ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604090119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
Marshall basketball fans will have to wait a little longer to find out who will become the next coach since President J. Wade Gilley has postponed his deadline for the hiring.
``We're still working on it,'' he said. ``We started out thinking we would have liked to have done something by then, but we were looking for the right match.
``We still have people we think could be that, but some get here and see us and we see them and it turns out not to be the right match,'' Gilley said.
Last week, Gilley said he wanted a coach hired by Sunday since Wednesday is the national date for high school and junior college players to sign letters of intent. But two more candidates for the job have since dropped out of consideration.
Clemson assistant Larry Shyatt and VMI head coach Bart Bellairs said over the weekend that they have withdrawn from consideration. Indiana assistant Dan Dakich and former North Carolina State coach Les Robinson earlier pulled out.
That leaves University of Charleston head coach Greg White as the only confirmed candidate. White couldn't be reached for comment.
``He's still in the mix,'' Gilley said.
He wouldn't name any other candidates being considered by athletic director Lee Moon and the search committee.
Billy Donovan left Marshall two weeks ago to become head coach at Florida. In two seasons under Donovan, the Herd was 35-20, and it returns all nine scholarship players from last season's 17-11 squad.
In other college basketball news:
* Pat Kennedy no longer is a candidate for the St.John's coaching position.
The 10-year Florida State basketball coach, saying he was concerned with the impact the dragged-out search may be having on his program, withdrew his name from consideration. That decision was made amid growing reports he is no longer the favorite for the position.
Kennedy said he reached that conclusion Friday but wanted to sleep on it before making it public. He informed friend and St.John's athletic director Ed Manetta of his decision Saturday.
Kennedy said he did not initiate the meeting with Manetta that lasted 11/2 hours March 30. Kennedy said they spoke ``a few times'' after the initial interview. This was the fourth time since 1989 that Kennedy has interviewed seriously for another job. He was reportedly offered jobs at Tennessee and UNLV and was a candidate at Seton Hall.
OLYMPICS Suggs finishes 7th in rifle
Matt Suggs of Roanoke placed seventh in the U.S. Olympic Trials for men's 3x40 rifle competition in Atlanta.
Suggs scored a 3,654.7 out of a possible 3,818 points in the three-day competition. Suggs placed sixth in Sunday's trial, with 1,253.4 points out of a possible 1,309.
Glenn Dubis of Bethel Park, Pa., won the event with a 3,693.2, and Rob Harbison of Fallston, Md., was second. Both men won spots on the Olympic team.
U.S. shooters will return to the Wolf Creek Complex on April 15 for the North American Shooting Championships, in which up to 10 shooters will earn berths on the U.S. Olympic pistol team.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Igor Larionov (middle) of the Detroit Red Wingsby CNBscores a goal, then gets knocked to the ice by Chicago's Chris
Chelios (right) and Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour. The Red Wings won
4-1 for their 59th victory of the NHL season. They can match the
Montreal Canadiens' single-season record of 60 victories by
defeating Winnipeg on Wednesday in Detroit.