Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504130067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: DOUG DOUGHTY LENGTH: Long
``You know how fanatical the fans in Kentucky are about their basketball?'' asked Smith, who is in his 10th year at Oak Hill. ``Well, the Tennessee fans are the same way about Ron. I don't know if there's ever been a player from Tennessee who had a whole state wondering every day where he was going.''
Kentucky and Tennessee are considered the front-runners for Mercer, a 6-7 swingman from the Nashville, Tenn., suburb of Madison, although Miami of Florida remains in the race. Arkansas, once considered the favorite, was eliminated last week.
``Almost anybody you talked to - coaches, media, anybody - thought during the summer that Ron was going to Arkansas,'' Smith said. ``But it almost seems like, once a school becomes a leader, that it begins to fade.
``I can remember Ron coming into my office in the fall and saying, `How does everybody think they know where I'm going?' It's almost like he considered it an insult.''
One of the most unpleasant aspects of Mercer's recruiting occurred when the Nashville newspapers reported that Vanderbilt had rejected him for admission. The Commodores were in Mercer's final five but were not expected to get him.
``I think it bothered him,'' Smith said. ``Had he gotten a phone call, that would have been one thing, but it was on the front page for three consecutive days. It portrays him as a poor student, which he is not.
``I was shocked that he couldn't get in. The first time he took [the American College Test] in October, he made the score. Ron's a bright kid.''
Mercer averaged a team-high 25.3 points and 6.4 rebounds for Oak Hill, ranked sixth by USA Today after a 33-3 season. He recently received the Naismith Award as the nation's top high-school player.
Smith said there was a 48-hour period in the fall when it appeared Mercer might make an oral commitment; however, it now appears he may wait a week or more before making his decision public.
``I don't know exactly when it will be,'' said Mercer, who will go home this weekend to meet with his parents. ``It's getting to me, but it's a big decision in my life. I'm not comfortable saying where I'm going right now, and I'm not going to announce anything till I am.''
Mercer and fellow uncommitted Oak Hill prospect Melvin Whitaker will play for the United States team in the Capital Classic tonight in College Park, Md., as will Virginia signee Courtney Alexander, a 6-foot-5 guard from Durham, N.C. Another UVa signee, 6-6 Darryl Presley from Adelphi, Md., will play for the Capital All-Stars.
TECH ON TRAIL: Virginia Tech has offered a basketball scholarship to Andre Ray, a 6-foot-4 guard from Western Harnett High School in Lillington, N.C., who visited Blacksburg last weekend. Ray, who averaged close to 23 points this season, reportedly favors Tech over Penn State, Fordham and The Citadel.
SIGNEES: Greg Cristell, an early Virginia recruiting target, has signed with Florida. Cristell, a 6-foot-10, 235-pounder from Clearwater, Fla., played his last two years of high school at DeMatha in Hyattsville, Md.
At one point, Duke and North Carolina joined UVa in the pursuit of Cristell; however, his stock dropped during a senior year in which he averaged 10 points and seven rebounds.
Stephen ``Bami'' Bamigbola (6-9, 245) has followed in the footsteps of fellow Nigerians Julius Nwosu and Peter Aluma and signed with Liberty University. Bamigbola, who won't turn 17 until April 24, has lived in London for the past year because of unrest in his native country.
MORE RECRUITING: High-school All-American Stephon Marbury will not sign until he returns from a trip to Europe with his AAU team, although Georgia Tech remains optimistic that he will honor his commitment. Tech also has a commitment from 6-5 Gary Saunders from New York City. ... Duke received a commitment from 6-9 Matt Christensen from Belmont, Mass., who will play one year before leaving on a two-year Mormon mission. ... Wake Forest has received a commitment from 6-6 Shon Coleman, considered one of the top juniors in North Carolina. Coleman played at West Iredell in Statesville.
COACHING CRADLE: Washington State assistant Jeff Schneider is the third ex-Virginia Tech basketball player who has named a Division I head coach in the past year, joining Tic Price (New Orleans) and Ron Everhart (McNeese State).
Schneider, 35, takes over a program at Cal Poly San-Luis Obispo that was ranked 302nd out of 302 Division I teams in the final rankings compiled for USA Today by computer whiz Jeff Sagarin. Cal Poly was 1-26 this season, with its lone victory over Division III Menlo College.
NON-REVENUE: VMI baseball senior David Groseclose from Alleghany has broken the school record for stolen bases in a season, adding to his career marks for at-bats (678), games played (183), hits (185) and steals (95).
Ryan Glynn not only leads the Keydets in home runs with 11, but he has attracted the interest of pro scouts with his arm. Glynn, pitcher and first baseman, had a career-high 13 strikeouts Saturday against Appalachian State.
Virginia probably thought it would never see anything to rival its 29-game losing streak to Clemson in football, but now the Cavaliers have lost 30 straight baseball games to the Tigers in a streak dating back to 1985.
UVa's seventh-place ranking in the men's golf coaches poll is the highest in the history of the program.
by CNB