ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997 TAG: 9704110057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: TECH NOTES
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING THE ROANOKE TIMES
Bobby Hussey was searching for more than a big man Thursday.
Hussey, the Virginia Tech men's basketball coach, now must find another assistant coach after six-year Hokies aide Chris Ferguson accepted a similar post at Tennessee.
Ferguson, 38, was named to the staff of new Vols coach Jerry Green on Thursday. Ferguson was in Knoxville and could not be reached for comment.
Ferguson, who interviewed for the job Tuesday, informed Hussey he was leaving Tech on Wednesday.
Ferguson's move correlated with Tennessee's recent hiring of Green, who had been at Oregon since 1981. Ferguson served one year as an assistant under Green at North Carolina-Asheville.
So Hussey, who was out of town on a recruiting trip Thursday and unavailable for comment, must hire another assistant.
Hussey, who replaced the retired Bill Foster as head coach, should have plenty of resumes on file because the Hokies' other full-time assistant's job was filled last week, when former Tech aide Dean Keener decided to return to Blacksburg from Southern Methodist.
Ferguson, who was hired at Tech by Foster, was instrumental in the Hokies' basketball turnaround, recruiting many of the players on the squad that won the NIT title in 1995 and went to the NCAA Tournament in 1996.
MORE HOOPS: Ace Custis hopes his next two chances to showcase his talents for NBA scouts come off better than last week's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. In two PIT games, Custis scored 17 points on 8-for-26 shooting. He did grab 15 rebounds.
Custis will try to redeem himself in upcoming camps for NBA prospects in Phoenix and Chicago.
In women's hoops, look for Tech to name Carol Alfano's successor sometime next week. Best bet to land the job? Word around the Jamerson Athletic Center is it's former Hokies assistant Bonnie Henrickson, now an aide at Iowa. Henrickson recruited the majority of the talent that took Tech to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in 1994 and '95.
Also on the women's front, Kim Seaver, who broke the school's scoring record for freshmen this past season, recently underwent successful surgery on her right (shooting) shoulder.
SPRING FOOTBALL: Coach Frank Beamer confirmed redshirt junior Al Clark has won the starting quarterback job on the basis of his play in spring practice.
``Unquestionably, he's the guy,'' Beamer said.
Beamer said Dave Meyer has pulled ahead of fellow redshirt freshman Nick Sorensen and transfer Mike Kocicka in the battle for the No.2 spot. Meyer will start opposite Clark on April 19 in the Maroon-White game that ends spring drills.
Beamer said Thursday he has yet to make a decision on the football status of wide receiver Walter Ford, who began serving a 30-day jail sentence in Montgomery County Jail on Wednesday for a misdemeanor shoplifting conviction.
Since Ford was charged before Tech enacted its new disciplinary policy for athletes in February, the final decision on whether Ford will play next season is up to Beamer.
``My deal with Walter is he was back in spring practice on a conditional basis,'' Beamer said. ``We were going to sit down after spring practice and discuss his situation ... and we'll still do that.
``Certainly, though, him missing the rest of the spring practice and school is not in his favor.''
Defensive end Jason Berish, a rising junior who had eight tackles and a sack in his only college start last season against East Carolina, won't play next season. Beamer confirmed such, despite the fact Berish is engaged in spring drills.
A source said Berish was suspended from competition after he failed a drug test administered before last season's Orange Bowl. That explains Berish's failure to participate in the bowl game.
Berish, along with Danny Wheel, would have been the leading candidate to replace the departing Cornell Brown at the end spot opposite John Engelberger.
Pedro Edison's recent dismissal from the team has left the tight end spot as the Hokies' biggest question mark.
To develop some depth, Tech has moved Robert Adams, one of its top recruits from last season, from the defensive line to tight end. The 6-foot-3, 247-pounder played tight end as a two-way performer at William Campbell High School.
Redshirt senior Sean Sullivan and redshirt freshman Greg Myers are the other two candidates to replace Bryan Jennings.
``I don't think there's any question we'll be using some freshmen there,'' Beamer said. ``Sullivan has shown some things and Adams is coming along. Myers is a little light, but he has caught the ball well. But he's still about 15 pounds light from being a good tight end.''
Two likely starters, defensive end Wheel and offensive tackle William Flowers, are sidelined by injuries. Wheel broke his right hand for the second time in six months and sat out Saturday's scrimmage. Flowers sprained his right knee on the first possession of the scrimmage.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 linesby CNB