Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060024
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``That will be up to our administration,'' Braine, the Hokies' athletic director said. ``We have not publicly made a decision, but if we couldn't do the same things they do [in the ACC], it puts us at a disadvantage.''
The ACC, in response to stricter eligibility standards imposed by the NCAA, has agreed to let its members accept no more than four ``partial'' qualifiers - no more than two per gender and no more than one per team - starting with the 1996 incoming class.
``What I felt was, I was glad to see it,'' Braine said. ``So many times, test scores aren't the best criteria to evaluate academic performance, but they're keeping pretty much the same standards that they had.''
Tech's major sports compete in two conferences - the Big East and the Atlantic 10 - that do not have league-wide policies on partial qualifiers. In fact, Braine does not know of another Big East or A-10 program that voluntarily rejects partial qualifiers.
Tech in recent years has not accepted partial qualifiers, so-called because they do not meet all NCAA eligibility requirements, and Braine is eager to maintain some standards in that area. That's why he likes the ACC plan.
``I think it's going to take a couple of years to understand exactly what this all means,'' Braine said, ``[but] if the ACC has a competitive advantage over us, then we're hurting ourselves.''
A-10 FLAP: Promising big man Lari Ketner already had signed a letter-of-intent with Massachusetts when he took paid recruiting visits to Maryland and Atlantic-10 rival LaSalle. LaSalle coach Speedy Morris, under the impression that Ketner had committed to him in February, said he would file a protest with A-10 commissioner Linda Bruno.
NDIAYE MOVING: Former Oak Hill Academy center Makhtar Ndiaye is expected to leave Michigan, where he started the last 20 games of the 1994-95 season, and is said to be interested in playing in the ACC.
Ndiaye, a 6-foot-9, 240-pounder from Senegal, originally signed with Wake Forest but was prohibited from playing with the Deacons after Wake was found guilty of an NCAA violation. He was given instant eligibility after transferring to Michigan in the winter of 1994.
Ndiaye averaged 5.2 rebounds this past season, which put him second on the team, but he scored more than 10 points in only one game. Ndiaye averaged 5.0 points while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 54.3 percent from the line.
UNC SIGNEE QUALIFIES: North Carolina received some welcome news when signee Antawn Jamison, a 6-8 All-American from Charlotte, N.C., qualified for freshman eligibility on his last attempt. The only ACC signees not to qualify were Melvin Whitaker (Virginia) and Tyrone Outlaw (North Carolina State).
NOLAN OUT: Virginia men's basketball coach Jeff Jones said Tuesday that sophomore Norman Nolan is academically ineligible to play during the first semester, which leaves the Cavaliers with eight scholarship players for the season-opening Great Eight doubleheader. UVa played seven games prior to the end of the first semester last year.
HIGHLANDER GOULASH: Antoine Dalton, second-leading scorer and rebounder for Radford last season, has become the latest ex-Highlanders basketball player to receive a contract to play overseas. Dalton reportedly will receive $90,000 from Budapest of Hungary's Division I league.
TECH-BOUND: Virginia Tech walk-ons for the upcoming football season include Narrows lineman Jason Buckland, first-team All-Group AAA punter Craig Settmo from Albemarle and 6-foot-2, 245-pound Paul Kenny , a three-year starter at defensive end for DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. Kenny was on many recruiting lists to start the 1994 season.
ACADEMICS: When USA Today ranked the Top 25 teams in its final polls according to graduation rates, Virginia finished tied for third in football, tied for second in men's basketball and first in women's basketball. UVa, North Carolina and Alabama were the only schools with teams in all three polls.
Virginia Tech finished atop the Metro Conference's Commissioner's List with 121 student-athletes who had grade-point averages of 3.0 or better. Six Hokies had perfect 4.0 averages, including Blacksburg High graduate Katie Ollendick, a transfer from Virginia.
Michelle Graham was one of two South Carolina-Spartanburg athletes to finish with a 4.0 grade-point average. Graham, a junior from Radford High School, was a regular this year on a Rifles' volleyball team that went 38-14 and won its second straight conference title.
Nicole Ripken, who overcame a brain tumor to become the leading scorer for Washington and Lee's women's lacrosse team, was joined by teammate Carrie Niederer on the Division III Academic All-America team. Both graduated with over a 3.5 grade-point average.
SWIMMER TO UVA: Matt McLeod from North Cross has become the first male swimmer from Roanoke to receive a scholarship from Virginia in Mark Bernardino's 17 years as the Cavaliers' head coach. McLeod specializes in the breaststroke, sprints and individual medley.
``He can be a `player' right away for us,'' said Bernardino, who battled North Carolina for McLeod's services. ``He got sick just about the time he would have peaked this year, but we feel he will be a terrific college swimmer.''
SUPER W&L RECRUIT: Washington and Lee's most celebrated men's lacrosse recruit is midfielder Tom Super - the Generals hope he can live up to his name - from Ridley (Pa.) High School.
by CNB