Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994 TAG: 9404070044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Pete Strickland, a former VMI assistant, will interview later this week.
Johnson is believed to be the third coach screened by a search committee that includes VMI administrators, alumni and faculty members. Emmett Davis, an assistant at Navy, and Kevin Billerman, an assistant at North Carolina-Charlotte, were interviewed last week.
VMI has been searching for a coach since March 21, when Joe Cantafio left after eight seasons to become head coach at Furman.
Davis Babb, VMI's athletic director, has said the institute is looking for a coach with strong recruiting skills and would give special consideration to coaches with experience at a military school.
Strickland, an assistant at Old Dominion, met Monday with Babb in Charlotte, N.C., site of the men's NCAA Final Four. The two are working out a time when Strickland can travel to Lexington to be interviewed by the search committee.
"I got the point across that I'm interested," Strickland said. "We were able to talk specifically, because we're both aware of the situation at hand."
Oliver Purnell, Old Dominion's head coach, has been linked to the head coach's vacancy at Dayton, a potential move that would complicate matters for Strickland.
"I don't know how serious Oliver is about that, so I haven't given it a lot of thought," Strickland said. "But sure, being here, I would have two options: one, go with him; and two, maybe become the head coach [at ODU]."
Johnson, who just completed his 14th season at Emory & Henry, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Johnson is a three-time NCAA Division III South Region coach of the year and had eight consecutive winning seasons and six consecutive 20-victory seasons before the Wasps finished 13-14 in 1993-94. He has an overall record of 211-161 at E&H and is known for his teams' fast-paced style of play.
Last week, Billerman met with Babb in Charlotte and traveled to Lexington for an interview with the search committee.
Billerman played basketball at Duke (1973-75), then went on to play and coach for a professional team in Switzerland. He also coached the Hamilton (Ontario) Skyhawks of the World Basketball League for one season and was head coach for eight years at Northern Durham (N.C.) High School.
Billerman said his experience with VMI so far had been extremely positive.
"I was very impressed by Davis [Babb] and by the presentation of what the job at VMI is," said Billerman, who has been a part-time assistant at UNC Charlotte for nine years.
"My interest is very, very high," he said. " . . . The ball is in their court."
Also playing the waiting game is Davis, who has been an assistant at Navy for eight seasons and is the program's recruiting coordinator.
"I really don't know what's going on," Davis said. "But I would say my interest level is still very strong."
by CNB