Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 12, 1990 TAG: 9004120150
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Would he end up playing basketball for one coach, or two?
Because Tech didn't exercise its option to add a year to coach Frankie Allen's contract and because the Hokies are coming off back-to-back losing seasons, Wilson wondered whether another poor season in Blacksburg might be Allen's last.
Wilson said he, Allen and Tech assistant Tic Price discussed Allen's situation several times while Wilson was being recruited.
"I definitely thought about it," said Wilson, who signed a letter of intent with Tech on Wednesday. "I'm going there and I want him to be my coach for two years. [But] I plan for him to be there. . . . I feel I can make a difference."
Neither Allen nor Price could be reached for comment. The signing of Wilson gives Tech three newcomers for next year, including 6-2 guards Jay Purcell and Don Corker. Tech has one scholarship open.
On Tuesday, Wilson said he was considering Middle Tennessee State mainly because of that program's recent success. Since 1985, the Blue Raiders have reached the NCAA Tournament three times and the NIT twice. The Hokies, conversely, last played in the postseason in 1986. Wilson, though, said he was not worried about Tech's recent troubles.
"It motivates you," he said. "When junior-college players come out, a lot of them want to go to places where it's a big-name school or [they have] a great record, great tradition and all that. It pushes me to work harder when it's not like that."
After a two-year layoff from game competition, Wilson averaged 5.6 points and four rebounds in a mostly reserve role for Hutchinson, which finished last season 29-5. He had visited Middle Tennessee State and Toledo and was scheduled to visit Washington State and Texas A&M. Wilson, from Henry Ford High School in Detroit, said he visited Minnesota, Iowa, Temple and Detroit as a high school senior before signing with the Golden Gophers.
As a 185-pounder at Minnesota, he was redshirted so he could put on weight. He transferred to Hutchinson at midsemester of his second year, then played one season for Hutchinson. Since high school, he has put on 25 pounds and now is the same height and weight as former Hokie Roy Brow. He said Tech's coaches want him to get bigger.
"I want to do that anyway," he said, adding that he thinks he can carry about 225 pounds.
At Hutchinson, Wilson backed up 6-foot-10, 240-pound center David Johanning, who reportedly is leaning toward signing with Kansas. Although Wilson's statistics were meager, he made 57 percent of his shots from the field.
At Tech, he will be expected to bolster a frontcourt that lacked scoring punch last year. 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. Wilson probably will play power forward for Tech.
by CNB