Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 14, 1994 TAG: 9404140068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bellairs, an assistant at James Madison the past six years, replaces Joe Cantafio, who became the head coach at Furman in March after 12 seasons at the institute - eight as head coach.
Reached by phone Thursday at his office, VMI athletic director Bellairs Davis Babb refused to comment on the hiring, but in a news release issued by the institute said:
"I am happy to have Bart Bellairs join the VMI family as head basketball coach. He brings with him experience, enthusiasm and energy and is prepared to meet the challenge of improving Keydet basketball.
"Bart fully believes and supports our educational mission. We were impressed with his understanding of the importance of successful athletics in a military-school environment. We feel that the combination of his previous head-coaching experience, association with three successful Division I programs and recruiting contacts in Virginia make him a great fit."
Bellairs, 37, was chosen over six candidates, including Old Dominion assistant Pete Strickland and Navy assistant Emmett Davis, who were considered the front-runners.
"I'm extremely excited about this opportunity," Bellairs said. "I want to thank [VMI superintendent] Gen. Knapp and the search committee for making me feel so welcome. . . . The Southern Conference is a great leap and improving every year. Our goal is to be competitive as quickly as possible and return excitement to VMI basketball."
Lefty Driesell, the head coach at James Madison, said he thought Bellairs had superior credentials and was an excellent choice.
"I thought VMI would be a great opportunity for Bart," Driesell said. "It is an outstanding athletic institution, and he has a chance to make it into a great basketball program."
Driesell added Bellairs to his staff at Maryland for the 1985-86 season and hired him again in 1988 when he became head coach at JMU. Driesell said scouting is one of Bellairs' strengths.
"I give each assistant five or six teams each year to study during the off-season and during the season. They break down offenses and defenses . . . and [Bellairs] does an excellent job at that.
"He's a dedicated basketball coach and a good recruiter," said Driesell, whose other former assistants include Ron Bradley, the head coach at Radford, and Oliver Purnell, who recently resigned the head coach's job at Old Dominion to take over at Dayton.
Bellairs played at Warren Wilson (N.C.) and was a graduate assistant at Western Illinois before becoming the head coach at Division III Wilkes (Pa.) College. He also was an assistant for two seasons at Massachusetts.
Other coaches who interviewed for the VMI position were North Carolina-Charlotte assistant Kevin Billerman, Bluefield coach Walt Ayers, Emory & Henry coach Bob Johnson and Gay Elmore, the institute's all-time leading scorer who is now an attorney in Charleston, W.Va.
by CNB