ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Coach Bobby Hussey is almost certain he will bring a big man into the Virginia Tech men's basketball program with the one scholarship at his disposal during the signing period that started Wednesday.
If a second grant becomes available, either this spring or before school starts in the fall, it will go to 6-foot-5, 220-pound swingman Eddie Lucas.
Lucas was the leading scorer two years ago for the Naval Academy, where he started 12 of 26 games and averaged 11.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. He transferred to Tech this past fall and will have two years of eligibility starting with the 1997-98 season.
A Navy source said the Midshipmen were surprised Lucas left, although he would have faced a five-year postgraduate military commitment if he had remained at Navy past his second year.
Lucas practiced with Tech's team this past season, as did 6-7 David Whaley, who was expected to spend the 1996-97 season at Naval Academy Prep in Newport, R.I., before enrolling at Annapolis.
Hussey said Lucas has participated in weight training and is the strongest player on the team according to one index. He shot 45.2 percent from the field at Navy, including 43.3 (29-of-67) from 3-point range, and 84.1 from the free-throw line.
``He's very impressive - a hard worker who is committed to improve - and has a passion for the game,'' Hussey said. ``He has improved drastically since he got here. He shoots well, with range, and can create off the dribble.''
Hussey said he wishes he could give Lucas a scholarship at this point, but the Hokies have only the one grant, and Hussey is committed to giving it to a big man.
``I know we will; it's just a matter of which direction we will go,'' said Hussey, who is looking at a European player, as well as post players from high school and the junior college ranks.
CAVS GOING JUCO?: Chauncey Jones, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Chicago, visited Virginia this past weekend. Jones averaged 16.4 points and 4.3 assists this past season for Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill., and scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons at the school.
The Cavaliers still are high on early signee Chezley Watson, rated one of the top five prospects in Georgia, but feel they need more than one point guard in the program with the departure of four-year starter Harold Deane. Purdue is believed to be UVa's chief competition for Jones.
COACHING SEARCH: The names being mentioned most frequently in connection with the vacancy on Virginia's staff are Bill Dooley, most recently the head coach at Richmond; Randy Ayers, fired as head coach at Ohio State; and Steve Smith, the coach at Oak Hill Academy in Grayson County.
Jones is concentrating on recruiting, and it may be the end of the month before he replaces assistant coach Tom Perrin, who was fired two weeks ago. UVa athletic director Terry Holland is said to have an interest in one of his former players, Wake Forest assistant Ricky Stokes.
DOMINO EFFECT: When Dean Keener returned to Virginia Tech as a full-time men's basketball coach, it opened a full-time position at Southern Methodist for Roanoke College graduate Robert Lineburg.
Lineburg, from Radford, played basketball at Roanoke before beginning his coaching career at Emory & Henry. He went from Emory & Henry to North Carolina-Greensboro as a restricted-earnings coach before joining boss Mike Dement in the same capacity at SMU.
BIGGER SOUTH: Norfolk State, which is moving from Division II to Division I and was planning to join the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, is showing interest in the Big South. Athletic director Dick Price is planning to attend the Big South meetings April 23 in Charlotte, N.C.
Elon recently became the Big South's eighth member, although Maryland-Baltimore County has given notice of its intentions to leave following the 1997-98 season. High Point, another program that is joining the Division I ranks, is viewed as a possible replacement.
WOOD AN ALL-AMERICAN: Lissa Wood, an Emory University freshman from Cave Spring High School, was named an All-American after finishing third in the 100-yard butterfly and sixth in the 200 individual medley at the NCAA Division III swimming and diving championships.
Wood also shared All-America honors after swimming the butterfly leg on Emory's 400 medley relay, which finished sixth. Wood also participated on three other relay teams that finished in the top 16 and made honorable-mention All-American in those events.
EX-KNIGHT A TROOPER: William and Mary track star Todd Doughty, a senior from Cave Spring High School, finished eighth in the decathlon at the Florida State relays despite spending two hours in an emergency room in the middle of the meet.
Doughty was warming up for the pole vault, the third event of the second day, when he was struck by the pole. His trip to the hospital prevented him from competing in the pole vault, but he returned for the last two events and won the 1,500 meters.
LEWIS GOING STRONG: Christiansburg graduate Von Lewis set a Bridgewater College record by clearing 7 feet, 21/4 inches in the high jump at the Lynchburg Invitational. Lewis, who has qualified for five consecutive NCAA championships (indoors and outdoors), also won the long jump and the triple jump.
INJURY REPORT: Jennifer Lampert, a senior on the women's tennis team at Virginia Tech, suffered a broken right arm during a doubles match this past week and is likely to miss the rest of the season. Lampert also was the No.6 singles player for the Hokies, who are 18-2 this spring.
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