ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
As athletic director at Davidson from 1990-1995, Terry Holland was part of an effort to make the men's basketball schedule worthy of NCAA Tournament consideration.
What he couldn't have known was that the Wildcats would lose some of their big-name opponents, or that he would be an onlooker as a member of the NCAA Basketball Committee when Davidson (25-4) was rejected for an at-large bid.
``I virtually did not take part in the discussion,'' Holland said. ``I didn't leave the room, but I made a point of not being involved unless they had a question for me to answer.''
Holland is a former Davidson player and head coach, but he did not have to disqualify himself because, since July, he has been the athletic director at Virginia.
``Technically, I was not excluded,'' he said. ``It was nothing that was discussed, but, as we got in the room, it became obvious I shouldn't be selling Davidson. At least I didn't think I should. A similar thing happened two years ago.''
That was when the Wildcats finished one game behind Tennessee-Chattanooga in the regular-season Southern Conference race, lost to the Moccasins 65-64 in the tournament final and didn't receive an NCAA or National Invitation Tournament bid after finishing 22-8.
As a result, Holland and coach Bob McKillop put together a 1995-96 schedule that included non-conference games with North Carolina-Charlotte (twice), Wake Forest and Alabama.
The game with Wake Forest was canceled when the Deacons were guaranteed a national TV date with Saint Louis. One of the games with North Carolina-Charlotte was dropped when the 49ers joined Conference USA. Alabama couldn't play, but got Davidson a game with a lesser light, Mississippi, which the Wildcats defeated.
However, Davidson also played three Division III teams (Rhodes, Catholic and Williams). In the eyes of the committee, those games never were played. That didn't appease critics such as ABC and ESPN commentator Dick Vitale, who screamed when the Wildcats did not get a bid.
``I think we've done right by the `little guys' in recent years,'' said Holland, who is in his fourth year on the committee and next year will serve as chairman. ``I don't think there were any true Cinderellas this year. If you're going to get in with a weak schedule, then you'd better win 24 or 25 with that schedule.
``Davidson had 22 Division I wins. [College of] Charleston had 22. Arkansas-Little Rock had 21. Those are quite different from the numbers you tend to read about in the newspapers. What we haven't seen is a continued commitment to building a good schedule based on the [criteria] we established.''
RECRUITING: High-scoring basketball standout Tony Stanley from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington confirmed he has made an oral commitment to Virginia Tech, although he continues to hear from other schools.
``Mostly, I just listen,'' said Stanley, who added that Penn State, Dayton and Minnesota are the schools that have contacted him the most. ``I don't know what they could say that could change my mind. I'd say I'm at least 90 percent decided.''
Stanley, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard, scored 840 on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and needs only to meet the required grade-point average to be eligible for an athletic grant in aid as a freshman. He averaged 27.3 points this season, with a high of 49 against Yorktown, and has been selected to play in the Capital Classic.
nVirginia, which desperately needs post players following the arrests of 6-10 freshman Scott Johnson and 6-10 recruit Melvin Whitaker, is one of several schools making a push for 6-9 Kris Hunter from Florida A&M University High School in Tallahassee, Fla.
BIGGER SOUTH? Belmont College, an NAIA Division I program in Nashville, Tenn., has had preliminary discussions with the Big South Conference. Belmont was successful in an appeal last year after the NCAA put a five-year moratorium on schools moving up to Division I.
Buddy Sasser, the Big South's commissioner, said he did not foresee Big South expansion before the fall of 1997, when North Carolina-Greensboro is scheduled to leave for the Southern Conference. Elon College, a North Carolina school that has been competing at the NCAA Division II level, is another possibility.
KEYDET CONTINGENT: Five VMI wrestlers won Southern Conference championships - a high for the Keydets' program - and will compete at the NCAA Division I championships March 22-23 in Minneapolis.
The VMI champions were heavyweight Leslie Apedoe, the Southern Conference freshman of the year, and four wrestlers from Virginia Beach. All are juniors in eligibility: 126-pounder Aaron Mickiewicz, 134-pounder Adam Mickiewicz, 142-pounder Jason Foresman and 150-pounder Reese Edginton.
The Mickiewiczes are twins who attended different high schools in Virginia Beach, Green Run and Kellam, respectively, because they didn't want to compete for the same position. When they reached the Group AAA final, they refused to wrestle each other and were declared co-runners-up.
FAST START: Roanoke College (3-0) will seek its third victory over a ranked Division III men's lacrosse team when it entertains No.15 Washington (Md.) College at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Attackman William Metz has 10 goals for the Maroons, who have beaten No.3 Gettysburg (Pa.) 10-8 and No.11 Alfred (N.Y.) 8-5.
Washington and Lee (4-1) faces a crucial test Saturday, when it entertains Gettysburg at 7 p.m. at Rockbridge County High School in Lexington. Ande Jenkins already has 17 goals for the Generals, surprised Sunday by unranked Cortland (N.Y.) State 11-7 in the championship game of the W&L Tournament.
LENGTH: Long : 103 linesby CNB