With the return and emergence of junior Majestic Mapp, Gillen essentially has three point guards at his disposal: Mapp, sophomore Keith Jenifer and junior Todd Billet.

Depth is often a good thing but at the point guard position specifically, it can be a little tricky. Not that the point is necessarily a one-man job but, as Gillen often notes, it's the one position on the court that most resembles that of a quarterback in football; it works best when one player sees the bulk of the time there.

There are several factors, however, that make Virginia's current point guard predicament anything but simple. One, is Mapp's physical condition. After returning from two seasons and four knee surgeries, it might not even be possible for Mapp to be that option as the full-time point guard. His 17 minutes against Wake Forest last Thursday was by far the most he's played since his return earlier this month and it's uncertain whether at this point he could even play as many as 30 or more minutes in a game. Uncertain that is to everyone except Mapp himself.

"I'm going to have to ice my knee every day for the rest of my life but my knee doesn't hurt. … Hopefully, I'll get a little further along each time," said Mapp, who said he has been practicing two-and-a-half hours for the past four or five weeks and has not experienced any setbacks.

Another factor is that Billet, though a point guard in his two seasons at Rutgers, seems more suited and more comfortable at the other guard position. That still leaves Jenifer as the only one of three that seems most capable at the moment of playing a full allotment of minutes at the point. Still, his minutes have fallen slightly since Mapp's return and during the Wake Forest game, Jenifer was visibly distraught by his time on the bench. It was something even commented on by the ESPN commentators broadcasting the game.

Such is the dilemma for Gillen.

"We have three guys that can play the point. We have Todd who can play the point as well as off the ball and he's the one guy that can play both positions. We have to go with our instincts and see what we need. Each of the three is a very good player and each brings something to the table," Gillen said. "It won't be easy because there are three of them. Sometimes, two will play together. We'll do the best we can and go with our gut feeling and see what happens."

Last season, with Mapp out for his second season and Billet having to sit out under transfer guidelines, Gillen was left with Roger Mason Jr. at the point or Jenifer. With Mason a natural shooting guard and Jenifer just a freshman, the Cavaliers actually had a dearth of experience at the point.

Clark's emergence. Sophomore forward Jason Clark made just his third start of the season against Wake Forest and produced 10 points in 22 minutes and also played solid defense on Wake's Josh Howard. At times, Gillen has called the 6-foot-8 Clark the team's most physically gifted and most talented player. Clark's ability to live up to such billing has been diverted by injuries and a work ethic that Gillen has questioned.

"He's had some tendinitis. He hasn't been 100 percent healthy but I think that he's feeling better now. He's a talented player and gives you a little bit of everything. He can rebound pretty well and plays pretty good defense and can score a little bit. … His athleticism certainly helps us," Gillen said. "He's working harder now. To be successful in any business, you have to do extra and he's doing some extra now. He's a laid-back guy and easy going and sometimes we have to push him a little. … He has to believe he can be that good."

Jekyll and Hyde. Entering tonight's game, Virginia is 8-0 at U-Hall but just 1-5 on the road. While the results don't show it, the Cavaliers have played better at times on the road in the past but still play like a different and better team in the confines of their homecourt. It's a somewhat perplexing situation for Gillen.

"I think we are playing better on the road but it's tough to win on the road. We have four new guys that have been to some of these places. Part of it is the newness of it. Some of our players haven't had the experience of playing on the road in the ACC. Teams are tough to beat. Everybody is tough to beat at their home venues," Gillen said. "We've played decently on the road but just not good enough to win. … I think it's true of most teams that they are certainly better at home."

After viewing tapes of Virginia, first-year Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton says there one thing that is obvious about Virginia when it plays at home as opposed to on the road.

"They play with a tremendous amount of energy at home. The also shoot the ball much better at home," Hamilton said.

Heading into last night's Wake Forest game at Clemson, visiting teams had lost 19 of 24 games in the ACC. Virginia, particularly tough at home over the past three seasons, can't afford to drop a game at University Hall.

Florida State has one of those rare five road wins, having knocked off Clemson, but not without controversy.

The Seminoles beat the Tigers at Littlejohn by a 60-59 count when referee Larry Rose called a foul on Clemson's Sharrod Ford at game's end. Clemson officials have asked the ACC office to review the disputed call. Rose's whistle blew after the buzzer sounded.

