Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 17, 1993 TAG: 9306170042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I think Gar-Field is one of the top five or six jobs in the state," Fleming head coach Burrall Paye said. "Andy will be a super, super coach. He has a great mind and is capable of handling the kids very well."
Gray's hiring is further evidence that Paye is perhaps the best in the state at producing head coaches.
Gray is the fifth assistant coach under Paye who has landed a prominent job as a head coach.
Barry Hamler is coach at Booker T. Washington, considered the state's top Group AAA school for boys' basketball. Hamler was Fleming's top assistant before moving to Norfolk, and Gray succeeded him in that position.
Jerry Myers coaches at Lee, a Group AA school in far southwest; and Dave Bentley, who took Carroll County to a Group AA state tournament, is now turning out Group A powerhouses at J.J. Kelly in Wise.
In addition, Len Mosser assisted Paye and then was head coach at Salem and Cave Spring.
Two of Paye's former players also have joined the coaching ranks this spring. Damon Williams is the new head coach at Rockbridge County, and his twin brother, Ramon, has been hired as an assistant at VMI.
Paye's son, Pat, who was at Virginia High School in Bristol and William Byrd as an assistant, might be the No. 1 candidate to become head coach at Appomattox. Next up might be former Virginia Tech star Marshall Ashford, who is likely to move into Gray's position.
Gray played at William Byrd in Vinton and then went to Hampden-Sydney, where he also was an assistant coach for a year. He was one of 29 applicants for the Gar-Field job. The new coach was picked by a committee that included three Gar-Field staff members and two parents of basketball players.
"We had 10 people [on our coaching list] who were head coaches at Group AAA or above," said Gar-Field principal Andrew Dallek.
Gray and Paye may become opponents in the near future. Gar-Field and Fleming are perennial Northwestern Region participants and have met three times since 1985 with a berth in the Group AAA state tournament on the line.
\ MORE COACHING NEWS: John Bowler has stepped down after two years as Pulaski County's baseball coach. He had worked with the program for a total of eight years as either an assistant or head coach.
"We just had a baby girl and I decided I want to spend time with my family," said Bowler, who compiled a 14-25 record as head coach. . . .
First, Ray Davidson gave up coaching boys' basketball at Jefferson Forest. Then he gave up softball. Now he's stepped down as girls' basketball coach, turning over that job to Becky Hensley, a former Liberty High School basketball player. Hensley was a junior varsity coach at Staunton River last season. . . .
Eddie Carter, the boys' basketball coach at Staunton River, appears to be the leading candidate to become head coach at Amherst County. However, a lengthy delay in the selection process might indicate that support for the long-time coach has eroded. The Lancers plan to name their coach tonight.
\ FLYING HIGH: Gina Hilger, the former Timesland girls' athlete of the year from Lord Botetourt, just graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with the highest standing in her class.
by CNB