THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406031014
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
Then the New York Yankees nabbed the Cavaliers' junior in the first round with the 24th pick overall, and the junior reacted as though he'd just won the lottery.
{REST} ``I've just been as high as a kite ever since,'' said Buchanan, who was also named a first-team All-American by Baseball America on Thursday. ``My mom was jumping up and down, my dad had the ol' video camera out filming the whole thing, and you couldn't have knocked the smile off my face if you tried.''
Another Virginia player, pitcher Yates Hall, was chosen in the fourth round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Buchanan's selection capped a remarkable rise through the college ranks for a player so unheralded coming out of Fairfax High School, that Virginia was the only Division I school that offered him a scholarship.
``He's come so far in three years, and he still has a lot of untapped potential,'' Virginia assistant coach Bob Moranda said.
Despite playing for a team which lost 14 more games than it won, Buchanan hit .396 for the Cavaliers this season and set school records with 22 home runs and 66 RBIs.
Even so, Buchanan, who played first base his first two years at U.Va. before switching to rightfield as a junior, is the first to admit he's far from a finished product.
``Every aspect of my game could use improvement,'' he said. ``Offensively, I need to learn to hit the curve and off-speed pitches better. And on defense, I'll probably need about 400 fly balls a day in the outfield. I've only been out there a short time.''
Speed and power, on the other hand, are skills Buchanan appears to have in abundance. Moranda said Buchanan has been timed at getting from home to first in under four seconds, a remarkable time for a righthanded hitter.
As for power, the 6-4, 210-pound Buchanan believes he solidified his standing as a first-round pick three weeks ago, when he played home-run derby against powerful Florida State.
In the first game of a three-game series, Buchanan ripped a 430-foot home run to dead center off the Seminoles' Paul Wilson, the pitcher the New York Mets selected with the first overall pick in Thursday's draft. Buchanan then added two more home runs the following day.
``I'd have to say that probably helped my position,'' Buchanan said.
Buchanan said his parents will handle his negotiations with the advice of an attorney, whom Buchanan declined to name. Initial discussions with Yankee representatives will begin today, he said. by CNB