While the officiating crew reviewed the call at a TV monitor at the scorer's table, they put four-tenths of a second back on the clock and gave FSU's Anthony Richardson two foul shots. Richardson sank the two shots to win the game.

Clemson is disputing that the game was over because the whistle's timing mechanism did not stop the clock before the buzzer. Tigers' coach Larry Shyatt said that both the buzzer and the light beat the whistle, so the game should have been over.

"Therefore we own that victory, we just don't show it," said Shyatt.

Clemson said it wants the situation reviewed before a similar incident costs someone a game in postseason play.

Stay tuned.

Noles bring defense

Maybe Virginia's players ought to take notes tonight on how the Seminoles play tenacious defense, something that new FSU coach Leonard Hamilton demands of his team.

"That's going to be our niche," said junior forward Michael Joiner of the emphasis on defense.

Hamilton carved out a reputation as a defensive wizard his last four years at Miami, where the Hurricanes were nationally ranked in field goal percentage defense. They were No. 1 nationally in 1997-98 (37.9 percent).

The Seminoles come to town having held 10 of their last 17 foes to less than 40 percent shooting from the field and ranked second in the ACC with a 38.2 field goal percentage defense mark. They were ranked first in the nation in that department in mid-December and were fourth nationally last week.

Hamilton is an interesting addition to the ACC coaching roster. Having rebuilt programs at Oklahoma State and Miami, he coached the NBA's Washington Wizards for a year, then sat out a year before taking the FSU challenge.

He doesn't buy the fact that FSU is a football school and so basketball can't be successful there. A top-notch recruiter, Hamilton is a tireless worker. He basically gets by on four hours sleep each night and has three cell phones, sometimes using them all at once.

Battle for No. 1

When N.C. State plays at Maryland on Thursday, first

place in the ACC will be on the line, but it will also mark the return of Julius Hodge. The Terps won an 89-73 decision at Cole Field House last year where Hodge and Terps point guard Steve Blake mixed it up last season.

Hodge hit Blake in the back of the head with an elbow when he and Blake fought for a rebound late in the game. Blake called Hodge a punk after the game and the ACC agreed, suspending Hodge for a game.

Asked about the incident with Blake this week, Hodge developed a case of ACC amnesia.

"Who?" said Hodge with a smile. "I don't know what incident y'all are talking about. Everyone's talking about the Steve Blake incident. I don't know what that is. I know Maryland is a good team. They have a very good point guard. I think Blake is his name."

Magnificent Seven. N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato said he expects to sign at least 29 recruits next week and possibly as many as 31 in what will likely be a national top 10 class.

Amato enrolled seven major prospects at the midseason semester break, a growing trend in college football, although longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said he couldn't recall any school getting as many as seven in at mid-year.

Around Raleigh, they're calling them the "Magnificent Seven."

It's a smart strategy if a coach can pull it off because he doesn't have to worry about last-second decommitments and has them acclimated to college life by the time spring practice rolls around.

Two of the seven signed last year but missed qualifying academically, each passing up prep school and junior college but kept attempting to gain their test scores and eventually did. Another, Kennie Covington, signed with N.C. State two years ago and enrolled in junior college and has now rejoined the Wolfpack.

Free throws … What was Duke freshman Shavlik Randolph's impression of playing at Maryland's new Comcast Center for the first time: "You have 18,000 people who hate you, who want to see you fail." … Now, that's a strong first impression. …

In the Shutout Department: Clemson forward Ray Henderson failed to score against Florida State or Maryland (didn't even take a shot against FSU), and UNC post man Byron Sanders, played 35 minutes against Uconn and 32 against Maryland without getting a single rebound. Yikes. …

After getting some irate phone calls to his radio show a week ago, N.C. State coach Herb Sendek got back into the good graces with back-to-back wins over Duke and North Carolina. Asked about the criticism, Sendek said, "I heard a great line and I believe it's true: 'We see other people and things not as they are but as we are.' I try to keep that in mind." Huh? …

Maryland will honor Coach Lefty Driesell at halftime of Thursday night's game. "The Hander" will be presented with a commemorative ball in honor of his contributions at Maryland and college hoops. …

Clemson's last four games have been decided by a total of nine points. …

Duke's J.J. Redick, who said he once made 107 straight free throws in his back yard down in Roanoke, has made a school-record 40 in a row and counting. …

UVa's basketball schedule is currently rated as the 27th toughest in the nation. …

Cavalier Jason Clark has made 32 of his last 45 field goal attempts (71.1 percent).

