Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 12, 1994 TAG: 9405120023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Roanoke College's two-year campaign to add a Division I opponent to its men's basketball schedule has resulted in an agreement with Southern Conference power Davidson.
Roanoke coach Page Moir spoke Wednesday with Wildcats coach Bob McKillop, who said Davidson had the Maroons pencilled for Nov. 25 and that a contract would be in the mail shortly.
"I'd love to play one Division I [opponent] a year," said Moir, whose Division III teams have gone 46-8 the past two seasons. "I wrote letters to 25 Division I schools last year, but they knew we had everybody back. People knew about Hilliary [Scott]."
Scott, a Division III All-American, was one of four seniors among Roanoke's top six scorers.
"Davidson's perfect for us," said Moir, who started talking to McKillop in mid-March. "It's a school with good name recognition, especially the kind of academic reputation we like to be associated with."
Roanoke traditionally has performed well against Division I opposition, most recently when Scott was a sophomore and the Maroons lost 83-71 at Old Dominion in 1991.
"When we were Division II, we won some games against Division I teams," said Moir, whose father, Charlie, coached Roanoke during that era. "You wouldn't want to do it every week, but our kids look forward to it."
HELP ON WAY: Moir is pleased with his first two recruits, 6-2 Brian Lightner from Holy Cross High School in Lynchburg and 6-5 Michael Ball from Verona (N.J.) High School. Lightner, who transferred from Heritage High School after his junior year, hit 11 3-pointers in one game and received some late Division I interest.
The Maroons also are heavily involved with 6-1 Nathan Hungate, a first-team All-Group AA selection from Northside High School in Roanoke. Hungate also is considering Wingate, a Division II program in North Carolina, and new Bucknell coach Pat Flannery has requested videotape of the Vikings standout.
MORE RECRUITING: Louisville received a signed letter of intent Wednesday from 6-9 Samaki Walker, a Parade All-American from Columbus, Ohio. Other late signees of note are 6-7 Jerry Gee of Chicago, who picked Illinois over Duke, and 6-9 Jerod Ward from Clinton, Miss., who chose Michigan over California.
Ferrum's second men's basketball commitment has come from 6-3 Nathan Baker of Group A state runner-up Parry McCluer. . . . Radford will receive a visit this weekend from 6-4 Chibi Johnson, who was named state Class A player of the year at Denmark (S.C.) Olar High School. . . . Old Dominion lost 6-9 recruit John Bennett to Delaware after the Monarchs' coaching change.
TRANSFER TURNABOUT: Richmond, which had lost prospective starters Jeremy Metzger and Damon Bacote when they announced plans to transfer, has added 6-5 Kevin Connor from St. Joseph's.
Connor, who played at Hermitage High School in Richmond before spending a year at Hargrave Military Academy, averaged 7.4 points for the Hawks as a sophomore this past season but was not expected to start in 1994-95.
COACHING STUFF: Virginia is expected to announce any day that Anthony Solomon will join Tom Perrin as a full-time assistant with the Cavaliers. Solomon, a reserve guard at UVa during the mid-1980s, has coached at Delaware, Bowling Green, Manhattan and Richmond.
Pete Strickland, interviewed for head-coaching positions at Old Dominion and VMI, has joined his former ODU boss, Oliver Purnell, at Dayton. . . . Another of the candidates at ODU, Tic Price, is expected to join the men's basketball staff at Creighton. Price played and coached at Virginia Tech.
Lubomyr Lichonczak, Radford's successful women's basketball coach, is a leading candidate for the opening at Texas A&M, where he was an assistant from 1987-90. Lichonczak's No. 1 assistant, Joe Matthews, is going to Butler as an assistant.
DRAFT LEFTOVERS: Linebacker P.J. Killian has become the seventh member of Virginia's 1993 football team either to be drafted by or sign as a free agent with an NFL team. Killian, who went undrafted after an injury plagued senior year, agreed to terms with Cleveland.
There were no takers for the three ACC players who completed their eligibility in the fall with more than 2,000 yards in career receptions - Clemson's Terry Smith, North Carolina's Corey Holliday and Wake Forest's Todd Dixon.
EX-COLONEL HONORED: Linda Bell, a junior from William Fleming in Roanoke, was the toast of the St. Paul's College athletic banquet. Bell was named most valuable player in women's basketball and volleyball and received the athletic director's award for athletics and academics.
Bell, a shortstop on the St. Paul's softball team, ranks among the Division II leaders with a .521 batting average and recently was named second-team All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Bell also led the women's basketball team in scoring with a 13.7-point average.
SHEETS SHINES: Appalachian State's Jenny Sheets, a junior from Cave Spring, won the 800 meters and was fourth in the 1,500 at the Southern Conference women's track and field championship in Lexington. Sheets, who is on a partial grant, also runs cross country for the Mountaineers.
PRESTON RECOGNIZED: William and Mary wrestler Walter Preston, a senior from Boones Mill, had a 21-9 record at 190 pounds and received the school's Bruce Davidson Memorial Scholarship for excellence in scholastics, athletics and community service.
PILAT PERPLEXED: Although Roanoke College was ranked ninth in the Division III men's lacrosse poll, coach Bill Pilat still was disturbed when the Maroons were not one of the eight teams that received invitations to the NCAA Tournament.
"When we were No. 8 last year, they took No. 9 and didn't take us," he said. "This year, we were No. 9 and they took the top eight. People always say, `Who did you beat?' Well, this year we beat Denison and they made the field."
by CNB