Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Most Division I-A staffs have an administrative assistant who serves as recruiting coordinator, "but my understanding is that somebody on the staff has to do that now," Welsh said. "We're going to have an administrative assistant, but he can't be the recruiting coordinator the way [administrative assistant] Gerry Capone has been. He can do clerical work, but he can't be on the phone, and he can't evaluate tape. Gerry looks at everybody."
The coaches had hoped they would be able to save the coordinator's position, but the NCAA upheld the cost-cutting measure at its annual meeting this week in San Antonio.
"My initial reaction is, you're going to take an assistant and give him minimal coaching responsibility during the fall," Welsh said. "For instance, the recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame also coaches the tight ends. It may mean I've got to help out with the offense the way I used to."
Virginia Tech is in a situation where Sharon McCloskey, who has been recruiting coordinator, is moving into a full-time position as assistant athletic director and senior women's administrator. Administrative assistant John Ballein was slated to become recruiting coordinator.
"I can't do without John," said Tech coach Frank Beamer, who is eager to meet with athletic director Dave Braine on his return from San Antonio. "I know where everybody is coming from, but I agree with [basketball] coach [Mike] Krzyzewski on this. It's like coaches are right in the middle of these issues and nobody is listening.
"We're not trying to take advantage of anybody. They've already eliminated the amount of time you can spend with a recruit, and now they've eliminated the person who can bridge the gap. It may work on paper, but I'm not sure how well it's going to work in reality."
\ COMMITMENTS: Virginia has received a commitment from 6-foot-3, 285-pound Robert Hunt, a lineman from Menchville High School in Newport News who was rated one of the top 25 football prospects in the state by the Roanoke Times & World-News.
Hunt's older sister, Amelia, is a UVa graduate and was a member of the Cavalier Connection, a group that welcomes recruits for their campus visits. Hunt was scheduled to visit Virginia Tech and East Carolina.
Pittsburgh has received an oral commitment from 6-6, 290-pound Mike Schultz, an offensive lineman from Bethel High in Hampton. Coach Dennis Kozlowski said Virginia Tech and Virginia expressed interest but were unwilling to make a commitment until Schultz raised his test scores.
\ FERRUM LOSES OPPONENT: Longtime Ferrum College rival Lees-McRae has dropped its football program, leaving the Panthers with eight games for next season and adding to the scheduling difficulties new coach Dave Davis inherited from his predecessor, Hank Norton.
"We're trying to get Florida State or Notre Dame. How about that?" Davis said. "No, we're just now making some calls and gathering information. . . . I don't look at it as a problem, but as an opportunity.
"We need to sit down and really evaluate our program. We are truly a Division III school. I'd like to see some more Division III schools on our schedule. I'd love to see us have a regional schedule. . . . Our goal is to move toward 10 games."
Ferrum and Lees-McRae played every year from 1960-84, when both were junior colleges, with the Panthers holding a 19-4-1 margin. Lees-McRae subsequently joined NAIA Division II and beat Ferrum 16-13 last year in the first matchup between the schools in nine years.
\ SEMINOLE LOSSES: Florida State fullback William Floyd and cornerback Corey Sawyer joined North Carolina State offensive tackle George Hegamin as the only ACC players to apply for the NFL draft. However, All-America linebacker Derrick Brooks elected to return for his senior year at FSU.
The Seminoles also lost junior running back Marquette Smith, selected national offensive player of the year as a senior in high school. Smith transferred to Division I-AA Central Florida, where he will have instant eligibility, to be close to his ailing mother.
\ IN THE ACC: Former Oak Hill Academy standout Makhtar Ndiaye, ruled ineligible to play basketball for Wake Forest as the result of recruiting improprieties, has enrolled at Michigan for the second semester and will have instant eligibility for the Wolverines.
Sophomore forward Derrick Carroll, a starter and double-figure scorer for Florida State, underwent shoulder surgery last week and will be redshirted.
Duke junior Kenny Blakeney has been declared academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.
Chuck Kornegay, who began his career at North Carolina State, has transferred to Villanova.
\ TRANSFER OF POWER: Radford's victory over Louisiana State was the second by a Big South team over a Southeastern Conference team. Coastal Carolina had beaten South Carolina, and the Big South already boasted victories over the ACC (Campbell over N.C. State) and the Big East (Towson State over St. John's).
\ LOCAL UPDATE: Dawnita Price, a 6-foot-3 senior from Blacksburg High School, had a career-high 20 points for Virginia Commonwealth in a 68-66 loss to Southern Mississippi. It marked the second "double-double" of the season for Price, who also had 10 rebounds.
Price, who leads the Metro Conference with an 88.4 free-throw percentage, is the third-leading scorer and leading rebounder for the Lady Rams. It is the first time she has averaged double-figure points dating to high school.
Former Radford High basketball standout Michelle Graham, a sophomore at South Carolina-Spartanburg, was voted most valuable player of the Lady Owl Invitational at Kennesaw State (Ga.) College. Graham also played on the Lady Rifles' volleyball team, which won 25 straight matches and finished 34-6.
by CNB