ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 2, 1997 TAG: 9701020080
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Ex-Patrick Henry basketball standout Brooks Berry, who went to prep school because he felt he had Division I potential, has proved his point to Fork Union Military Academy coach Fletcher Arritt.
Aritt said earlier this week that a half-dozen Division I programs have expressed interest in Berry, who is averaging close to 13 points per game in the postgraduate program.
``I think he's comparable to the Jacksons,'' said Arritt, who sent twins Jim and David Jackson to Virginia Tech. ``For one thing, he's taller than they are. He's a legitimate 6 feet 6.
``He's very active. He's quick. He jumps well. He's ambidextrous. And, he's got the stomach to play in the big games. I love Brooks Berry.''
Roanoke College was one of the schools that would have loved to have Berry, whose family has moved to Birmingham, Ala. However, he thought he could play above the Division III level.
``Woody Deans [who retired as PH coach after the 1995-96 season] recommended him to me,'' Arritt said. ``I've thanked Woody a bunch of times over that.''
AROUND THE STATE: Virginia Commonwealth center George Byrd had started 70 of 72 games before suffering a broken left foot that will cause him to miss 4-6 weeks.
Byrd was second on the team in scoring (11.6 points) and first in rebounding (6.2) at the time of his injury, which required surgery. Byrd broke his right foot when he was a freshman in 1993-94.
NOT A BUTT-KICKING? Duke, which earlier had beaten Army by 62 points, celebrated its return from Christmas break by walloping a Western Carolina team that made the NCAA Tournament last year, 104-54.
``They could've given us a good, old-fashioned butt-kicking, if they wanted to,'' said Western Carolina coach Phil Hopkins, whose team fell behind 17-0. ``It could have been worse.
``Sometimes I wonder if we play too many of these games. I wish we could play more games that would give us a better gauge of where we are as a team before we start conference play.''
PRESSURE'S ON: Florida State junior quarterback Thad Busby, who has taken the Seminoles to the brink of coach Bobby Bowden's first undefeated season, could lose his starting job if FSU falls to Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
``I think this game here is going to define Thad's career,'' Florida State offensive coordinator Mark Richt said. ``If he plays a great game, he'll solidify himself as a starter. If he doesn't, everything will break open in the spring.''
In addition to highly touted backup quarterback Dan Kendra, Florida State will have 24-year-old Chris Weinke, a former prep All-American who postponed his college football debut for six years while playing baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
COACHING CORNER: There are reports that Georgia Tech has offered or will offer San Diego Chargers assistant Ralph Friedgen a sweetheart deal that would bring him back to Tech as quarterbacks coach.
Ex-Virginia Tech assistant Pat Watson has served as offensive coordinator in George O'Leary's two seasons as head coach, but the Yellow Jackets failed to score more than one touchdown in five games this year.
O'Leary also served as a Chargers assistant under former Yellow Jackets head coach Bobby Ross, but received a personal-service contract to return to Tech as Bill Lewis' defensive coordinator.
RECRUITING: Clemson has received an oral commitment from Marcus C. Martin, a 6-foot-3, 178-pound quarterback and defensive back from Western Albemarle in Crozet.
Martin, named second-team All-Group AA, was rated the No.27 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times. He had visited East Carolina and Richmond, and he canceled a trip to North Carolina State.
* Boston College has entered the picture for Deep Creek High School quarterback Arnie Powell, who said Wednesday that East Carolina has a slight edge over Virginia Tech.
New Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said he would not recruit any players that he was recruiting for Virginia, but neither O'Brien nor the Cavaliers was involved with Powell.
* Virginia is in the final three with Florida and Tennessee for All-American wide receiver Steve Shipp, who had 76 receptions for 1,340 yards and 12 touchdowns this year for West Charlotte (N.C.) High School.
ROANOKE HELPED: Karin Miller, who turned down an opportunity to turn professional before and after winning the USTA Women's Challenger of Roanoke, is a freshman on the women's tennis team at Duke.
When she was at Hunting Hills Country Club in August, Miller did not know if Duke would accept her late application. The Blue Devils, ranked third in Division I last year, have won nine straight ACC championships.
NON-REVENUE: James Madison distance runner Bethany Eigel, a freshman from Christiansburg High School, was women's co-athlete of the year for cross country in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Eigel finished third in the CAA championship and 46th in the NCAA Division I meet. She shared runner-of-the-year honors with George Mason junior Amina Amaddah, who won the CAA meet and was 61st at the NCAA meet.
* Dawn Turpin, a senior from Radford High School, is the captain of the women's gymnastics team at Radford University. Turpin finished sixth last year at the state meet.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 linesby CNB