

But consider what that talent has done with its talent. There have been eight cases where players were disciplined for off-the-court problems. Forward Tremaine Fowlkes and center Avendre Jones became the most recent suspensions, and Jones' is for an indefinite period. These guys don't care enough about the game.

The players who are left -- Winfred Walton, Chris Herren, Alston -- are gifted enough to rescue the season, Alston's progress toward serving as a responsible point guard was perhaps the best news for Fresno State in a disastrous month.

"We need a psychologist, because just when everyone thinks we're together, we're really not,"Alston says, "We probably need to go twice a week, skip a practice and get there as a team."

Mike DeCourcy covers college basketball for the Cincinnati Enquirer. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.

HARDWARE DEFICIENCY

Perhaps if St. Louis freshman Larry Hughes stacks up all his Conference USA Player of the Week trophies, they'll look enough like the one for league Player of the Year. It may be as close as he comes to winning it.