Jeff Jones and Ricky Stokes were key cogs in some tremendous battles with Dean Smith’s North Carolina teams during their Virginia careers, back when almost every night in the ACC was a true basketball war.
“Carolina and ourselves, we weren’t just No. 1 and No. 2 in the ACC,” said Jones. “For a lot of the time, we were one and two in the country, as if it wasn’t a big rivalry already.”
Jones and Stokes, both point guards on some of the late Terry Holland’s greatest teams, reminisced about those giant games with the Tar Heels, along with numerous topics concerning Virginia basketball during an hour-long “The Hootie & JJ Show” this week.
The two talk about each other’s games, who was the biggest trash talker, the “Game of the Century” with Ralph vs. Patrick Ewing, the following trip to Tokyo to face Phi Slama Jama, the shocking upset at Chaminade, who was their toughest matchup while playing college ball and so much more. You can listen to it here or, now that we’re on YouTube, watch it here.
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“There were some great games, and I still say the game, the slowdown game in 1982 in the ACC Championship, number one and number two in the country, was the highest-level game,” Jones said.
That game eventually led to the 3-point shot and a shot clock in college basketball.
During the show, Stokes brought out a colorful orange and blue basketball, we assume the game ball from Virginia’s great comeback game from 16 points down at Carolina’s Carmichael Auditorium in 1981.
“Funny you mentioned that game,” Stokes said. “My daughter found this somewhere.”
Stokes, who had two giant steals in that 80-79 overtime win by the Cavaliers, explained that when University Hall was demolitioned a few years ago, his daughter, then a manager for UVA hoops, found the ball and gave it to him as a Christmas present, one hell of a keepsake.
Stokes talked about how Wahoo fans drove to the Charlottesville airport that night to greet the players when they came off the plane.
“No security back in those days, so all the fans were all out on the tarmac to greet us,” Stokes said.
If you enjoyed Virginia and ACC basketball during those 1970s-1980s glory days, you’ll love listening to this podcast.
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