ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 5, 1996 TAG: 9612050009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Some college athletic programs, when faced with a coaching change, resign themselves to signing any recruits they can get.
At Virginia Tech, where assistant Bobby Hussey has been named to succeed Bill Foster as men's basketball coach after this season, fall recruiting could not have gone more smoothly.
Recruiting ``was part of the reason for the early announcement and the way it was done,'' said Hussey, introduced as coach Sept.9, four days before the start of the fall evaluation period. ``There had been speculation this might be Bill's last year. Other schools, if they weren't recruiting negatively, had a chance to plant a seed of uncertainty.''
Some of the prospects knew about the coaching change before the media did. Jenis Grindstaff, a 6-foot-2 guard from Spruce Pine, N.C., actually committed a few days before the announcement.
``He visited here in August, while we were in workouts before our European trip, and [Foster's future] was one of his key questions,'' Hussey said. ``Bill just told him, `If, in fact, I'm not the coach, here's the guy who will be.'''
The Hokies also dealt effectively with another potential problem - an NCAA ruling that limited them to three campus visits as punishment for a rules infraction. That was based on Tech's average of four visits during the previous four years, although the NCAA limit is 12.
``I can't deny that required an awful lot of - I don't know if investigation is the right term - so I'll say research,'' Hussey said. ``We weren't going to offer an official visit if we weren't sure we were in a player's top two or knew they were coming.''
The Hokies brought two players to campus for paid visits, 6-10 Clint McPherson from Miami and 6-9 Marcus Green from Wilmington, N.C. McPherson signed and Green remains uncommitted.
Tech signed four players - Grindstaff, McPherson, 6-6 Rolan Roberts and 6-3 Kenny Harrell - and awarded a scholarship to Jermaine Kilgore, who is on campus but ineligible this season. That leaves the Hokies with one grant available for the spring signing period.
``I think we'll fill the scholarship with somebody we want,'' said Hussey, who is considering several European big men. ``It's amazing how things have opened up. There are probably three or four guys in the 7-foot range that won't make a decision till late.''
RECRUITING: William and Mary basketball signee Jarad Houston, a 7-footer out of Somerset, N.J., instantly will become the tallest player on the Tribe's roster. The highest-rated of William and Mary's signees is 6-7 Jim Moran from Syosset, N.Y.
Virginia Commonwealth has signed 6-4 Marvis Thornton, rated No.1 among junior college shooting guards by The Sporting News. Thornton, originally from Dunbar High School in Baltimore, is in his second year at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College.
AROUND THE ACC: One of Duke's top 1995-96 recruits, 6-6 Nate James from St. John's at Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md., is expected to miss eight weeks of action with a thumb injury and may be redshirted. ... Florida State big man Corey Louis, trying to come back from a disappointing sophomore year, will be out approximately three weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery.
GETTING TOUGH: Several Big East football programs may have problems meeting guidelines, including an average attendance of 25,000, discussed by conference officials at a recent meeting.
Some Division III programs draw better than Temple, which had an average crowd of 4,406 in 1995. Rutgers didn't do much better than that Saturday, when the crowd was estimated at 5,000 for the Scarlet Knights' finale against Pittsburgh.
No time frame has been set for the attendance requirements. The feeling in the Big East is that Temple, by extending coach Ron Dickerson's contract for two years, has set its own time frame. If the Owls don't see a turnaround by the time Dickerson completes that extension, they may look into dropping to Division I-AA.
PARTING NOT AMICABLE: Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow, who offered football coach Mark Duffner a chance to resign, felt compelled to give her side when she fired Duffner after five seasons.
``He's not a bad person; he's just in the wrong job,'' Yow said. ``We would be foolish to make a change if we didn't think we could do significantly better. ... I think [resigning] would have helped him when it comes to another job. So, he's taking it personally.''
The Terrapins lost an estimated $700,000 in revenue when average attendance fell from 42,121 to 29,569. That hurt Duffner, as did his loyalty to his assistant coaches, many of whom had come with him from Holy Cross.
``I think it would have been helpful for him to take a long look at that,'' Yow said. ``I waited a year longer than my gut told me I should to make the change. But, my heart told me it would be better to come down on the side of leniency.''
JOB SEARCHES: Boston College pursued Navy coach Charlie Weatherbie, but he rejected an offer to replace Dan Henning and is working on extending his five-year contract at the Naval Academy that expires in 1999. BC officials now are talking with assistant coaches Randy Edsall and Kevin Gilbride of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. ... Pittsburgh has an interest in former Panthers quarterback Matt Cavanaugh, an assistant with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
INCOGNITO: After a 69-67 loss to unheralded American University, Monick Foote instructed her Virginia teammates to remove their uniforms and fellow co-captain Tora Suber said the players were not to wear any items identifying them with UVa until further notice. Seven days later they upset No.7 Vanderbilt 64-46.
BEIGHTOL OUT: Former Cave Spring star Aimee Beightol, a first-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection as a freshman at Randolph-Macon, suffered torn ligaments in her right knee and will miss the season.
Beightol, injured in a preseason scrimmage against Mary Washington, recently was named the top rising sophomore in Division III by Dick Vitale's preseason yearbook. Beightol was freshman of the year in the ODAC.
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