University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

A New
Maturity

By Tom Bell

AS THE INITIAL SHOCK OF THE CAVALIERS'
overwhelming win over Maryland wears off a look at the game
leaves the viewer still amazed at the performance of the
basketball team. The victory was certainly one of the biggest
wins in the history of Cavalier basketball, and probably the
most impressive performance ever. The team played excellent
basketball for the entire 40 minutes, as it seemed they could
do nothing wrong and the much talked about Terrapins could
do nothing right.

Certainly no one expected the game to be as one-sided as it
was. Many expected it to be close, and a few even stuck their
necks out so far as to predict a Caviler win, but not many
people could be found in Charlottesville Wednesday afternoon
who honestly thought the Cavaliers would win big. The
Terrapins looked too good on paper, and when the Wahoos
continued to control the game as the second half ticked away,
it was hard to believe that it was actually happening.

THE CAVALIERS TOTALLY DOMINATED EVERY
ASPECT of play. They outshot and out rebounded the
Terrapins and had more assists and fewer turnovers in
addition. They controlled the tempo of the game with their
ball-control-offense, and caused many Maryland mistakes with
their aggressive defensive play. In short, they played near
perfect basketball.

The offense worked to perfection. Coach Bill Gibson
posted a man in each corner to draw the Terrapin defense out,
leaving the fifth man free to drive the lane in a one-on-one
situation. Time after time the isolated man scored on layups
and short jumpers, after working the defense out of position.
The team showed amazing discipline on attack, often passing
up good scoring opportunities in order to wait for the
higher-percentage shot. In the first half, the Wahoos hit on
two-thirds of their shots, a big factor in gaining the lead.

ON DEFENSE THE CAVALIERS PLAYED HUSTLING
AGGRESSIVE basketball. They kept Maryland on edge, and
never allowed the Turtles to control the game. Tom McMillen,
the highly-publicized forward, was never really a factor,
as the inside defense, led by Scott McCandlish, held him to
only four shots all night, three of which he missed. The Terps
were forced into 20 turnovers. Barry Parkhill swiped the ball
twice right out of opponents hands, as an enraged Howard
White and a bewildered McMillen were added to the list of
Parkhill victims. Chip Millers diving steal from Richie Porac
left the little guard so frustrated that he muttered a pleasantry
which was unpleasant enough to draw the first of two
Maryland technical fouls. The 57 points which the Terrapins
managed were less than half the number they scored against
their last opponent, George Washington, and they saw their
108.5 point average drop considerably.

Everything the Cavaliers tried worked. They broke a
Maryland press early in the second half with two full-court
passes which brought back memories of the Cavalier teams of
five years ago, for whom the long bomb was the major weapon
in the fast break offense. Except for the long passes, however,
similarities with old Wahoo Squads were hard to find.

THE TEAM SHOWED A MATURITY IN
WEDNESDAY'S GAME that University Hall crowds had never
seen before. Last year the Cavs were exciting and competitive,
and won some close games over good competition. They
changed from a loser to a winner. They were a good team,
probably the best in the history of the University. But this
year, they seem even better. They have controlled all three of
their games. They have hustled on the floor. They have played
smart basketball, making few mistakes. Even the players on
the bench have shown ability and poise. They are definitely
an improved team.

Should the Wahoos beat Baldwin-Wallace impressively
tomorrow night a national top twenty ranking is almost
assured. They deserve to be at least in the top fifteen. When
that happens, teams will start pointing for the Cavaliers. Faced
with this situation last year, the team had a hard time winning,
especially on the road. This year, however, things should be
different, if the maturity and poise which the Wahoos showed
Wednesday night continues, for the team showed in its win
over Maryland that it is definitely of top twenty caliber.