University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

A
Tribute

By Hugh Antrim

THURSDAY'S EDITION of the Daily Tar Heel ran a front
page picture of the North Carolina basketball squad, all packed
and ready to depart for Charlotte and the tournament. The
caption read, "Don't worry they won't come back till Monday."
Well, maybe they didn't come back until Monday, but they had
little cause to hang around Charlotte Coliseum past Thursday
about 6:30 p.m. It seems that the Virginia Cavaliers knocked
Carolina around for 35 minutes before the Tar Heels turned on
Charlie Scott from outside. Not only did the Cavaliers knock the
Heels around, for once they won. Coach Gibson called that 95-93
win a "just reward," and that it was.

Virginia was ahead by 16 with just 9:37 left in the game, but
the last nine minutes comprised eternity for the few Cavalier
faithful. Charlie Scott faded left and let those long jumpers go
time and again. Ultimately it was Frank DeWitt's steal from Dale
Gipple that insured the upset, while this reporter watched with
growing horror four Virginia starters foul out, leaving Scott
McCandlish on the court with four personals.

REGARDLESS OF THE LAST few minutes, Virginia looked
like the winner for the duration. The cagers, particularly Scott
McCandlish and Bill Gerry, disheartened the Tar Heels on the
boards with a 54-40 rebounding edge, as Tim Rash and Chip Case
shot from the floor with consistency. The Cavaliers had done the
trick and had vaulted themselves into the second round for the
first time since 1959, and although the Carolina onlookers
sympathized with "upstart" Virginians and congratulated them
on their "shocking upset," few admitted that the Cavaliers could,
or would again, be competitive in the ACC tournament, especially
against the Big Four.

The Virginia delegation was obviously pleased and obviously
pleasantly surprised that the Cavaliers had just dumped three time
ACC champion Carolina, but there was the unmistaken feeling
that the cagers were hardly the "upstarts" that the Charlotte
press arrogantly tagged them. That victory, for all its significance,
was for a long time due. That may be a bitter pill for the
anti-basketball crowd to swallow, but with very few exceptions
the cagers have played and faired well in ACC competition all
season. The Cavaliers split their last six conference games, and
that list included a win over NIT-bound Duke. The point is that
although Virginia pulled off a shocker, it was an upset in which to
believe, not to discard with incredulity.

IF IT WAS DIFFICULT following the UNC game to remain
objective, the whole atmosphere surrounding the N.C. State game
provoked undenied bias on the part of the Cavalier follower. The
story of the game itself is rather painful to remember; it was a
see-saw battle right up to the McCandlish-Leftwich collision with
three seconds left. There are many that maintain a foul should
have been called and point to the "Carolina ref" legend for
support. Coach Gibson made public his desire to inspect the game
films, and several others expressed deserving but imprudent
methods of dealing with the errant officials.

But nothing changed the scoreboard and the Cavaliers
returned to the Holiday Inn to rehash the tournament, while the
John Deeres of Raleigh gleefully moved into the final round
against South Carolina.

THE USC-STATE game is history now, and the major
discussion concerning it will be the injustice of an ACC
tournament that sends a weaker representative to the NCAA
regionals. But so few down there will remember that Virginia
came within a whistle and a foul shot of attaining that
championship round, a feat which would have been an ACC first
for this institution. As far as this writer is concerned Saturday's
highlight came and went with the solar eclipse. The final at 8:30
was a great game, but the feeling that Virginia belonged in the
championship round persisted. There is some distant speculation
that the Cavaliers might have received that second conference
NIT bid (instead of Duke) had they gotten to USC.

That "Virginia" image that became so soiled at the end of the
season is riding high and clean. There's been a lot of talk
contrasting the "player revolt" controversy and the total
ineptness of last year's tourney team with the unity and almost
total success of this year's Charlotte contingent. While such a
contrast renders a convenient floor for basketball debate, the
merits that this season's squad have accumulated afford the only
necessary basis on which to appraise the present situation of
Virginia basketball. The defeat of North Carolina and the near
win from State may not be the most important event in recent
basketball history at Virginia. Not to mention obvious recruiting
benefits, this year's tournament performance may well mark the
turning point for U-Hall basketball. Talk about next year's team
and next year's prospects are for the first time in a while,
meaningful.