ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270140
SECTION: WELCOME STUDENTS PAGE: 60 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
Virginia Tech fans used to hope against hope for a respectable showing from their football and basketball programs. As recently as five years ago, the Hokies were reeling from a pair of NCAA probations and dwindling fan support as their once-proud programs fell into the collegiate outhouse.
Oh, how times have changed. With a turnaround that would make motivational guru Tony Robbins green with envy, Tech has shifted addresses from the NCAA's low-rent district to its luxury penthouse with three bowl appearances, three NCAA tournament bids and an NIT title in the last three years. Naysayers have been replaced by rabid fans, and the questions have turned from "How bad can it be?" to "What do we do for an encore?"
For the football team, which has accepted the responsibility of carrying the university to the national front, topping last season's 28-10 victory over Texas in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, Big East title and No.10 ranking in the final Associated Press poll may prove too tall an order.
Tech enters the season with a 10-game winning streak, second only to two-time defending national champion Nebraska's 25-game run, but head coach Frank Beamer sees a lack of experience at key positions as a potential road block on the path to a second straight league title.
``Our goal is to be in the top echelon of the Big East conference and challenge again for the championship," Beamer said. "But at the conclusion of spring practice, I [did] not feel like we [were] a team capable of winning the Big East title. In order for us to have a shot at that, a lot of young players will have to grow up in a hurry."
Seven home games in '96 should help soothe the Hokies' growing pains, but road trips to conference powers Boston College (Sept. 14), Syracuse (Sept. 28) and Miami (Nov. 16) have experts tagging Tech with the familiar role of title dark horse. The Hokies were picked to finish third in the conference at Big East Media Day (behind Syracuse and Miami), while national preseason publications have ranked the team anywhere from 10th to 21st in the nation. Only the Lindy's preseason guide failed to rank Tech among the top 25.
Question marks have surrounded the team chemistry following the departure of 10 starters and the loss of starting placekicker Atle Larsen.
Beamer's immediate concerns lie in the defense - the heart and soul of last season's 10-2 team. Tech will have to replace third team All-American defensive tackle J.C. Price (104 tackles, 8 sacks) as well as a pair of All-Big East performers, linebacker and leading tackler George DelRicco (137, 2) and William Yarborough (52, five interceptions). In all, five starters and two key reserves have moved on from last season's nationally ranked defense.
"Our defense this year has a chance to be good," Beamer said. "With Cornell Brown and [senior defensive tackle] Waverly Jackson coming back, that's a good start up front. How many more step up is our key issue right now. Our linebacker play in the spring was good. We have excellent talent in the secondary. One thing these guys know is how to get after the football."
All conversations about Tech's defense begin and end with senior Brown, a consensus All-American and the Football News National Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, the defensive end led the Big East with 14 sacks, four better than West Virginia's Canute Curtis, on his way to Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors.
"Cornell has great ability, excellent football sense and a deep, competitive spirit," Beamer said. "He had an excellent season last year, but I think he will only get better."
While Beamer and his staff will have to work diligently to repair Tech's defensive wall, the offense should ease the transition with its ability to score points in bunches. The Hokies averaged 29.2 points per game in '95, the third-highest total in program history, and trailed only Syracuse (30.4 ppg) in the conference.
"The offense is up to the challenge, because we've shown tremendous growth since last year," senior fullback Brian Edmonds said. "We understand the defense will have many new faces, and we're going to play as well as we can to let those guys develop."
Senior quarterback Jim Druckenmiller returns as the team's signal caller and leader. Last season, Druckenmiller surprised many college football experts, who thought Tech's greatest weakness was at the quarterback position, by passing for 2,103 yards and 14 touchdowns, and being named to the second team all-conference squad.
"Jim has been a really solid quarterback with outstanding overall ability," Beamer said. "He makes people defend the whole field with his throwing. He can really stretch an opponent either vertically or horizontally."
Attrition in the wide receiving corps will mean that Druckenmiller will have to find a new favorite target in '96. Gone are starting wideouts Bryan Still and Jermaine Holmes and their combined 51 receptions and nine touchdowns. Replacing them will be senior flanker Cornelius White and redshirt-junior split end Shawn Scales.
Junior running backs Ken Oxendine and Marcus Parker and Edmonds make up a Hokie backfield that may rank as the best combination since "The Stallions" backfield of Eddie Hunter and Maurice Williams (1983-86). Oxendine is the team's top returning yardage back with 611 yards on 106 carries.
While the football team has enjoyed great success the last three campaigns, the Hokie hoops squads have been steadily rising in the national consciousness.
Coach Bill Foster's men's squad is coming off a two-year run that included a National Invitation Tournament title in '95 and an appearance in last year's NCAA tournament for the first time since 1986. On the women's side, Carol Alfano has guided her team to a pair of NCAA berths in '94 and '95 as well as a Metro Conference tournament and regular season title.
Coming off a 23-6 season, the men's basketball team must replace one of the most successful classes in Hokie hoops history if it hopes to compete for the Atlantic 10 title. Gone are Damon Watlington (12.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Shawn Smith (11.1, 4.5), Shawn Good (8.5, 3.9) and Travis Jackson (8.2, 4.1), leaving redshirt-senior forward Ace Custis (13.4, 9.5) as Foster's lone returning starter. Together, they led the Hokies to a 66-26 mark over the last three seasons.
"I'm really optimistic that we can be successful again," Foster said. "Even with the loss of four starters, this team has enough experience to be a contender again for the West division championship in the A-10. We want to keep this tradition moving in the right direction."
With the departure of his supporting cast, Custis will be under increased pressure to produce in the clutch. Last season, Custis led Tech in four categories - scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots - on his way to All-Atlantic 10 honors.
Alfano's women's squad will be looking to improve on last year's disappointing 11-17 record (8-8 Atlantic 10) and return to the form that translated to a pair of 20-win seasons and two NCAA appearances. With four returning starters, most notably second team all-conference center junior Michelle Hollister (17.3, 9.1), Tech looks on paper to be among the league's elite teams.
"I think being a young team in a conference last season really hurt us," Alfano said. "This season, the unfamiliarity of the opponents and the arena of the A-10 will be gone, and our squad will feel more comfortable with the surroundings. But I'm confident about this year ... the returning players on this team along with the newcomers want to prove they are winners and are dedicated to making this season happen."
Other returning starters include senior guard Sherry Banks (10.3, 4.1), junior forward Lynette Nolley (9.4, 5.2) and sophomore guard Katie O'Connor (8.9, 3.2).
LENGTH: Long : 141 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. GENE DALTON Staff. Senior quarterback Jimby CNBDruckenmiller (left) surprised the experts by passing for 2,103
yards and 14 touchdowns. Ace Custis (below) led Tech last season in
four categories - scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots - on
his way to All-Atlantic 10 honors. 2. ALAN KIM Staff. Basketball
coach Bill Foster will rebuild; the men's team lost four starters to
graduation. color. 3. GENE DALTON Staff. When the Hokies hoopsters
played top-ranked University of Massachusetts last season, students
shoveled snow before setting up their tents to wait for the tickets
to go on sale.