Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408040062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Hall, who had resisted an earlier overture from new Crawdads coach Mike Newell, was on his way to Louisiana on Wednesday after being appointed director of player personnel and assistant coach.
It was the third move in less than a year for Hall, a former Virginia Tech football player who left Roanoke in September to become an assistant basketball coach at Coastal Carolina. Hall, left without a job when Chanticleers coach Russ Bergmann resigned under pressure, rejoined Roanoke coach Page Moir in June.
``He's done well by Roanoke,'' said Moir, for whom Hall served as a part-time assistant before going full-time in 1992-93. ``I told him when he came back, `If something good comes available, feel free to take it.'''
Hall got to know Newell, previously the coach at Arkansas-Little Rock and Lamar, through Bergmann. When negotiations with another coach fell through, Newell made a second pitch to Hall.
As a result, Moir is looking for an assistant for the second time this summer, having lost Ken Tyler to James Madison in May. Possibilities include three players from the 1993-94 Maroons team who are trying to break into coaching - Brian Blaney, Hilliary Scott and Kevin Martin.
TURNER TO WAKE: For a couple of people with no direct connection, Dave Odom and Russell Turner can't stop bumping into one another. And that won't change now that Odom has added Turner to his Wake Forest men's basketball staff.
Turner, who played on Patrick Henry's Group AAA championship team in 1988 and later became an All-American at Hampden-Sydney, is the Deacons' new restricted-earnings coach.
``I've been watching Russell since he was at Patrick Henry; I even think he came to Virginia's camp,'' said Odom, an ex-UVa assistant who spent considerable time watching Turner's PH teammate, George Lynch.
For the past year, Turner has been an assistant coach at Hampden-Sydney, where Odom's son, Ryan, is a junior guard on the basketball team.
``My son had a lot to do with Russell being hired,'' Dave Odom said. ``It came down to two people, and Ryan knew both of them. He told me I couldn't go wrong with either one, but he said Russell interacted very well with the players.''
Turner set the Hampden-Sydney career scoring record with 2,272 points and was voted Old Dominion Athletic Conference player of the year as a senior in 1992.
CAMP SCENE: Speakers at the George Lynch Roanoke Hawks Basketball Camp last week at North Cross High School included three of Lynch's ex-North Carolina teammates - Donald Williams, Brian Reese and Pat Sullivan - as well as 1993 signee Jerry Stackhouse.
Enrollment at Lynch's camp grew from 78 last year to 180 this year, with organizers having to turn away late applicants. Counselors included prominent area collegians Curtis Staples (Virginia), Troy Manns (Virginia Tech), Timmy Basham (East Carolina) and Mark Byington (North Carolina-Wilmington).
``It's good for the kids to be around these successful players, but I'd really like to get more of the recreation coaches involved,'' said Lynch, who is preparing for his second year with the Los Angeles Lakers. ``Those are the people who'll be coaching them when we're not around.''
During the same week that Lynch was in Roanoke, Dell Curry, the winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award, was in the area for the Roanoke College Basketball Camp.
``Dell's been real good about that,'' said Moir, who played with Curry at Virginia Tech. ``Out of 11 sessions the past five years, he's only missed one.''
MERCER ON WAY: A who's who of the nation's most prominent basketball coaches will descend on Oak Hill Academy now that Ron Mercer has made his long-awaited decision to transfer from Madison High School in Goodpasture, Tenn.
Mercer, considered by some to be the nation's No.1 college prospect, showed interest in Oak Hill before his sophomore year but only recently received his mother's blessing. A 6-foot-6 swingman, he averaged more than 24 points as a junior.
Oak Hill, which was ranked No.1 in the country last season, has added 6-9 Venson Hamilton from Forest City, N.C., to a frontline that includes 6-9 Melvin Whitaker, a top 100 prospect from Garner, N.C.
PLAYER RANKINGS: Maurice DeShazo of Virginia Tech was rated the No.7 quarterback in the country by The Sporting News in its preseason yearbook. Steve Stenstrom of Stanford was first on the list, which included no other Big East quarterbacks in the top 20.
The rankings are done by Bob Keisser of the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, who had Tech's Antonio Freeman 11th among wide receivers and Ken Brown 12th among linebackers. Among Virginia Cavaliers, Mike Frederick was the No.4-rated defensive end, Charles Way was sixth among fullbacks and Mark Krichbaum 14th among defensive tackles.
RECUPERATING: The prognosis is good for Roanoke College lacrosse standout Liz Florence, who is recovering at her home in Princeton, N.J., after undergoing surgery July 27 to remove a portion of her chest muscle.
It was the third cancer-related operation in the past year for Florence, who intends to return to Roanoke for the second semester. Coach Tracy Coyne said it will be Florence's decision whether to return to the lacrosse team, although she has two years in which to use her final season of eligibility.
by CNB