Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 28, 1991 TAG: 9103280273
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Purnell, who led Radford University to a 22-7 record and a conference runner-up finish this past season, was introduced as the new basketball coach at Old Dominion, his alma mater.
"I cannot express the level of happiness I'm experiencing right now," said Purnell, a former ODU player and assistant coach.
"I'd like to thank God and my family . . . for making this moment possible. I think I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world. Not only am I coaching basketball, which is obviously a passion of mine, I'm doing it at home."
Purnell, a 1975 ODU graduate, was introduced at a press conference scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ODU athletic director Jim Jarrett, however, did not show up until 4:37 p.m., having been delayed by his phone call to another former Monarch and coaching applicant, Dave Twardzik, informing him that Purnell had the job.
Twardzik, the director of scouting for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, was widely considered the front-runner right up until the announcement of Purnell's hiring.
In making Purnell the Monarchs' 10th coach in 61 years, Jarrett ended a search that began March 7 when Tom Young was fired after six seasons.
Radford University athletic director Chuck Taylor apparently was prepared to accept the news that Purnell was departing.
"I got a lot more phone calls saying that this would happen than it wouldn't," he said. "When Oliver called me Wednesday afternoon, I wasn't surprised."
Taylor said his first order of business was to discuss Radford's search for a new coach with university president Donald Dedmon. The president, who was known to have been informed of Purnell's decision Wednesday, was out of town on business and could not be reached.
Taylor expected to speak with him today. Among the anticipated topics was a timetable for hiring the new coach and the mechanics of the search itself.
When Purnell was hired three years ago, Radford employed a search committee. But Taylor said that until he spoke with Dedmon, any speculation on that issue was premature.
Purnell's departure was greeted with dismay by sophomore guard Doug Day, the team's leading scorer.
"You're kidding, right?" Day said. "Good grief. This is a real shock to me. I kind of wish I'd heard it from him first."
Day, who won the Big South scoring title with 20.4 points per game, said that he and his fellow players had little indication that Purnell was a leading contender for the job.
"All we knew was what we read in the papers," Day said. "It didn't sound as though he was the leading candidate, so I never gave it any serious thought.
"As you can probably tell, this is going to be a big loss. We had a great turnaround this year and I attribute a lot of that to him."
Radford went from 7-22 in 1989-90 to 22-7, the largest turnaround in the NCAA this season.
Early indications were that the Radford opening would attract substantial inquiries.
Among those who expressed interest were University of Virginia assistant Tom Perrin, Virginia Tech assistant Jim Baker, Davidson aides Matt Doherty and Don Hogan, Winthrop assistant Bobby Stevens, Wichita State assistant Tom McCorry, and James Madison assistant Bart Bellairs.
Jerry Wainwright, a Wake Forest assistant who was a finalist for the Radford job along with Purnell, was en route to Indianapolis for the Final Four and could not be reached. That was also true of Virginia Commonwealth assistant Eddie Webb, who had also been involved in Radford's search three years ago.
Purnell's assistants, Ron Bradley and Frank Smith, were also in Indianapolis and unavailable.
"When I talked to Oliver at 4 p.m. this [Wednesday] afternoon he told me that he had not talked to Ron and Frank yet and that he intended to when he got to Indianapolis," Taylor said.
Bradley, 38, is a former Maryland assistant and head coach at Eastern Nazarene, an NAIA school in Massachusetts. Smith played for and worked at Old Dominion, where he graduated in 1988.
Both Bradley and Smith were hired at Radford before the 1990-91 season.
Purnell has said he considers Bradley a strong candidate to succeed him. That view was shared by Day.
"Coach Bradley might get the job and I think that would help us a lot more than hiring a new coach [from outside]," Day said. "I think Coach Bradley is very capable of being the head coach."
At least five candidates were interviewed at ODU, but according to school president James V. Koch, who introduced Purnell at Thursday's press conference, Purnell "was our first choice. He was the only person offered the job."
Some information for this story was supplied by Landmark News Service.
by CNB