Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090055
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Claytor, a 5-foot-10, 165-pounder as a senior at Radford, has surfaced nearly eight years later as a 6-5, 210-point guard for the basketball team at Hartnell Community College in Salinas, Calif.
``My first summer out of high school, I grew 5 inches,'' said Claytor, who was a tight end of some distinction for the Bobcats' football team but did not play much basketball at Radford until his senior year.
Claytor did not have the academic credentials or the athletic prowess to get a scholarship out of high school, so he enlisted in the Army and began a seven-year hitch that ended at Fort Ord, a California base that recently closed.
``I had always planned on going back to school,'' said Claytor, named to the All-Army basketball team. ``The reason I re-enlisted the last time was to qualify [for financial aid] under the GI bill.''
Claytor, who turned 25 in August, became an impact player as a freshman in helping Hartnell finish with a 27-3 record and the championship in the Coast Conference, which embraces 13 schools in the San Francisco area. He was second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, and grabbed a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game.
Claytor spent most of his time in the backcourt, which made his rebounding numbers even more noteworthy. He struggled with his shooting early in the season, but still entered the postseason with 33 3-point field goals (``I had more dunks than 3s,'' he said).
Washington State and New Mexico State already have inquired about Claytor, who must complete two years in junior college before he can accept a grant in aid.
``I would like to come back home to play,'' said Claytor, who mentioned Radford University, Virginia Tech and Virginia as preferred destinations. ``It's been a big change [academically] since high school, but I never put in the effort that I have now.''
CURTIS RESIGNS: Roanoke native Charlene Curtis was unable to duplicate the success she enjoyed as Radford University women's basketball coach before resigning Monday after five seasons at Temple.
Curtis, who won four Big South Conference titles and had a 121-53 record at Radford, did not have a winning season at Temple. Her 1994-95 team finished 2-25 after an 82-56 loss to St.Bonaventure on Wednesday in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
``I am disappointed that the program didn't go in the direction that I expected,'' said Curtis, a standout player at William Fleming High School and at Radford, where she was the first 1,000-point scorer. ``I think this is the best thing for the program and me personally.''
HE WON'T GIVE UP: It was reported by USA Today that Ralph Sampson, a three-time college basketball player of the year at Virginia, has met with officials of the Rockford (Ill.) Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association concerning a possible comeback. Sampson, 34, last played in the NBA in 1992.
GAMES CALLED OFF: The thrill of being selected to play in the Pan-American Games was short-lived for former Virginia players Dena Evans and Dawn Staley and their teammates when the women's basketball competition was canceled because only four teams had entered.
``I am really shocked about it,'' said Staley, a former national player of the year. ``It is a step back for women's basketball. I think that as we try to come to the forefront, something always happens. ... I think the next USA Basketball team is going to remember that we have been robbed of playing in the Pan Ams.''
WOMEN'S HOOPS: Some ill will was created before the ACC tournament by the selection of Virginia junior Wendy Palmer as player of the year and by the reaction of North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell. ``It's an embarrassment to the conference,'' said Hatchell after her star, Charlotte Smith, was snubbed for the second consecutive year.
Unlike the men, for whom awards are selected by the media, the women have determined their awards by a vote of the coaches. This year, the coaches turned over 50 percent of the vote to the media, but stipulated the media could not vote for players on the team they primarily covered.
Ali Colgrove, a senior from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, is wrapping up her second season as a starter at Coastal Carolina. Colgrove, a 5-9 forward, had played in 108 games entering the Big South Conference tournament, which placed her in the top five at Coastal in that category.
RECRUITING: Virginia Tech is in the running for 6-8, 230-pound Alvaro Tor, a Spanish exchange student who is a senior at Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. North Carolina State and Tennessee are among the men's basketball programs showing interest in Tor, who was at Tech for a recent game. ... Virginia entertained 28 junior football prospects at its men's basketball game Sunday with Maryland.
STREAK ON LINE: Salisbury State, which visits Roanoke at 1 p.m. Sunday for a men's lacrosse game, has won 39 consecutive regular-season games since falling to the Maroons 15-10 in 1992. The Sea Gulls beat Roanoke 14-13 at home last year on their way to the NCAA Division III championship.
NON-REVENUE: Second-year UVa wrestling coach Lenny Bernstein directed the Cavaliers to a second-place finish in the ACC tournament, their best performance since 1977. UVa had three individual champions, including first-time winner Mike Krafchick, a senior with a school-record 115 victories in his career.
by CNB