Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994 TAG: 9406140004
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Poindexter, an All-America defensive back at Jefferson Forest High School, was selected by the Florida Marlins last week in the free-agent baseball draft.
"It would have to be a right large sum for me to give up my football scholarship," Poindexter said, "but I most definitely want to play both sports in college. I feel I can handle it."
Poindexter batted .481 in 22 games, with six home runs and 23 runs batted in. He also was 4-0 as a pitcher, with 51 strikeouts in 36 innings.
George Welsh, UVa's football coach, has a policy of requiring his players to participate in spring practice full-time as freshmen, but this year spring practice ended April 9. UVa played 23 baseball games from that point until the end of the season.
"Poindexter could be a breakthrough player for us," said coach Dennis Womack, whose baseball team went 20-34 overall and 2-22 in the ACC.
Womack has seen many of his ACC rivals strengthen their rosters with football players. Former North Carolina defensive back Cookie Massey led the ACC in home runs, North Carolina State quarterback Terry Harvey won 10 games as a pitcher and Duke defensive back Ray Farmer was the Blue Devils' starting left fielder.
In Welsh's 12 years at Virginia, only two scholarship football players have played baseball while they had football eligibility remaining: Gordie Whitehead in 1982 and Johnnie Wilson in 1990.
There was talk defensive back Paul London might play baseball for the Cavaliers this spring, but the lingering effects of a pulled hamstring kept him off the diamond.
"What we've found is that a lot of our players just don't want to play [a spring sport]," said Gerry Capone, Welsh's top administrative aide. "We've had some guys play lacrosse, but this is the best time of year to be in school. The other thing that comes into play is academics."
Poindexter's roommate at UVa will be Jefferson Forest teammate Ryan Gilleland, who signed a letter of intent to play baseball for the Cavaliers. Gilleland hit .466 and was 8-1 as a pitcher this spring, with an 0.89 earned run average.
\ POWELL IN LIMBO: Mike Powell, a freshman basketball player, is expected to transfer. Sources report that coach Jeff Jones has made some exploratory calls on Powell's behalf. . . . Signee Norman Nolan, a 6-foot-8 McDonald's and Parade All-American, experienced limited mobility late in his senior year at Dunbar High School in Baltimore and has undergone arthroscopic knee surgery.
\ DRAKEFORD TRANSFERS: Konecka Drakeford, the second-leading scorer for the Virginia women's basketball team when she was suspended after the sixth game of her freshman season, has transferred to Alabama, a final four participant this year.
Drakeford never played for the Cavaliers after she was arrested Dec. 17 for stealing a bank card belonging to one of her suitemates and charging $400 worth of merchandise. Drakeford was convicted of reduced charges, but would have had difficulty remaining in school under UVa's honor system.
\ DIXON INJURED: All-America offensive guard Mark Dixon, reportedly impressive during a Philadelphia Eagles mini-camp, injured his back while lifting weights in Charlottesville and will require his third back operation, the second for a ruptured disk. Dixon last had problems with his back during the fall of 1991.
\ IN THE PROS: Kansas City general manager Carl Peterson has described UVa alumnus Matt Blundin as the Chiefs quarterback of the future despite the acquisition of Steve Bono from San Francisco.
Peterson said Blundin, who was the ACC's player of the year in 1991, will take most of the snaps during the preseason, but Bono is the likely backup to Chiefs starter Joe Montana. . . .
Former Virginia defensive end David Griggs has signed with San Diego after three seasons with Miami. . . . Former UVa running back Marcus Wilson, described in The Sporting News as a "special-teams gem," has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Green Bay Packers.
\ ODDS AND ENDS: Trent Dilfer, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft pick from Fresno State, broke Blundin's NCAA Division I record for consecutive passing attempts without an interception. . . . UVa slugger Brian Buchanan, selected in the first round of the free-agent baseball draft by the New York Yankees, is the younger brother of Radford University senior Brad Buchanan.
by CNB