THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9409210147
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Portsmouth Sports Club
SOURCE: BY ABE GOLDBLATT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Virginia Wesleyan basketball coach Terry Butterfield was raised in a football family.
So coaching at a college that doesn't have a football team has been somewhat strange to him.
``I miss football homecomings,'' Butterfield admitted at the Portsmouth Sports Club Monday. His father, Jim Butterfield, retired from Ithaca College last season after nearly four decades of coaching. He produced three national championship teams at the Division III level.
Butterfield says he would like to see football at Virginia Wesleyan, but he realizes the school doesn't have the resources.
Meanwhile, he's happy coaching basketball in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
``Some think that Division III basketball is no more than glorified intramural basketball,'' said Butterfield, who's in his sixth year as Wesleyan coach and a highly respected coach in the ODAC.
``The level of competition in the ODAC is absolutely fantastic. But we recruit quality athletes, kids who want an education and play basketball.''
Last season, Virginia Wesleyan had five seniors and finished with a disappointing 11-14 season.
``This time, I've recruited 11 new players, and I'm excited about it.'' Among the prospects are Portsmouth's Brad McMurran, a point guard from Norfolk Collegiate who led the state private schools in free throw percentage.
Also in the fold are Percy Slight (Indian River), a 6-4, power forward; Lawrence Mathews (Great Bridge), a 6-5 post player; and Sean Blackwell, who never played organized basketball while at Manor High School.
``Blackwell is the most interesting player on our list,'' Butterfield said. ``He's 6-9, 230 pounds and a 27-year-old freshman, who wanted to go back to school. He brings a level of maturity to our program.''
Butterfield talks about the disadvantages of coaching Division III basketball compared to Division I, pointing to the limited budget of $13,000, which has to cover travel, equipment and doing everything possible to stretch the dollar to make ends meet.
``But despite these shortcomings,'' he said, ``I feel my job at Virginia Wesleyan is more desirable than some in Division I.
``We work just as hard in our program as the Division I coaches do.'' by CNB