Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406190116
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Tom Perrin, the Virginia men's basketball assistant, can recruit. It's documented.
In author John Feinstein's next novel, called "Winter Games," he writes about a recruiting scandal in which Perrin - one of the good guys - is praised for his recruiting by the mother of a college prospect.
"So, that proves it!" the real Tom Perrin said.
Well, yes and no. Perrin didn't get the player, but he was one of the few honest characters in a story that deals with some of the more unseemly aspects of the profession.
Perrin, a full-time recruiter for the first time after 12 years at Virginia, doesn't mind the portrayal. It's fairly accurate, too, because Perrin is regarded as hard-working and principled.
What UVa fans want to know is whether Perrin and staff newcomer Anthony Solomon will be able to sign players.
They replace a pair of full-time assistants in Dennis Wolff and Brian Ellerbe, who had a big hand in recruiting classes that were ranked among the top 20 in the country in 1991 and again this year.
In between, UVa failed to sign any players in 1992, but there was still much concern from a recruiting standpoint when Wolff and Ellerbe accepted Division I head-coaching jobs this spring at Boston University and Loyola of Maryland, respectively.
Many observers felt Jones took a risk in elevating Perrin from the position of restricted-earnings coach, which entails no off-campus recruiting, and going after Solomon, a one-time UVa walk-on who had never coached above the mid-major level. However, it appears that nobody else received strong consideration.
Jones, who felt he needed experienced recruiters as a first-year head coach in 1991, told Perrin he would get first crack at the next full-time opening. Solomon has been a Jones favorite since their days as UVa assistant and seldom-used reserve.
In his top desk drawer, Jones keeps a letter of appreciation he received from Solomon upon completion of the latter's career.
No one could say that Perrin hasn't paid his dues, and, despite his youth, Solomon is a well-traveled 29. He has been at Delaware as a part-time assistant, Bowling Green for three years as a head coach, Manhattan for one year as an assistant and Richmond as an assistant this past season.
"I was an assistant coach for 13 years, and I don't mind telling you I was a recruiting junkie," Manhattan coach Fran Fraschilla said. "I wasn't going to hire anybody who wasn't a fanatic about it."
Although he was at Manhattan for only one year, Solomon did much of the legwork in the recruiting of Jason Hoover, freshman of the year this past season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
"I had gotten to know him when I was [an assistant] at Providence," Fraschilla said, "and, when I got the job here, I thought, `Boy, he'd be terrific.' Anthony has a great personality, he's family-oriented, he's easygoing and a hard-worker . . . people just take to him."
And Jones knew that.
"I remember telling [Richmond coach] Bill Dooley last year that I couldn't come up with any negatives about Anthony," Jones said. "The only possible negative was, if we had a spot on our staff, that Anthony would be a very strong candidate. It happened a little sooner than I anticipated.
"Anthony has not recruited at the ACC level, but he has gone out and, in some cases, been the recruiting coordinator. He's not a hard-sell kind of guy, but he's going to be out there beating the bushes and working the phones. Nobody's going to outwork him."
Jones expects his new restricted-earnings coach to have more of an active role in recruiting - Perrin was involved primarily in scouting and game preparation - but Jones' recruiting role should not be underemphasized.
"In terms of the summer and fall months, I can't imagine myself being more involved than I've been," he said. "In that time, I traveled as much or more than Dennis or Brian. I don't think I can get out on the road any more than I have in the past."
Although the Cavaliers have had solid recruiting classes back-to-back, they lose three seniors after next season, and 1993-94 redshirt Cory Alexander is likely to turn pro. They could have as many as seven scholarships available if little-used freshman Mike Powell transfers.
"If I had to make out a draft list for this coming season, it would include a post player, a point guard, a wing player and another post player who might need a little more development than the first post player," Perrin said.
On the day that Virginia announced his appointment, Perrin was very candid about his lack of off-campus recruiting experience and said he did not want to serve in any capacity in which he might be a hindrance to the staff. However, Jones felt the promotion was a no-brainer.
"People have questioned the lack of recruiting experience," Jones said, "but there's no reason for me to believe he can't take the same energy and ability that he has applied in other areas and transfer them to recruiting.
"There will be a start-up period when he needs to get his feet wet. He's going to need to be rejected and get over being mad when a prospect or somebody involved in the process `disses' him, as the players would say. You've got to put up with that and just keep recruiting."
The coaches understand that the basketball public will judge them more on results than effort, however.
"Whatever I've done at Manhattan or Richmond means zippo right now," Solomon said. "The honeymoon's over. I realize that."
by CNB