Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 22, 1995 TAG: 9506220032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Lassiter, who was expected to battle Maurice DeShazo for Virginia Tech's starting quarterback job in 1992, has returned to Blacksburg and will suit up for the Roanoke Rush minor-league football team this year.
Lassiter left Tech because of academic problems following the spring semester in 1992. He had a strong showing in spring practice that year as a true freshman, completing 21 of 48 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
``I look back at that all the time,'' said Lassiter, who has been back at Tech for a year and is enrolled in summer courses. ``I think maybe by now there would have been some pro scouts checking me out. Maybe I would have been drafted.''
Lassiter, who still has one year of college eligibility remaining, said he considered returning to the Hokies in the fall of 1994, but he still needed to work on his grades.
``Since I've got only one year left, I figured my chances are better in the minor leagues,'' he said. ``I still think I can get a shot at the Canadian [Football] League or an NFL training camp.''
After leaving Tech, he planned to enroll at Division II Elizabeth City (N.C.) State, but was denied admission for reasons he didn't specify. Lassiter has not suited up in football pads in three years.
``I'm still in good shape,'' he said. ``If I'm not out throwing the football, I'm playing basketball or some other sport.''
Rush coach Denie Marie, who was a volunteer assistant at Tech when Lassiter was a Hokie, received permission from Tech coach Frank Beamer to talk to Lassiter.
``After Coach Beamer said it was OK to visit with him, [Lassiter] said, `Coach, I want to play,''' Marie said. ``I told Fred the opportunity was there to play with us and that he could use that as his last year in college. He's still a great talent.''
A few former Hokies, including linebacker Rusty Pendleton and running back Ranall White, are expected to play for the Rush in its inaugural season. Marie said he is waiting to hear from former Tech standouts Ken Landrum, Jerome Preston, P.J. Preston and Bernard Basham.
In his final two years at Manor High School in Portsmouth, Lassiter threw for 2,360 yards and 17 touchdowns and ran for 850 yards and 12 touchdowns.
``I'm glad to have the chance to play again,'' he said. ``I feel real lucky.''
HARD-HITTING CAVALIER: Casey Crawford became the second prominent Virginia football signee in as many years to be selected in the baseball draft when the Atlanta Braves took him with their 16th pick this month. Crawford, a tight end from Bishop O'Connell in Arlington, said he definitely will go to UVa and likely will play baseball for the Cavaliers.
Crawford, a first baseman-outfielder who batted .450 with five home runs and 15 stolen bases, said the Braves were willing to let him go to college and play baseball during the summer.
``Pretty nice life,'' Crawford said. ``It was tempting.''
If he changes his mind, Crawford has until the first day of classes to sign with the Braves.
Last year, UVa signee Anthony Poindexter was drafted by the Florida Marlins but elected to play football.
BIG WIN FOR W&L: Washington and Lee can say it beat defending NCAA Division III football champion Albion - in recruiting. Greg Lusardi, a 6-foot, 235-pound lineman from Huntington Woods, Mich., picked Washington and Lee over Albion. Lusardi and quarterback Chas Chastain, who played at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Ga., figure to be the Generals' top two recruits. W&L also will welcome defensive end/fullback Jack Boyd, a transfer from the University of Richmond.
GARST TO HAMPDEN-SYDNEY: Salem swingman Kevin Garst will be part of a six-man freshman class for the Hampden-Sydney men's basketball team next season. Garst, who played on the Spartans' 1994 Group AA championship team, was the Blue Ridge District's third-leading scorer during the 1994-95 season.
The Tigers' class also includes David Hobbs Jr., the son of Alabama coach and Lynchburg native David Hobbs. He will be the second son of a Division I coach on Hampden-Sydney's roster, joining Ryan Odom, son of Wake Forest coach Dave Odom.
RAIDING RADFORD: Long Beach State, which is re-tooling its women's basketball program, has hired Radford assistants Bob Clark and Tricia Cullop, who have been a part of the Highlanders' NCAA Tournament trips the past two years. The two were hired by first-year coach Dallas Boychuk, a former assistant at Purdue.
Clark, a Philadelphia native who has been a women's assistant at Arizona State, Oklahoma and Providence, was a men's assistant at Roanoke College under Ed Green from 1984-86. Cullop played at Purdue from 1989-93, when Boychuk was on the staff.
``Purdue needs to pay me a finder's fee,'' said Lubomyr Lichonczak, Radford's head coach. ``Obviously, this is a great opportunity for two outstanding coaches. When you go to the NCAAs two years like we have, people learn about your program and the people you have involved.''
SALEM SERIES: Radford and Virginia Tech will play each other three times in baseball next season, with one of those games to be played at Salem Memorial Stadium, which is scheduled to be completed in late July. The other two games will be played at campus sites. Radford and Tech, which resumed their baseball rivalry this year after a four-year hiatus, split two games.
by CNB