Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504200057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Price, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, informed Foster last week that he plans to transfer to the University of Texas-San Antonio.
Price was a case of a big-kid project that never turned out. The Floresville, Texas, native played only sparingly in his two seasons in Blacksburg, averaging less than a point in 21 games played.
``The kid wanted to go somewhere he could get some playing time,'' said Dean Keener, a Tech assistant coach. ``He could have just hung around here for the ride, so the coaching staff and everybody involved with Tech basketball respect his decision.''
Tech hopes to sign a high school post player with the extra scholarship, Keener said.
The target of Tech's other scholarship is a perimeter scorer. The Hokies offered a grant to 6-4 guard Andre Ray of Lillington, N.C., nearly two weeks ago, but have yet to sign him.
Penn State, Fordham, The Citadel and East Tennessee State are also pursuing Ray, who averaged 23 points a game this past season in high school.
UMASS IN CASSELL: Tech fans will be treated to a rare home date with a national power next season when Massachusetts visits Blacksburg.
UMass, which has swept the Atlantic 10 Conference's regular-season and tournament titles the past four seasons, will join Fordham and St. Joseph's as Eastern Division foes coming to Tech in 1995-96. Tech will play at East members St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island and Temple. In '96-97, the rotation will be reversed. Tech will play Western Division foes Dayton, Duquesne, George Washington and LaSalle home and away each season.
ATTRACTING NOTICE: Draft analyst Mel Kiper, taking an early look at future drafts, has rated UVa's Ronde Barber as the No. 2-rated cornerback prospect for the 1997 draft, although Barber, a former standout at Cave Spring, will have another season of college eligibility at that point.
UVa sophomore Will Brice is the No.1-rated punting prospect in his class and Barber's twin brother, Tiki, is 11th among running backs. Virginia Tech sophomores viewed as top pro prospects by Kiper include Bryan Jennings, fourth among tight ends; Torrian Gray, seventh among defensive backs; and Waverly Jackson, 10th among defensive linemen.
Among juniors, UVa's Patrick Jeffers is the No.8 pro prospect and wide receiver and the Hokies' Bryan Still is 26th on the same list. Kiper lists Tech's Antonio Banks as the No.5 junior defensive back, although Banks has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
ONE LAST HURRAH: One-time VMI football star Mark Stock, 29, has signed a contract with the San Antonio franchise in the Canadian Football League. Stock will join new San Antonio coach Kay Stephenson, who had Stock in the World League of American Football.
Stock was mostly inactive while drawing a paycheck over the past three years from the Washington Redskins. Stock, who earlier had gone to camp with Pittsburgh and Green Bay, said his intention was to play professional football for one more season.
William and Mary quarterback Shawn Knight, who in 1993 established a Division I-AA record for passing efficiency, has signed a contract with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Knight apparently has put a possible baseball career on hold despite batting .280 last year in the San Diego Padres' farm system.
RECRUITING: Two in-state basketball prospects who escaped the notice of this recruiting writer were 6-3 Daymond Jackson from T.C. Williams in Alexandria, who signed with Georgetown and 6-2 Billy Beal from West Potomac, who will join ex-UVa assistant Dennis Wolff at Boston University. Jackson was most valuable player in the preliminary game at the Capital Classic in College Park, Md.
Richmond has signed 6-7, 215-pound Charles Jefferson, a 21-year-old Army private from Fort Bragg, N.C. Jefferson, who went to Wilmington (Del.) College out of high school, has two years of Division I eligibility. ... William and Mary landed Randy Bracey, a 6-1 point guard from Orlando, Fla.
IN THE ACC: Contrary to earlier reports, the nation's top point guard, 6-3 Stephon Marbury, signed a letter-of-intent with Georgia Tech before leaving on a 10-day tour of Europe with his AAU team, although it was not readily apparent whether he mailed it. Also, the Yellow Jackets beat out Florida and Florida State for 6-5 New Yorker Gary Saunders.
Clemson's first basketball signee of the spring and fifth overall is 6-6 Ledarion Jones from Bartow, Fla. ... Florida State signed 6-8 Gentry Sparks, a power forward from Tallahassee, Fla., who originally committed to the Seminoles in 1992 before spending two seasons at Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College.
One of the nation's top prospects, 6-10 Kevin Garnett from Farragut High in Chicago, reportedly has - or plans to - contact North Carolina. Garnett, whose academics have been the source of question, is a native South Carolinian and a cousin of Tar Heels' freshman guard Shammond Williams.
BUCKING TRADITION: Heather Sue Mercer, who had a brief tryout with Duke's football team in the fall, was one of three walk-on place-kickers who went through spring practice with the Blue Devils. Another woman, fifth-year senior Kathy Klope of Louisville, was invited back for a second look after kicking three field goals and converting 12 of 14 extra points in a tryout.
IN THE ODAC: Roanoke basketball standout Bryant Lee, who joined the Maroons' track team for the first time this year as a senior, has thrown the javelin 169 feet, 11 inches - tops in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this year.
Another two-sport athlete, Lynchburg College freshman Rodney Early, has the best triple jump (44 feet, 7 inches) in the ODAC. Early averaged 10.8 points for the Hornets' basketball team and led the team in free-throw shooting at 84 percent.
The top time in the ODAC in the 400-meter hurdles has been posted by Von Lewis, a Bridgewater College sophomore from Christiansburg. Lewis also represents the Eagles in the high jump, triple jump and 110-meter high hurdles.
Former Fieldale-Collinsville standout Kelly Fackler leads Lynchburg's softball team in batting with a .444 average after 35 games and ranks among the top five in the ODAC in five of six hitting categories. Fackler, who now has a school-record 11 consecutive hits, was a first-team all-conference selection in basketball.
NON-REVENUE: It was big news at Coastal Carolina when the Chanticleers posted a 3-2 victory over visiting Virginia, which has won the last four Division I men's soccer championships. Coastal Carolina distributed a news release on the game, which was considered an out-of-season exhibition, although UVa used many of its top returning players.
by CNB