Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 11, 1990 TAG: 9004110041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Erik Wilson, a 7-foot, 210-pounder from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, said Tuesday that he expects to commit to either Tech or Middle Tennessee State today, the first day recruits are allowed to sign national letters-of-intent in basketball.
"It looks like I may end up there next year," Wilson said of Tech, but he cautioned that he still was considering an offer from Middle Tennessee, which is in the Ohio Valley Conference. "I'm thinking about it very heavily [Tuesday night]. I should know sometime [today]."
Tech coach Frankie Allen and assistant Tic Price, who was Tech's front man with Wilson, traveled to Hutchinson on Tuesday with hopes of signing Wilson today. Tech has two scholarships to give, and Allen has said he will use them only if he can sign a player who can contribute immediately.
Wilson, who visited Tech, MTSU and Toledo, said he may cancel scheduled visits to Washington State and Texas A&M.
Wilson, a native of Detroit, signed with Minnesota out of high school but was redshirted as a freshman so he could gain weight. He transferred to Hutchinson and played one year, averaging 5.6 points and four rebounds per game for a 29-5 team.
Tech went 13-18 last season and needed an inside player who could score. The Hokies did not have a double-figures scorer other than former U.S. Olympian Bimbo Coles, and the team's second-leading scorer, Dirk Williams, is a 6-4 forward. The Hokies' starting frontcourt combined to score about 21 points per game.
Although Wilson's statistics were meager, he made 57 percent of his shots from the field and is reported to be skilled offensively.
"I think it's most important to be needed," Wilson said of Tech's inside weaknesses. "It gives you added incentive to want to go to a school."
If Wilson signs with Tech, it is unlikely he will wind up playing center. Wilson said when he left high school, he weighed about 185 pounds. In the past three years, he has added 25 pounds, which has given him a physique similar to that of former Hokie Roy Brow, who was the same height and weight.
"I'd be a forward, playing power forward," Wilson said when asked what Tech's coaches had told him. "I can get some things done in the post, but I'd be more effective as a forward."
by CNB