Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 29, 1993 TAG: 9301290039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
UVA LOSES RUNNING BACK PROSPECT
Freshman running back Lamonte Still, considered one of the top signees in Virginia's 1992 football recruiting class, has been placed on academic suspension by the school."He's looking at several alternatives, but nothing has developed," said Jim Prince, who was Still's coach at Cox High School in Virginia Beach. "He's capable of returning if he sits for a year."
Still was enrolled in UVa's Transition Program, which waives some academic rules for as long as two years. However, participants are required to attend summer school before their first year and follow a curriculum more regimented than the norm.
"We believe it may well take up to two years for a transition student to make the adjustment," said assistant dean Phyllis Leffler, who oversees the program, "but we make very clear there is a reciprocal agreement involved.
"We have suspended transition students before two years were up."
Sources indicated that Still was the first UVa student-athlete to be suspended after one semester in the Transition Program.
"I would say it's highly unusual," Leffler said. "I can't remember it happening before. But it happened with more than one student this semester. Grades are not the only factor. It's a combination of attitudes, grades and personal evaluation.
"It was a very, very painful decision that was not entered into lightly."
Leffler said Still may appeal the suspension after the spring semester, although athletic department sources said it is unclear whether he would have the credit hours to play football next fall.
Still, who could not be reached for comment, returned to Charlottesville earlier this month in hopes that a preliminary appeal would be accepted. It was not.
"Lamonte's not a real emotional kid," Prince said. "He'll land on his feet. The bottom line is, he didn't do what he was supposed to do. The help was there. When I talked to him before exams, he felt everything was going to be all right.
"The mistake I made was listening to Lamonte when he said all of his problems had been righted. He wouldn't tell me how bad the situation was."
Still, who was redshirted this fall, was rated the No. 1 prospect in the state by SuperPrep magazine after rushing for 2,036 yards and 23 touchdowns in 1991. He holds the career rushing record in the Tidewater area with 3,913 yards.
"I thought Virginia was a great place for him," Prince said. "I would have liked for him to have a chance to work his way through his problems, but the football people have been great about it."
Still is the second breakaway threat who the Cavaliers have lost to academics since last summer. Wide receiver Larry Holmes, who led the ACC in touchdown receptions in 1991, missed the 1992 season and is awaiting an appeal to the NCAA on his eligibility for next season.
The school has indicated that Holmes may return in the summer; however, new NCAA legislation requires that no more than 25 percent of a student-athlete's credits may be earned in summer school.
Leffler said developments with Still did not reflect an academic crackdown, "but there's got to be some performance," she elaborated. "I know it's hard to explain why this is in the student's best interest, but the worst thing is to stick around and develop a bad record.
"Sometimes it's best for the individual to try again later."