ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Just when it appeared Virginia Tech had completed its 1995-96 men's basketball recruiting, the Hokies have received an oral commitment from 6-foot-6 Jermaine Kilgore from Hargrave Military Academy.
Tech does not have any scholarships available, but Kilgore has not met NCAA guidelines to receive a grant-in-aid and is prepared to pay his way for a year in the likely event he is accepted by Tech's admissions office.
As a non-qualifier, Kilgore would not be allowed to play or practice for his first year. He would have three years of eligibility and would be eligible to start receiving athletic-based financial aid as a sophomore.
Kilgore, originally from A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, N.C., has a qualifying score on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), but he does not have the required cumulative grade-point average in a core curriculum of college-preparatory courses.
Kilgore averaged close to 15 points and nine rebounds this past season for Hargrave, where his teammates included 6-71/2 Jesus Rodriguez, who signed a letter of intent with the Hokies in April. A Hargrave alumnus, Shawn Browne, was a sophomore on the Tech basketball team this past season.
There's even more to the Tech-Hargrave connection. Early Tech signee Nathaniel Bailey, a likely partial qualifier or non-qualifier, will spend the 1996-97 at the Chatham school. Late signee Rolan Roberts also may wind up at Hargrave, along with Tech target Shawn Tann, named Sleeper of the Year in Virginia by The Roanoke Times.
If Roberts does not qualify, possibilities for the open scholarship would include Tann, from Southampton High School, and 6-10 Marvin Webster Jr. from Greensboro, N.C. One-time Tech recruiting target C.J. Jackson from Oak Hill, W.Va., has signed with Tennessee.
LOYAL TO TECH: Tech assistant coach Chris Ferguson has rejected an offer to join the staff of new North Carolina State head coach Herb Sendek. He also has turned down an invitation from Penn State head coach Jerry Dunn an old friend, to interview for a spot on the Nittany Lions' staff.
Ferguson is one of three finalists for the opening at North Carolina-Asheville, where he will be interviewed today. There is no assurance Ferguson will take that job if it is offered, just as it was not a certainty Ferguson would reject Sendek's offer.
``He's very impressive,'' Ferguson said of Sendek, whom he had not previously met. ``He's a good guy [and] he will win there. I just felt loyal to [Tech coach] Bill [Foster], the administration, the players here and the players who will be coming here.''
MORE RECRUITING: Clemson, quickly becoming one of the most talented men's basketball teams in the ACC, signed 6-9 Woni Mohammed from the Ivory Coast and 6-4 point guard Oded Katash from Israel in the week leading up to the signing date Wednesday.
Katash, who will be 22 when the season starts, was offered $250,000 annually for three years to play professionally in his native Israel before picking Clemson over UCLA and Miami. Katash has played in the Israeli professional league and will have only three years of NCAA eligibility.
Mohammed is the third player Clemson has signed in the past two years from St.John's Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md. Clemson coach Rick Barnes and Prospect Hall coach Stu Vetter have known each other since Barnes was an assistant at George Mason and Vetter coached at Flint Hill in Oakton.
* One of Mohammed's teammates at Prospect Hall, 6-6 McDonald's All-American Nate James, signed Tuesday with Duke. His other finalists were Maryland and UCLA. James averaged 23.1 points and 11.1 rebounds as a senior and was the MVP of the Capital Classic in Landover, Md.
IN FOOTBALL: VMI's latest football signee is 5-10, 200-pound Gregory Gay from Sussex Central High School. Gay was named first-team All-Group A as a defensive back by the coaches and second-team All-Group A at quarterback by the coaches and The Associated Press.
Sussex Central coach Dwight Reagan said VMI wants to take a look at Gay at quarterback, possibly as part of an option package, or as a running back or linebacker. Reagan said Gay may have been overlooked by more prominent NCAA Division I-A or I-AA programs because he was late in meeting the required test scores.
WINDING DOWN: Dan Wooldridge, the only commissioner the Old Dominion Athletic Conference has had in its 21 years, told conference athletic directors last week that he plans to retire following the 1996-97 school year. Wooldridge, from Roanoke, plans to remain in his position as supervisor of football officials for the Big East Conference.
IN THE ODAC: Catholic University of Washington, D.C., has requested a membership application from the ODAC. Catholic was a member of the ODAC in all sports from 1982-84, but its intention is to rejoin the ODAC for football only, for which there is a provision in the league by-laws.
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