Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993 TAG: 9312020073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Patriots had only seven of the double-figure scorers, but three of the Patriots had 12 or more rebounds, including Khyl Horton with 18. Kenwan Alford had 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead George Mason, which scored over 80 points in three of 28 games last season.
Troy State, which scored more than 100 points in its first 15 games last season, was a perfect foe for George Mason in Westhead's debut. Troy State, coming off a 27-5 season, was 12-of-52 on 3-pointers and had only 18 turnovers, compared to 30 for George Mason.
Perhaps the most unusual line belonged to Patriots freshman Riley Trone, who was 6-for-23 overall, 3-for-20 on 3-pointers. Trone, from Woodson High in Fairfax, was discovered by Westhead last summer in a camp at Hargrave Military Academy.
\ WAKE TRIALS: Wake Forest freshman Ricardo Peral traveled all the way to Alaska before the Deacons were alerted by the NCAA that unsolicited material had arrived from his club team in Spain and that it might be advisable for Peral not to play.
The school earlier had ruled Peral and fellow freshman Makhtar Ndiaye ineligible, but Peral had been approved to play. Ndiaye, whose recruiting was the subject of a Wake report to the NCAA, did not go to Alaska and may consider other options if he is not ruled eligible by the end of the semester.
\ MORE HOOPS: Georgia Tech, which has gotten a surprisingly strong challenge from Virginia for uncommitted Mike Maddox, wrapped up the early signing period by corralling unheralded Julian "Bucky" Hodge, a 6-foot-9 post player who averaged 13.5 points and nine rebounds last year for Lake Wales, Fla., High School.
Eddie Geth, a 6-9 sophomore from Norfolk, is the second North Carolina player to agree to sit out the 1993-94 season as a redshirt. Earlier, senior Pat Sullivan elected to come back next year as a graduate student.
\ EX-HEEL ROLLING: Former North Carolina big man Tommy LaGarde, who played in the National Basketball Association for several years, has started the National Inline Basketball League. LaGarde, a bond trader in New York, invented the game, which is a combination of basketball and roller skating.
"Most people are very skeptical about basketball on skates," LaGarde, 38, said. "They look at me and ask me what kind of insurance I have. You really have to know how to skate to play this game. It's great for women because the emphasis is more on finesse and not on power or jumping."
\ COACHING HOTLINE: Virginia offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien is among those who have been interviewed by Duke for its football coaching vacancy. Blue Devils' athletic director Tom Butters met Sunday with Steve Wilson, a Durham, N.C., native who directed Howard to an 11-0 record in the regular season.
Clemson next season will be paying the coach with the No. 1 winning percentage in ACC history (Danny Ford), the coach with the No. 3 winning percentage (Ken Hatfield) and a guy who was 4-7 this past season at Tennessee-Chattanooga (ex-Ford aide Tommy West).
South Carolina, which fired coach Sparky Woods this week, shouldn't get too excited about Gamecock alumnus Dick Sheridan. Sheridan reportedly is being treated for the physical condition that caused him to resign suddenly as North Carolina State coach and would be unable to coach next season.
\ IN THE ACC: North Carolina freshman Leon Johnson, in rushing for 142 yards against Duke, joined with sophomore Curtis Johnson to become the fourth set of Tar Heels running backs to rush for 1,000 yards each in the same season. No other team has performed the feat once.
Maryland quarterback Scott Milanovich, who set an ACC record with 26 touchdown passes, held the record for one week before it was broken by Florida State's Charlie Ward, who had 27. Ward's record merits an asterisk because Florida State played 12 regular-season games, as did North Carolina.
Wake Forest had gone 13 seasons without a 1,000-yard rusher before John Leach ended the drought. Leach went into the final game with 760 yards, but rushed for an ACC-record 329 yards against Maryland and comfortably made 1,000. Leach set another ACC record with 410 all-purpose yards in the Deacs' 33-2 loss.
\ IN THE BIG EAST: West Virginia coach Don Nehlen has spent considerable energy campaigning for the No. 1 or 2 ranking and a spot versus Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, but his players would be satisfied to meet Notre Dame, another matchup that won't happen.
"Ideally, we should play Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl," said West Virginia linebacker Wes Richardson, who must be aware that the Southeastern Conference champion serves as Sugar Bowl host. "Since the bowl coalition doesn't allow that, obviously the whole system is screwed up."
It appears likely that Virginia Tech will have the crowd in its favor at the Independence Bowl. Indiana ranked 10th in the Big Ten (actually 11) this year in average attendance with 36,546 and is not known to "travel well."
\ STALEY STALKED: Don Staley, who has coached the men's and women's soccer programs at Radford since 1986, has interviewed or will interview for women's vacancies at Auburn and Alabama. Staley directed the Lady Highlanders to a 15-3-2 record this past season and has a nine-year mark of 104-64-9.
Robin McLaughlin, a senior forward on Roanoke College's women's soccer team, was named second-team All-South Region. McLaughlin, a two-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection, finished her career as the Maroons' all-time leader in goals and points.
by CNB