Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 10, 1995 TAG: 9508100062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: DOUG DOUGHTY LENGTH: Long
``Once [the Tar Heels] were in the picture, that's where he wanted to go,'' said Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, who has served as a contact since Ndiaye decided to leave Michigan. ``It was just a matter of whether they were going to offer a scholarship.''
The Carolina staff contacted Smith two weeks ago, but it wasn't until this past weekend that a visit was scheduled. Ndiaye arrived in Chapel Hill, N.C., at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and was a Tar Heel by Wednesday afternoon.
``McInnis is his best friend,'' Smith said. ``[McInnis] has been to Michigan to see him; Makhtar has been to North Carolina to see [McInnis]. It's not like Makhtar had to go down there; he already knew his way around.''
It will be the third school in as many years for Ndiaye, who originally signed with Wake Forest, but never played for the Deacons. He transferred to Michigan in January 1994.
Ndiaye (pronounced EN-jie) played parts of two seasons for Michigan and started 23 of games last season, when he averaged 5.0 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Ndiaye, a 6-foot-9, 240-pounder, blocked 222 shots as a senior at Oak Hill Academy.
He was prohibited from playing for Wake Forest by the NCAA, which placed the Deacons on probation after investigating the relationship between the Wake staff and an interpreter. Ndiaye, originally from Senegal, was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Ndiaye, who will have two years of eligibility for Carolina starting with the 1995-96 season, joins a multi-national cast that includes Ademola Okjulaja, a Nigerian native who most recently played in Berlin.
It has not been Carolina's practice to accept transfers, although Tar Heels coach Dean Smith took Dean Shaffer in the early 1980s. Shaffer, who began his career at Florida State, was the son of former Carolina standout Lee Shaffer.
Ndiaye visited Providence and Kentucky. Virginia was involved only until spring signee Melvin Whitaker announced plans to enroll at Hargrave Military Academy and re-affirmed his intention to play for the Cavaliers.
``If Melvin gets his test scores, he's going to Virginia,'' said Steve Smith. ``He won't even be recruited. I'm not sure [Hargrave coach] Scott Shepherd would let him be recruited.''
MARCACCINI MULLING: Monte Marcaccini, the leading freshman scorer in the West Coast Conference, said Wednesday that he is leaning toward transferring to Virginia but wants to take some more time before making his decision official.
Marcaccini, a 6-5 perimeter player, had visited Arizona State before going to UVa last week. ``I like Virginia and I like it a lot,'' said Marcaccini, who averaged 9.9 points and 4.6 rebounds last season for Pepperdine. ``It looks like that's the situation for me, but I want time to think and not be totally influenced by my visit.''
OTHER PLANS: Don't look for former UVa basketball star Barry Parkhill to surface as the new executive director of the Virginia Student Aid Foundation. More likely is a Parkhill move from the school's development office to the alumni association.
RECRUITING: Quickly emerging 6-8 Colin Ducharme from Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond was en route to Virginia Tech on Wednesday for an unofficial visit. Ducharme already has made visits at his expense to Virginia, Wake Forest and N.C. State.
Mudu Lee, a 6-3 shooting guard who played with Ducharme, is the first player from Virginia to accept a scholarship offer from Tennessee State under four-year head coach, Frankie Allen, a former Roanoke College star and Virginia Tech head coach.
James Irvin, a double-figure scorer for Cave Spring this past season, will play basketball for Catawba (N.C.) College under head coach Jim Baker, previously a Virginia Tech and VMI assistant.
FOURTH IN FOLD: Fullback-linebacker Jeremy Kishbaugh from Berwick, Pa., announced at a news conference that he has made an oral commitment to Virginia Tech, as speculated Wednesday in The Roanoke Times.
Coach George Curry said Kishbaugh (6-2, 240) had offers from Boston College, Maryland, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Duke and North Carolina. Kishbaugh, who joins teammate Brian Remley among four players who have committed to Tech, rushed for 401 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He also had 98 tackles, six for loss.
EARLY COMMITMENTS: Duke has received a football commitment from Luke Roush, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver from Freeman High in Richmond whose 1994 playing time was restricted by injuries. Roush's father is a vice president at the University of Richmond.
Duke coach Fred Goldsmith has received seven commitments, many from players who were in the Blue Devils' summer camp. The biggest name among Duke's commitments is Richmond Flowers Jr., a wide receiver and defensive back from Birmingham, Ala., whose father was an All-America football player at Tennessee.
JACKETS' REVENGE: Zach Piller's desire was to return to his hometown and play for Florida State, but he is headed to archrival Florida after gaining a release from Georgia Tech. Piller started nine games at defensive tackle for the Yellow Jackets last year as a redshirt freshman.
Georgia Tech had indicated it would not release Piller to another ACC school, which meant he would have been obligated to pay his way for a year at Florida State. Piller was involved in a bar fight last spring in Atlanta in which he sustained injuries requiring more than 500 stitches.
by CNB