Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 24, 1994 TAG: 9404240109
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It has to be somewhere with no wars," said Purcell, whose basketball future may lie overseas.
The Blacksburg native's Virginia Tech career ended in March when the 18-10 Hokies didn't get an envelope from the National Invitation Tournament. Since then, he's played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in front of pro scouts, scoring 24 points in two games on a team that included Ohio State's Lawrence Funderburke, Louisville's Greg Minor and Georgia Tech's Ivano Newbill.
"I didn't get a chance to really play point guard like I wanted to," Purcell said. "[But] I was just happy to be in it. I hope somebody saw me."
He already has made an important contact.
Sam Foggin, a Naples, Florida-based sports agent who played for Tech from 1974-78, is partial to ex-Hokies. So even before Purcell or fellow Tech senior Jimmy Carruth decide whether they'll hire Foggin, the one-time Hokie center is making Purcell and Carruth his business.
Both Purcell and Carruth plan to finish this semester at Tech before making themselves available for basketball summer-school. Purcell also has some other business to attend to. He faces a May 19 court date after being arrested in Blacksburg April 14 for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest following a fight outside a local restaurant.
Foggin placed former Tech center Erik Wilson in Finland last year, and has helped ex-Hokie Thomas Elliott join a Marathon Oil team. (Foggin, in fact, played on a Marathon Oil team that scrimmaged Tech in 1991). Both players were represented by agents other than Foggin.
"I've tried recently to involve myself with Virginia Tech alums," said Foggin, a 6-8 West Virginia native who averaged 5.2 points and four rebounds in 78 Tech games. "Hopefully, I'll get one or both of them on some touring team or in [tryout] camps. There's a national league in Canada, the USBL [United States Basketball League]. Any experience you can get is beneficial. I'll keep them as active as I can."
Foggin says he has a two-inch thick folder in his office with post-college summertime basketball opportunities for players to whom "lottery" still means the scratch-off tickets bought at a convenience store. He has two people on his staff and works with a seven-agent network based in Europe.
Foggin said he placed 15 of his 18 clients in Europe last year, including 6-10 Heidi Gillingham, the former Vanderbilt star whom Foggin said has opportunities in Italy and Japan.
Both Purcell and Carruth, he said, have a chance to play in Europe, probably starting out in a lower-level league and trying to advance to the top leagues in, for example, Italy.
Europe, Purcell says, is a better option than the Continental Basketball Association, which has become an NBA feeder system. Purcell, who is unlikely to reach the NBA, is thinking dollar signs, more because of room and board than gold and diamonds.
"You don't make any money in the CBA," he said. "It's not even worth it to try to play in that. I don't know what you'd live on.
"If I'm not going to make any money, I'll just get my degree. I've got one more year."
Foggin said he'll make sure Purcell and Carruth are known to be available for the June draft of the USBL, a six-week summer league. If either plays there - or in one of the other summer leagues - it'll be another step in the road Purcell started down during the PIT.
"I felt like I held my own," Purcell said. "It was a great atmosphere. It was all about business; no joking around. It was a good experience."
by CNB