Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993 TAG: 9306090350
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Columnist Bob Keisser of the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram did the rankings in conjunction with The Sporting News staff, which ranked Tech's Tyronne Drakeford fourth among cornerbacks and UVa's Aaron Mundy sixth among tight ends.
"Things have really turned around for me," said Pyne, the second-team All-Big East center behind Mike Compton of West Virginia. "I kind of had a feeling something like this might happen because all the top-rated centers last year were seniors."
Dixon was a second-team All-ACC choice, although coach George Welsh said after the season that he had not seen a better guard in the conference.
"To be honest with you, last year I expected to be All-ACC," Dixon said. "I tried not to get my hopes up, but I was crushed - well, maybe not crushed, but at least very disappointed - when I didn't get it.
"I don't know what more I could have done. We don't keep stats here for our offensive linemen, only grades. I tried to keep my own knockdown blocks, but I got tired of it after awhile."
One of Pyne's stats is particularly hard to overlook - according to Tech's records, he has played 1,879 snaps without allowing a sack. Those numbers helped earn him selection to the Playboy All-America team.
"I'll never forget it," said Pyne, who added that his three-day trip to Phoenix for publicity photos was "my off-the-field highlight. If it gets any better than that, I can't wait."
\ GET HIM A WHISTLE: Former Radford High School and Ferrum College wide receiver Kevin Sherman has accepted an offer from VMI and will join the Keydets' football staff July 1 as running backs coach. Sherman, a 1991 Ferrum graduate, coached wide receivers during the 1992 season at Methodist (N.C.) College.
"What helps is that I've played in a wishbone offense," said Sherman, who joins another former Bearcat, Richie Davis, the Keydets' offensive-line coach. Sherman replaced Andre Powell, who took an assistant's job at Rhode Island.
\ TESTING TIME: Virginia Tech football signee Bryan Jennings, a Parade All-American from Jefferson Forest High School, took the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) for the last time Saturday and will try the American College Test (ACT) this Saturday in hopes of qualifying academically for a scholarship. Hargrave Military Academy is a possibility if he doesn't qualify. . . . Wake Forest basketball signee Makhtar Ndiaye, from Oak Hill Academy, also has not met NCAA standards going into the last round of standardized tests.
\ HODGE SELECTED: Old Dominion center Odell Hodge, the freshman of the year in the Colonial Athletic Association, has been chosen to the North squad for the U.S. Olympic Festival basketball competition. Hodge, who set the state scoring record while at Laurel Park High School, will be coached by Xavier's Pete Gillen.
\ LETTERS FROM CAMPS: Christian Laettner will give a clinic Monday at Hampden-Sydney College, the site of the Five-Star Basketball session previously held at Radford University. . . . Dates for Bill Foster's Hokie Basketball Camp are June 20-25 and Aug. 9-13. For more information, call the Virginia Tech basketball office at 231-6725.
\ DALTON MAY BE BACK: Virginia Tech baseball coach Chuck Hartman said Wednesday that he expects shortstop Dee Dalton to leave today for the Cape Cod summer league, pending any late offers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
"It's kind of a crazy story," Hartman said. "Right now, he's not going to sign. If you had asked me Saturday, I would have said the deal was certain. But the scout called the [Cardinals'] front office and was told no."
Dalton, who starred at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, batted over .300 and hit 14 home runs for the Hokies this year as a sophomore. He was eligible for the draft because he has turned 21.
"It was a year for shortstops, which didn't help him," Hartman said of Dalton's selection in the 15th round. "I also think there was a lot of concern over his signability. If he comes out and tells everybody he's planning on signing after next year, I think his stock will increase."
\ MORE BASEBALL: Tech outfielder J.R. Hawkins, the Hokies' representative on the All-Metro Conference first team, has signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. . . . One of North Carolina State's top football signees, quarterback Trot Nixon, was selected in the first round of the amateur draft by Boston, which had the seventh pick. Another pitcher-quarterback, Wolfpack junior Terry Harvey, was taken in a later round. . . . Virginia recruit Seth Greisinger, an all-metro selection in the Washington, D.C., area, was selected by Cleveland in the seventh round.
\ DOOLEY SURFACES: Former Virginia Tech and Wake Forest football coach Bill Dooley has been appointed by North Carolina Gov. James Hunt to head a commission charged with bringing sporting events to the state.
\ OFFICIATING: J. Dallas Shirley, longtime officiating supervisor in the Southern Conference and a basketball Hall of Fame member, turned 80 this past week, but he isn't slowing. Shirley has taken a job as commissioner of the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Athletic Conference, a 12-school girls' league in the Washington, D.C., area.
\ ACADEMICS: The volleyball team at Radford University had a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average during the spring semester, with 11 of 12 players posting a "B" average or better and six making the dean's list, including former George Wythe High School teammates Eva Turpin and Anne Fontaine. It was the best showing by a Radford team since the athletic department has kept such records.
Virginia Tech announced 141 student-athletes made its athletic director's honor roll by posting grade-point averages of 3.0 or better during the spring semester - up from the previous high of 126. Six student-athletes had perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Washington and Lee offensive lineman Evans Edwards, who was an Academic All-America selection as a senior, has been accepted to Yale Law School. Edwards played at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke.
by CNB