22 Basketball '87-'88 Friday, November 20, 1987
math to assuiiie role
off leader as a senior
By CHRIS SPENCER
Assistant Sports Editor
Sure, we know he can shoot, but
can he play defense? And how will
he adjust to a starting role? And what
about that new beard? These are some
of the major questions that revolve
around senior Tar Heel guard Ran
zino Smith, and the answers to those
questions will have a major impact
on the team this season.
Smith is one of a select few Chapel
Hill natives to play for UNC coach
Dean Smith. By the time he was a
senior at Chapel Hill High School,
Smith had established a well-earned
reputation as a scorching shooter.
That reputation was enhanced by his
streak of scoring 30 or more points
in eight straight games as a senior,
a streak which undoubtedly helped
him become the state's high school
Player of the Year in 1984. " .
But after accepting a scholarship
to play at UNC, Zino found the going
tough, although he did contribute
some key points for the team in his
freshman campaign. He averaged just
two points a game that year, dishing
out a grand total of seven assists in
167 minutes. " -.
During his sophomore season,
Smith continued to provide instant
offense off the bench, more than ,
doubling his scoring average to 4.6
points a game. In 10 straight games
that year, he scored as many points
as minutes played.
Last season, Smith saw consider
ably more playing time and was given
the green light by Dean Smith to fire
up just about any 3-pointer he
wanted. Zino averaged 7.5 points, '
made 30 steals and handed out a
respectable 58 assists. He scored a
career-high 21 points in 21 minutes
against Miami and combined with
Kenny Smith to put Georgia Tech
away in Atlanta, as the two guards
bombed the Yellow Jackets for 19
points in a six-minute span.
He played in all 36 of UNC's games
as a junior, starting four of them and
averaging better than 16 minutes of
playing time. But the biggest chal
lenge of Smith's career will come this
year.
Smith came to UNC in the same
recruiting class as Matt Brust, who
later transferred to St. John's and is
a starting guard. Today, Smith is
UNC's only senior, and he wants to
use his final season in Chapel Hill
to prove that he can play defense and
handle the ball as well as he shoots
it. ' . .
"In the off-season I worked on my
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overall game," Smith said. ttI worked
on my ballhandling a lot. I basically
want to be a better basketball player
than 1 was last year."
A big concern for the team in the
wake of Kenny Smith's graduation
will be the lack of depth at the point
guard position. Junior Jeff Lebo will
start there, but Smith said he could
play the position too if needed.
"I'm prepared to play there if I have
to," he said. "But coach Smith has
improved me as the number two
guard, and that's where IVe been
playing since IVe been here."
The 6-foot-1, 189-pound Smith
said that while the backcourt will be
fairly small, size has never been a
concern for him.
- "IVe played against guys taller than
I am," he said, "basically my whole
career in basketball."
As the only senior on the team,
Smith is ready to shift into a lead
ership role. "I need to help lead the
young guys in the right direction," he
said. "It's great, and it's definitely a
challenge. Everyone will contribute
this season, and that's what everyone
is striving for." '
This year's team has' had to deal
with some uncharacteristic distrac
tions, but Smith said the Tar Heels
have dealt with them well; -f
"(The distractions) have had no
effect on myself or the other guys "
he said. "Actually, I think we're
working harder than before. Eve
ryone's playing normal, and they all
have a great attitude."
Interestingly, Smith is extremely
productive from the charity stripe
when the game is on the line. Last
season, he led the ACC by making
all 20 free throws he attempted in the
last five minutes, joining Maryland's
Teyon McCoy (13-for-13) as the only
perfect late-in-the-game free-throw
shooters.
As lor the beard, maybe it will
make Smith play like James Worthy,
the last Tar Heel player to wear one.
But the quiet senior insists that it is
for medical reasons.
"It's something that I discussed
with my dermatologist," he said. "We
decided that it would help stop any
skin diseases I might get from
sweating."
For the most part, the questions
that revolve around Smith will have
a major impact on the fate of this
year's team. Whether or not the
answers to those questions come out
positive, you can bet that Smith will
work hard to assure that they will.
DISTINCTIVE G IFTS
967-2919
w i &f i s ttfinTi 1
-yv;4JL
J n; .; A i X ,
Senior guard Ranzino Smith has
Virginia
depth," Holland said. "But right now,
we cant be projected as winning a
whole lot of games."
So look for Virginia to do well and
to maybe surprise a few superior
teams, but don't expect to look near
the top of the standings and see the
Wahoos.
B
WAHOO NOTES: Virginia has
led the ACC in technical fouls in five
of the last nine years . . . Cavalier
Standard
Single
Room
Luxury
Single
Room
x -".""I r plus .
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DTHDavkJ Minton
earned a reputation as an instant offense player, but must lead as well
Coach ferry Holland has the second
best career winning percentage
against ACC competition with :525
percent. Dean Smith leads with .737
percent ... Bill Batts' 66 percent field
goal accuracy was 13 percent better
than his free-throw average, at 53
percent.
Cavalier point guard John John
son is the leading scorer among
returning lead guards. Johnson
averaged 12.3 points-per-game last
Co) Co)
from page 11
season. ... Virginia is the ACC
leader in players from the Midwest,
with six. The rest of the league
combined only has six players from
that region . . . Prized recruit John
Crotty lists one of his hobbies as
"bikini watching."
Guard Darrick Simms got over 30
percent of his points last season from
the foul line. Only UNC's Steve
Bucknall received a bigger portion of
his point total from the charity stripe.
Research Triangle Park
NC 55 at 1-40
Call Toll Free (COO) 522-1803
Outside NC. dial (800) 872 1808
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--4-51
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