THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180549
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
The Colonial Athletic Association soon may pick up another partner in the realignment dance.
La Salle must decide this week whether to remain in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference or cast its lot elsewhere. Elsewhere could be the CAA, which has courted the Explorers off and on for six seasons.
``There has not been any kind of formal invitation extended,'' CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said Tuesday. ``We've got some kind of general understanding. Everyone's cards are on the table, it's a matter of whether we play or not.''
Yeager said if La Salle applied for CAA membership, league presidents would have to approve it. He expects they would.
The Midwestern has given La Salle a Friday deadline to declare its intentions for next year. Membership in the Midwestern has changed dramatically in recent years, and La Salle has looked for other options. The school is also considering the Metro Atlantic Conference, Yeager said.
La Salle would bring exposure for the CAA in the Philadelphia market, although the Explorers are not as highly regarded as some of the other members of the city's Big Five.
According to sources, the CAA will be bigger than the current eight members next year. The only question is how big?
Virginia Commonwealth, embroiled in an acrimonious split with the Metro, is said to be a strong possibility. Virginia Tech is another candidate.
DUFF IS TOUGH: Old Dominion backup point guard Duffy Samuels is coming off his two most productive games of the season.
In consecutive conference victories, Samuels has totaled 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting and has made four steals in 26 minutes of action.
Saturday at George Mason, Samuels helped turn around the game with three steals when the Monarchs were on the brink of falling behind by double digits.
``He's a little fireplug,'' ODU coach Jeff Capel said of the junior-college transfer. ``He's definitely a spark for us coming off the bench. We know when he comes into the game, he's going to make things happen for us defensively.''
CHRISTIAN'S VALUE: American's Christian Ast is third in the conference in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game, almost double what he scored last year. The senior forward also is fifth in rebounding with 7.9 per game.
American coach Chris Knoche said reasons for Ast's improvement are plentiful:
The German national may be motivated by the chance to play professionally in his native land next year.
After playing sparingly two seasons at Duke before transferring and sitting out a year, Ast had basically been inactive for three seasons.
When All-CAA performer Tim Fudd was lost for the season, Ast had to pick up the slack.
And this: The Sporting News preseason magazine identified the 6-foot-8 Ast as the most overrated player in the league.
``Maybe it was warranted,'' Knoche said. ``It isn't now, but maybe Christian goes into every game with that in the back of his mind.''
SPIDER BITE: Things aren't getting any easier for Bill Dooley at Richmond. Starting point guard Carlos Cueto became ill on the Spiders' trip to UNC Wilmington and had his appendix removed Monday. He will be lost for a minimum of two weeks.
Four Spiders who were expected to play key roles this season have left the team - two transferred, one was kicked off and one quit. With Cueto out, the Spiders are down to eight scholarship players, four of them freshmen.
``It gets to the point of being comical, if you're not part of the program,'' Dooley said.
TIP-INS: UNC Wilmington's Ganon Baker (leg bone bruise) and John Spann (ankle) are questionable for the Seahawks' games this week at Georgia Tech and American. ... James Madison guard Kent Culuko, slumping so badly just two weeks ago he was removed from the starting lineup, had 46 points and 15 rebounds in two games last week, and tipped in the game-winning shot at East Carolina. He was named CAA Player of the Week. by CNB