Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994 TAG: 9405190148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Byington and Reynolds both signed during the early signing period in November - Byington with North Carolina-Wilmington and Reynolds with Coastal Carolina - but neither will be playing for the head coach who recruited him.
Former East Carolina assistant Michael Hopkins is the new head coach at Coastal Carolina, where Russ Bergman resigned after admitting to NCAA recruiting violations. UNCW has not named a successor for Kevin Eastman, who resigned last week to become the head coach at Washington State.
``I heard from coach Eastman a couple days before he took the job,'' said Byington, chosen Group A player of the year after leading Salem to the state championship. ``I felt when he called that he would take the job. It's pretty hard to turn down $1 million.''
Byington received a call from the athletic director and from assistant coach Jeff Reynolds, one of the candidates to replace Eastman. Reynolds, one-time head coach at Carroll County, is the coach who recruited Byington.
``It's not something I'm really concerned about,'' Byington said. ``You're supposed to make your decision based on the school, not the coach. You have to be aware that this is a possibility when you sign.''
Coastal Carolina did not retain Rick Hall, the assistant coach who recruited Reggie Reynolds, so Hopkins was quick to call the William Fleming guard and try to smooth the transition.
``That was one of my first priorities,'' Hopkins said. ``I think he may have entertained ideas of looking elsewhere, but that was mostly because things had been in limbo.
``As we got talking, I realized I had seen him play during workouts for the Roanoke Hawks AAU team when we were recruiting Mark Byington [for East Carolina] and at the Virginia high-school all-star game. It's like I told him: ``I will have seen you more than any player in the program.'''
ANOTHER IDEA: One-time Virginia Tech recruiting target Jason Williams, who signed with Providence in the fall, changed his mind after the Friars' coaching change and will play for Fork Union Military Academy next year.
Williams' options were limited. If he had enrolled at another Division I school, he would have lost two years of eligibility unless given a release by Providence, in which case he still would have lost one year.
``The letter-of-intent is great but, when a coach changes schools, the penalties are way, way too severe,'' said Jim Fout, the coach at DuPont High in Belle, W.Va., where Williams was a first-team all-state selection.
TRANSFER HOTLINE: Clemson reserve guard Kyle Freeman has become the eighth ACC men's basketball player to announce plans to transfer, and Duke sophomore Tony Moore isn't far behind after two undistinguished seasons.
Reports persist that two-year starter Martice Moore is thinking about leaving Georgia Tech, and Virginia coach Jeff Jones said he would not be surprised if reserve guard Mike Powell is contemplating a change in scenery.
nMaryland is the most interested of several ACC schools in the running for Steve Norton, who is leaving Furman. Norton played fewer than eight minutes per game for the Paladins, for whom he averaged 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds, but he is 6 feet 11.
IN THE ACC: New Clemson coach Rick Barnes, left with five returning players after the departure of Freeman, has signed 6-8 Ihsaan Scott, who averaged only five points at Trinidad Valley (Texas) Junior College but has three years of remaining eligibility. ... N.C. State has received a commitment from 6-7 John Grissett from Allegany (Md.) Community College. Grissett, who will receive a scholarship when one becomes available, is expected to sit out the 1994-95 season as a redshirt.
MAJOR HARVEST: Virginia Commonwealth has announced four spring signees, of whom the most noteworthy is 6-4 Jamal Gladden, younger brother of Xavier University star Jamie Gladden, from Lorain, Ohio.
The Rams expect to have eight new players, including four junior-college transfers and two transfers from four-year programs. VCU-bound Bernard Hopkins, a 6-7 power forward from Hagerstown (Md.) Junior College, was rated the No.1 recruit nationally during the fall period.
AROUND THE STATE: Dante Travis, who took over as a starting guard at Bethel High in Hampton when All-American Allen Iverson was suspended, has committed to Ferrum. ... Liberty has signed 6-8 Che Lugo, who averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds at Redemption Christian Academy. ... Charlie Woollum's first signee since going to William and Mary from Bucknell is 6-3 Terrence Jennings from Halifax County by way of Fork Union.
LOCAL UPDATE: Julie Reeser, leading scorer in the West Virginia Class AAA track meet, has signed with Virginia Tech. Reeser, a 4.0 student at Hedgesville High School, specializes in the sprints and long jump. ... Junior David Groseclose from Covington had a team-high 31 steals in 36 attempts for VMI's baseball team, which finished 21-29. ... Radford's Duane Filchner, bidding to hit .400 in consecutive seasons, finished at .398. ... Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion Bridgewater has received its first bid to the Division III baseball championship.
by CNB