But the most impressive thing Saunders has seen out of his 6-foot-6 high school all-American candidate hasn't had anything to do with shooting the ball.

"Becoming a leader, that's the most impressive thing I've seen from Gary," said the coach at Brooklyn's (N.Y.) Benjamin Banneker High School. "He has rallied the guys behind him and our young players respond to him."

What an interesting thing for Saunders to say Saturday afternoon after his team dropped a 67-61 decision to a very underrated Blue Ridge School at University Hall. It was the Brooklyn school's fifth loss in 25 games this season.

Forbes was the draw to U-Hall. The swingman signed with Virginia last November along with J.R. Reynolds of Oak Hill Academy. Reynolds came to U-Hall to battle the Barons last season. This was Forbes' turn to impress.

He didn't disappoint.

Sweet skills

Forbes doesn't run the floor. He glides. He's not just a scorer. He's a shooter. His range drifts out to the NBA line.

Give him an inch and he'll kill ya. With a quick release, he gets up on his jumper and is lethal. He works hard to get the ball and moves well off the dribble.

After his junior year, Saunders told him he needed to improve his ballhandling and that's exactly what Forbes did during his offseason.

Best of all, he has the Shooter's Mentality, kind of like former Cavalier Richard Morgan and former N.C. State player Rodney Monroe. They never met a shot they didn't like. So what if it doesn't go in. It will next time.

With Virginia coach Pete Gillen and his staff looking on, Forbes must have felt like Davy Crockett at the Alamo on Saturday. On a bad ankle, he scored 32 of his team's 61 points against a more balanced Blue Ridge team. Six of his makes were from bonusphere.

Gillen must have been frothing at the mouth in anticipation to adding Forbes to his lineup.

"If I was 100 percent healthy, I could have played better," said Forbes, almost apologetically.

Eye-opening numbers

In 25 games, he has averaged 30 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. With Banneker's regular season over, Forbes will have two weeks to rest his wheels before the New York City playoffs begin.

Unlike some UVa recruits who have frozen on the University Hall stage in past matchups with Blue Ridge, Forbes didn't flinch.

"I really like this gym," he said of the aging arena, smallest in the ACC. "I like playing in front of hostile crowds, too. Gives me an adreneline rush."

It was a rather smallish

crowd that included a few hundred Blue Ridge fans. As one observer noted, "What is this, everyone in here is rooting for Blue Ridge and for every shot that No. 23 takes?"

That was a correct observation.

No. 23, of course, was Forbes. If he got an adreneline rush out of Saturday's "hostile" crowd, he may overdose on adreneline when he goes to Duke and Maryland next season.

But he's anxious to find out just what it's liked to be harrassed by Cameron's Crazies.

"Virginia's a pretty young team, so I think I can help next season," said Forbes. "I think I can fit in right away."

With that kind of a shooting stroke, brother, you can fit in anywhere you want.

Saunders is all smiles when he talks about his sharp-shooting guard.

"He learns and applies," said the coach. "He's grown a lot from age 15 to 17. Not so much physically, but mentally. Faster than most kids. He's always determined. His goal was to play in the ACC and he is going to live that dream."

Forbes has impressed his coach by the fact that he stays after practice and shoots between 400 and 500 extra shots with point guard Andrew Walker. The leadership, the work ethic has rubbed off on at least one other player. Saunders is hoping that becomes contagious. If Forbes has anything to do with it, it will.

"Last year he impressed me as a scorer," said the coach. "This year, he has impressed me most with his leadership. He called me every day during the summer and now, he calls me every night at home to discuss everything about the team."

Such an attitude means just as much to a coach as when Forbes lit up Cardosa out of Queens last season for 38 points (the 8-of-12 performance from 3-point range). His career high came last year, 45 points. This year, his best has been 41 thus far.

That's mad game.

The 32 on Saturday even featured something that opened Saunders' eyes.

"Honestly, today is the first time I've seen him stroke it like that against a bigger team on a major court," said Saunders. "In New York, he's usually shooting over guys who are under 6-feet."

That's why most of Banneker's opponents are six feet under.