Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 6, 1991 TAG: 9104060129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I haven't made the offer at all," Braine said Friday when asked if Green was offered Tech's head coaching job while in Blacksburg. "At this particular stage, it has not been offered.
"I am not negotiating with anybody."
Green is considered the leading candidate in large part because of the attention Tech officials paid to him during the NCAA Tournament and because Green has told coaching friends of Tech's interest and of his interest in Tech.
Green did not return a phone message left for him Friday.
Word circulated in Tech's athletic offices that a new coach would be announced on Monday.
"We have nothing set up for Monday right now," Braine said. "I think that's a little unrealistic because things are just still going."
April 10 is the first day that recruits can sign national letters-of-intent, and the Hokies' recruiting stands to suffer the longer Tech goes without a head coach. A source familiar with the Hokies' search has said Tech wants to give thenew coach at least a fighting chance to recruit but doesn't want to scare off a coaching candidate with a stiff timetable.
Many coaches who know Green - including his boss, Roy Williams - have said there is no guarantee Green will take the job if it is offered. Reasons Green may turn it down, sources say, include his affinity for Kansas and friendship with Williams, the possibility that Tech's financial package won't measure up and the fact that Tech might not be able to pay assistant coaches what Green would like to pay them.
Braine hasn't stopped contacting potential candidates. Coastal Carolina coach Russ Bergman said Friday that Braine called him this week, but Bergman would not reveal the details of the conversation.
Bergman, 256-205 in 16 years at the Big South Conference school, said in March that he would be interested in the job. Those quotes were circulated by wire services; once that happened, Bergman said, he sent Tech his resume, and that sparked Tech's call.
"At this point they have not called me in for an interview," Bergman said. "Basically, it's a situation where I would love to have the job. But I really don't know what's going to happen."
The Hokies are interested in former Clemson and Miami of Florida coach Bill Foster, who said he is eager to coach again, but Foster has denied persistent rumors that he has interviewed for the job.
Tech officials have contacted alumnus John Wetzel, an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers, and are believed to have talked with Division II Virginia Union coach Dave Robbins.
Foster, Wetzel and Robbins did not return phone calls Friday.
Those names, however, apparently are backups in case Green stays at Kansas. The Tech situation was praised by at least one of Green's longtime coaching friends, North Carolina's top assistant, Bill Guthridge.
"Virginia Tech could be a good job, and I told him that," Guthridge said Friday. "There are a lot of good players in the Virginia area and the North Carolina area that I think would be interested in Virginia Tech."
Another of Green's good friends and a one-time Big South opponent, Campbell coach Billy Lee, said he talked with Green last week about the Tech opening.
"At the time I talked with him, I think he was very interested in it," Lee said.
by CNB