Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 8, 1993 TAG: 9304080074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MANNS READY TO RUN WITH WESTHEAD
Troy Manns did not place much stock in the early reports that Paul Westhead, former coach of three National Basketball Association teams, was interested in the vacancy at George Mason."I laughed," said Manns, a former All-Group AAA guard at Patrick Henry in Roanoke. "I couldn't figure out why he would want to come here.
"I didn't think there was any way they could hire him. I mean, we were 7-21 and he was in the NBA."
But on Monday, George Mason did hire Westhead, whose background includes a five-year stint at Loyola Marymount, where his 1990 team averaged 122.4 points, the Division I record.
"We've just been getting tidbits so far," said Manns, a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association freshman selection. "You think of Loyola Marymount and you think, `Run, shoot, press.' And, wasn't there some game with U.S. International?"
In 1989, Loyola Marymount beat U.S. International 181-150 in a game that set the Division I record for points by a team and by two teams. Loyola Marymount has the top four scoring totals in Division I history, three while Westhead was coach.
The selection of Westhead helps ease some of the disappointment Manns experienced with the ouster of previous coach Ernie Nestor, who had 7-21 records in each of his last two seasons.
"He gave me the chance to play Division I basketball; then, he gave me the chance to run the team," said Manns, who led the Patriots in assists (122) and was their second-leading scorer (11.3).
Manns scored in double figures in each of George Mason's last 10 games, including a season-high 24 in the Patriots' 60-49 loss to James Madison in the first round of the tournament.
"I always felt I could hit the open shot," Manns said, "but I didn't know I could score like that, taking guys one-on-one to the basket. I still don't think I've shown people the way I can pass the ball, though."
When it appeared likely that Nestor would leave, there were rumors that Manns might transfer - unfounded rumors, it turns out.
"My mom heard them and I heard them when I came home," he said. "Maybe that was because we were losing so much, but there weren't any rumors up [in Fairfax]."
\ FOSTER SLIGHTED: Clemson basketball coach Cliff Ellis, who recently proclaimed, "I am Clemson basketball," may owe an apology to Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster, who was his predecessor in Tigertown. Or maybe the media who quoted him does.
Ellis was correct when he said that no men's basketball coach had been at Clemson for more than 10 years. But he was wrong when he said, "They've all been fired or had to leave." Foster had a four-year rollover contract when he resigned after the 1984 season.
Although Ellis recently broke Foster's record for wins as a Clemson coach, Foster has a slightly higher winning percentage for nine seasons than Ellis. Foster was 156-106 (.595) and Ellis is 161-113 (.586).
\ COACHING RUMORS: Davidson athletic director Terry Holland, who has been out of coaching for three years, has been mentioned in connection with the vacancy at Vanderbilt. Holland, who coached at Virginia from 1974-90, is on the NCAA Basketball Committee with Roy Kramer, who is commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and a former Vanderbilt athletic director.
\ UVA BASKETBALL: A growing number of recruiting analysts believe Virginia has taken the lead with second-team Parade All-American Jason Lawson, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound center from Olney High in Philadelphia. The top competition is from Villanova, although Georgia Tech is not out of the picture.
Michael Evans, last year's Group AAA state player of the year, has decided to leave Okaloosa-Walton Junior College after one year and transfer to a Division I program. UVa is said to be at the top of Evans' list, but he has not been presented to the admissions office. Evans must sit out the 1993-94 wherever he goes.
One-time UVa target Jiri Formanek, from the former Czechoslovakia who played the past two years at Reynolds High in Winston-Salem, N.C., made an oral commitment to Vanderbilt before coach Eddie Fogler went to South Carolina. Virginia, awaiting word on Lawson, held back on the 6-11 Formanek, who now is being recruited by South Carolina.
\ WOMEN'S HOOPS: The city of Richmond, which will serve as host for next year's Women's Final Four, took another step to the forefront of women's basketball with the announcement that the Central Fidelity Women's Invitational Tournament will be held there.
The tournament, to be hosted by the University of Richmond, has a 1993 field that includes perennial powers Southern California, Maryland and Texas. Richmond will be joined in the 1994 field by Tennessee, Iowa and Virginia.
Former Virginia Tech star Missy Sallade, in her third year on the staff at Virginia Commonwealth, has been named graduate student of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. Sallade was a two-time second-team All-Metro selection at Tech, where her teammates included VCU head coach Susan Walvius.