ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997 TAG: 9704160043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: UVA NOTES
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY THE ROANOKE TIMES
A contract extension for Jeff Jones may be a stickier matter than once believed.
Jones, Virginia's men's basketball coach for seven years, said the day after the Cavaliers' first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa that he and athletic director Terry Holland had agreed in principle to a new deal.
Holland has admitted he was surprised to learn in January that Jones' contract had one year to run and was scheduled to expire after the 1997-98 season, but there has been no announcement.
Holland said Saturday he still expected Jones to receive an extension but conceded timing was an important issue. Holland doesn't want the contract to overshadow recruiting before the signing period ends May 15.
On the other hand, Jones would benefit from a resolution before he starts recruiting high school juniors, but there are underlying issues at work. Some members of UVa's board of visitors reportedly have developed an interest in Jones' status.
Jones told The Daily Progress in Charlottesville that he had not been in contact with officials at Boston College, despite reports in the Boston Globe he was among four finalists. Jeff Capel of Old Dominion and Rhode Island's Al Skinner are now considered the leaders.
RECRUITING SNAFU: The men's basketball staff at Virginia must revise its recruiting strategy after Chauncey Jones, one of the nation's top junior-college point guards, was rejected for admission.
Jones was in good shape academically at Wabash Valley (Ill.) College, but he was not a strong high school student in Chicago. UVa's exit has enabled Kansas and Wake Forest to get involved.
Ex-assistant Tom Perrin initiated Virginia's contact with Jones. Jones visited Charlottesville and virtually had committed to the Cavaliers before his transcript arrived. UVa subsequently has reopened its search for a point guard to compete with early signee Chezley Watson.
WOMEN'S HOOPS: Although the UVa women finished second on the nation's top prospect, Nikki Teasley, two of the Cavaliers' signees are second-team All-Americans. They are 5-8 point guard Erin Stovall from Honolulu and 6-1 Chalois Lias from Newport News.
Teasley signed with North Carolina, as did fellow first-team Parade All-American Juana Brown from Memphis, Tenn. Teasley and Brown roomed together at an all-star game in Hampton on the weekend before the spring signing day.
STITH ON MEND: All-time Virginia scoring leader Bryant Stith, who missed only one game for Denver over the past three seasons, was averaging a career-high 14.9 points when he had season-ending foot surgery to remove a bone spur March 17.
Stith, the Nuggets' captain, signed a five-year, $22-million contract before the season. He made more 3-point field goals (70) in 52 games than he did in his first four years combined (63).
PRO FOOTBALL: The New Orleans Saints are interested in re-signing 11-year veteran Jim Dombrowski, although not at the $1.75 million he was receiving when he was waived earlier this month.
Dombrowski, the only lineman among the six UVa players whose numbers have been retired, had one of the longest consecutive-game streaks in the NFL before breaking an ankle.
Ex-Virginia quarterback Mike Groh, who directed the Cavaliers to back-to-back bowl victories in 1995-96, has signed a contract to play in Germany for the Rhein Fire in the World League of American Football.
SWIMMERS ON RISE: Shamek Pietucha, who trained last summer with the Gators' swim program in Roanoke, received All-America honors after finishing fourth in the 200 butterfly at the NCAA men's swimming and diving championships in Minneapolis.
Pietucha, a native of Czechoslovakia, has lived most of his life in Edmonton, Alberta. He joined with All-America backstroker Jason Webb to lift UVa into a 20th-place finish and the Cavaliers were ranked in the final polls for both men (21st) and women (tied for 24th).
TOP-SEEDED AGAIN: The ACC men's and women's lacrosse tournaments are in Charlottesville this week after the conference decided not to include lacrosse in its spring sports championship weekend in Atlanta.
The Cavaliers have not won the ACC men's championship in the eight years since the tournament format was adopted in 1989. This is the fourth time since 1990 that UVa has gone 3-0 in the ACC regular season.
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