Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506080081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``I don't know what happened,'' said Okpodu, also the boys' soccer coach at Christiansburg High School. ``They told me they wanted to go in a different direction.''
When Ed McMichael took over as coach for a May 27 game with Charlotte, it was reported that Okpodu had resigned due to time constraints and that the move had nothing to do with his coaching.
``That's what they're saying,'' said Okpodu, who did not feel there was a conflict. ``I'm still trying to talk to them, but, at this point, I think it's gone beyond the point of me going back to work for them.''
Okpodu's last game as coach was May 20, when he inserted himself at midfield in a 4-2 loss to Richmond. The RiverDawgs, who were 2-3 at the time, have fallen to 2-5 in a losing streak that has increased to four games.
``The only disappointment,'' Okpodu said, ``is that there was a plan, and people didn't get to see more of it. I hope they won't feel cheated. I was brought in to promote a product and try to get it off the ground. We had just gotten started.''
HARRISON TO FUMA: Petersburg High standout Marco Harrison, named Mr. Basketball in Virginia by the Roanoke Times & World-News, announced earlier this week that he will attend Fork Union Military Academy.
Harrison, a 6-foot-9 post player, learned last week that he had qualified for freshman eligibility with his score on the Scholastic Assessment Test but said he was unlikely to change his decision.
``The colleges don't know that I've passed yet,'' said Harrison, who had offers from Dayton, Temple and West Virginia before he qualified. ``I suspect I'll get a lot of phone calls, but I should be able to enhance myself with a year at Fork Union.''
STILL FIRING: Richard Morgan had 16 points to lead all scorers Sunday in an alumni-celebrity basketball game staged by Detroit Lions wide receiver Herman Moore to benefit the Children's Medical Center at the University of Virginia Hospital.
Morgan, an All-ACC basketball player for the Cavaliers in 1989, is an assistant coach at Salem, his alma mater. The participants included NBA players Bryant Stith and John Crotty, as well as former NFL star and Charlottesville resident Howie Long.
LACROSSE FEVER: A sellout crowd of 30,237 for the Division I lacrosse semifinals at the University of Maryland was the second-largest at an NCAA event this year and surpassed the attendance at seven of 13 major-league baseball games on the same day.
Total paid attendance at three sessions, including the Division I final, set a record of 79,808 despite live telecasts on ESPN and ESPN2. A crowd of 15,768 for the Division III final between Salisbury State and Nazareth was an all-time, all-event record for Division III.
The Division I final four will be held at Maryland again next year, after which it moves to Rutgers. The NCAA, with an eye toward bigger gates in the earlier games, has eliminated home sites for the higher seeds and will play double-headers at pre-determined sites.
RECOGNITIONS: Defenseman Jason Pifer has become the first VMI lacrosse player to be invited to play in the North/South Senior Lacrosse Classic, where he will join midfielder J.J. Blatt and defenseman Chris Doyle from Roanoke College.
Blatt, who finished his career with 101 goals, is the 15th Roanoke College player to be named first-team All-American and fifth in the 1990s. Doyle was a third-team choice and sophomore attackman Jeff Jones made honorable mention. Also receiving honorable mention were Washington and Lee seniors Scott Mackley (attack) and Shaun McKenzie (defense).
HOLLINS HALL: The latest inductees to the Hollins College Athletic Hall of Fame include Marjorie Berkley, who coached hockey, tennis and soccer in her 28 years at the school and was the first associate commissioner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Joining Berkley are equestrienne Heide Bossow Casciaro, a two-time national champion before her graduation in 1988; golfer and 1955 graduate Julie Russell Madison, and Virginia ``Dinny'' Rath, Class of 1924, whose Swarthmore College swim teams went undefeated for 12 straight years.
COLONEL CONNECTION: Second-team All-Timesland selection Felicia Manns and her William Fleming teammate, Kelly Irving, are headed to Virginia Union, where they will join ex-Colonels Marquetta Randolph and Ashaki Johnson on the women's basketball team. Manns was the leading rebounder (14.1) in Timesland.
LOCAL UPDATE: Ex-Northside High basketball standout Chad Briscoe, co-captain this past season at Anderson (Ind.) University, has accepted an invitation to play next season for Fackelbarabas in the Swedish Basketball Club League.
nKeith Bryant, a freshman pitcher from James River High School, won five games this year for a Bluefield State team that had only three other victories. Bryant, a right-hander, had a two-hit shutout against West Liberty.
HIGHLANDER HERITAGE: New Western Carolina men's basketball coach Phil Hopkins is the third ex-Radford assistant to get a Division I head job this spring, joining Steve Robinson (Tulsa) and Byron Samuels (Hampton).
by CNB