18Basketball '89The Daily Tar HeelFriday; November 17, 1989
t i -
Fox steps out of shadows into the limelight
I
By JAMIE ROSENBERG
Assistant Sports Editor
There's a certain someone among
this year's high-powered UNC hoop
sters who may soon make the names
J.R. Reid, Steve .Bucknall and Jeff
Lebo only vaguely familiar.
Even the most devout Tar Heel
basketball fan may find himself say
ing to his neighbor, "Reid, Lebo and
Bucknall... Those guys used to play
for us, didn't they?"
Yes, there is one walking the
crooked brick paths of this campus
who, if he is able finally to master
his 6-foot-7, 231 -pound frame, can
make coach Dean Smith and the rest
of the North Carolina basketball
community less concerned w;th what
they lost and more grateful for what
they didn't.
His name? Why, rich H. Fox,
of course better known as Rick to
most and as the "Bahama Mama" to
his staunchest admirers.
While adjusting to life without
: three of last year's big guns will no
doubt be a group effort, what makes
Fox such a valuable commodity is
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, 4
Rick Fox
his ability to take up at least some of
the slack for all of them. He can re
bound and drive to the hoop as Reid
did; he can shoot from the outside as
Lebo did; and he can take on and
shut down an opponent's top scorer
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as Bucknall did.
It remains to be seen, however, if
Fox can put together on a consistent
basis these attributes and become the
veritable Renaissance man he has been
lauded as. Fox's talent is unquestion
able, but developing it has been the
biggest problem during his freshman
and sophomore years.
He showed flashes of brilliance
last year with a soft shooting touch,
smooth moves and stifling pressure
defense en route to an 11.4 points
per game average, a .583 shooting
percentage and a team-high 47 steals.
His best effort 24 points, four steals'
and three blocked shots against Mis
souri in the final game of the Tour
nament of Champions in Charlotte
earned him tournament MVP
honors and had onlookers abuzz over
his rising stardom.
But then there were the 88 turn
overs (second only to Bucknall's 100
in 200 fewer minutes), 122 personal
fouls (tops in the entire ACQ and
eight disqualifications (again, the most
in the conference). That put an end
to the anticipation, at least for a while.
"Last year was a growing proc
ess," Fox said. "I think I showed that
I was capable of being a threat at
times, but then sometimes I would
try to do too much at the wrong time,
and it would bounce back on me and
create a problem.
"It's about time to break through
and do things on a consistent basis."
Though his size enables Fox to
play inside or outside, Smith plans to
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With confidence in his jumper, Rick Fox hopes to conquer new
He's really what I call a wing
have him mostly on the perimeter,
where his shooting and defensive
skills are most valuable.
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"FIRST IN JHE TRIANGLEF ' r' '
player more than a post player," Smith
said. "We'll post him up some, but I
think more in terms of position de
fensively, and Rick can cover out
side defensively."
If there are shoes that Fox specifi
cally wants to fill this year and
those of you who saw his 35-point
outpouring in the Blue-White game
may have trouble believing this
they are those of Bucknall, known
last year more for his defense than
anything else. At the same time,
however, Fox wants to increase his
contribution on the offensive end as
Bucknall did in his senior year.
"I see myself as taking Buck's
spot, and I'm going to find myself
matched up with a lot more offensive-minded
people this year," he said.
"But I also need to have the confi
dence he did as a scorer his senior
year and not let offense take a back
seat to defense."
Fox also needs to keep his hands
to himself a little more often. His
122 personal fouls last year equals
the highest ACC total in the last five
years.
It seems, though, that everyone
wants a piece of the Rick. Center
Scott Williams expects to have his
help on the boards and yet have him
shooting the jumper to make room
for UNC's inside game.
"I think he's going to have to look
to rebound more for us, and he's going
to have to shoot the outside shot and
really open things up for Pete
(Chilcutt) and Kevin (Madden) in
side." Defense. Scoring. Rebounding.
That's a tall order, maybe too tall
even for Fox. But maybe not.
"Being a junior you feel a lot more
responsibility," he said. "You feel like
you have to do more, but at the same
lime what I've been having to realize
is that it's not an individual, game,,
and I'm not supposed' to take up' all
the slack for everyone that left" -