ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 25, 1996 TAG: 9608270027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
CHASE METHENEY will give basketball another shot in Charlottesville after flirting with South Carolina.
Would-be basketball transfer Chase Metheney, set to begin classes at South Carolina, apparently has returned to the University of Virginia.
UVa coach Jeff Jones is with the Cavaliers on a European tour and could not be reached for comment, but sources said Metheney would be allowed to rejoin the team.
Metheney, a 7-foot-4 center, will not lose any eligibility because he had not begun classes at South Carolina. He already was on campus in Columbia, S.C., when he decided to drive to Charlottesville.
Metheney, from Charlotte, N.C., played in 22 games as a redshirt freshman this past season and averaged 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds. He was plagued by foul problems, averaging 7.96 fouls every 40 minutes.
The UVa coaching staff felt Metheney was making progress in practice and was surprised when he requested a release. For one thing, he would have been required to sit out a year at South Carolina or any other Division I school.
Metheney's sudden departure left the Cavaliers with only four scholarship players and no center for their European tour. They were able to pick up Chris Alexander, a senior last year, who hopes to attract the interest of a foreign team.
Presumably, Metheney will be available for the Cavaliers' season-opening trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational. Virginia will be without low-post recruit Craig McAndrew, a 6-9 Australian who becomes eligible after seven games.
UVa's only other post player who has played in a college game is Norman Nolan, a 6-8 power forward. Metheney blocked six shots in a game twice last season and had a career-high 11 points in an 87-49 romp over Old Dominion.
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB