ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
When the Virginia men's basketball team reconvenes today to begin practices for its upcoming European Tour, Chase Metheney will not be there.
Sources said Metheney's father notified the UVa staff this week that his son would be transferring, most likely to South Carolina or Iowa.
Metheney, a 7-foot-4 center from Charlotte, N.C., played in 22 of 27 games this past season and averaged 1.9 and 2.1 rebounds. Those statistics dropped to 0.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in ACC games.
Neither Metheney nor UVa coach Jeff Jones could be reached for comment Wednesday, although Jones said last week that Metheney was a candidate to start this season. Metheney played sparingly last season, but one reason for that was his propensity for fouling.
Metheney had a season-high 11 points Feb.7 in an 87-49 victory over Old Dominion, but, in his last six games, he was called for 17 fouls in 31 minutes. For the year, he averaged 7.95 fouls per 40 minutes.
Metheney was redshirted as a freshman at Virginia in 1994-95 and would have had three more years of eligibility. He will lose a year by transferring to a Division I school, where he will be ineligible in his first season.
Metheney becomes the third underclassmen to leave UVa since the spring, all of them freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Darryl Presley and Scott Johnson were arrested for shoplifting during the winter and transferred to Delaware and South Florida, respectively.
The Cavaliers are left with nine scholarship players, four of them newcomers. One of those, 6-9 Australian Craig McAndrew, is awaiting an NCAA ruling on his eligibility for the 1996-97 season.
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