THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180161
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Basketball recruiting analysts were impressed with Old Dominion's recent class, but only one was impressed enough to rank the Monarchs among the top 25 nationally.
Bob Gibbons of All Star Sports has not completed his rankings yet, but said Old Dominion will be somewhere between 23-25. Van Coleman of Future Stars pegged the Monarchs 36th nationally, while Brick Oettinger of Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook and The Poop Sheet said ODU was among his honorable mentions, and estimated a ranking range between 35-40. Tom Konchalski of HSBI Report did not have ODU in his top 25 and didn't offer a number.
``But Old Dominion, for a mid-Division I school, had probably as good a recruiting year as anyone,'' Konchalski said. ``They beat out some of the bigger schools to get (Reggie) Bassette and some of those other people.''
Bassette, a 6-foot-9 center from suburban Richmond, was clearly the crown jewel in ODU's six-member class of high school recruits in the eyes of the analysts.
``The guy who really makes a difference for them is Reggie Bassette,'' said Coleman, who rated him among the nation's top 60 players. ``He's a guy who has a chance to come in and, with Odell Hodge, give them one of the best inside games in the country.
All the analysts said ODU clearly had the class of the Colonial Athletic Association classes. Coleman said after the Monarchs came Virginia Commonwealth, UNC Wilmington, James Madison, George Mason, Richmond, William and Mary, American and East Carolina. Oettinger said UNC Wilmington signed the CAA's best player in 6-8 forward Michael Gibbs out of Cove Spring, Fla.
Virginia got good reviews from all the analysts, rating 11th (Oettinger), 24th (Coleman) and somewhere between 15-20 (Konchalski). In varying orders, the analyst rated Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia as the top recruiting classes in the ACC.
Virginia Tech, which returns its NIT championship team virtually intact, had a weak recruiting year in the eyes of the analysts, ranking among the bottom three in the Atlantic 10. Nationally the highest marks went to Michigan, Arkansas and Kentucky.
TECH-TEMPLE: Virginia Tech's Nov. 11 football game at Temple has essentially become a Hokie home game. Temple is moving the game to Washington's RFK Stadium. A few details in the contract still have to be worked out.
``That's our largest market,'' Hokies athletic director Dave Braine said. ``We have over 25,000 alumni in that area.''
It's also the closest the Hokies come next season to Hampton Roads and Richmond, two other areas with large alumni bases.
Temple's fan base is as abysmal as its teams in recent years. It's not uncommon for 5,000 fans to rattle around 66,592-seat Veterans Stadium on Temple game days.
The Owls sold one home game next season to Kansas State, and Braine said he offered Temple $275,000 to play their game in Blacksburg. A standard guarantee for the visitor in a Big East game is $125,000.
Temple has retained Russ Potts, a state senator from Winchester, Va., to serve as the game's promoter, as he was a few years ago when the Hokies played West Virginia in what is now called the USAir Arena in Landover, Md.
ADD TECH: Braine said seven Hokie games are candidates for TV appearances this fall, in addition to the guaranteed ESPN appearance in the Thursday night season opener with Boston College Sept. 7 in Blacksburg.
``A lot of it hinges on what we do with BC,'' Braine said.
The others being considered, according to Braine, and the television entity showing interest: Sept. 16 Cincinnati (Big East Network); Sept. 23 Miami (ABC, ESPN); Sept. 30 at Pittsburgh (Big East); Oct. 21 at Rutgers (Big East); Oct. 28 at West Virginia (Big East); Nov. 4 Syracuse (ABC, ESPN, Big East); Nov. 11 at Temple (Big East).
It's unlikely the Big East would air more than three Hokie games. Braine seemed confident Tech-Miami will be picked up by either ABC or ESPN, and said it would be a night game on ESPN.
Braine said the Hokies made $1,081,250 last season on three regular-season football appearances on ABC or ESPN, by far the most ever for Tech. The Big East begins partial revenue this season in football. Schools will share bowl money, but will be able to keep all revenue from TV appearances.
UNTANGLED WEBB: After 20 years in college basketball coaching, Eddie Webb wanted out. Last week, Virginia Commonwealth enabled him to get out but still keep a hand in the game.
Webb was shifted from VCU assistant coach to a position doing administrative chores within the athletic department. He will coordinate travel, work on scheduling, academic advising and fundraising.
``I've been wanting to get out of coaching for a couple years, but you can't get out until you've got something to go to,'' said Webb, a former assistant at Old Dominion under his father, Paul. ``It's a good situation for me. I'm real happy with it.''
Webb, 41, has a 5-year-old daughter. He said it was time for him to come off the recruiting road and be home for his family.
``I got to the point where I'd grown tired of it and I was looking to pursue different opportunities in athletics,'' Webb said. ``Only the wife of a coach would understand all the sacrifices that have to be made in a marriage. I've seen how coaching can affect family life - it's staggering what it can do to a family.''
Longtime VCU restricted-earnings assistant Mike Ellis has been moved into Webb's assistant's job.
KING OF THE HILL: Old Dominion's summer basketball camp schedule includes a few heavy hitters as speakers.
NBA co-rookie of the year Grant Hill will speak to the players at ODU's day camp on June 26. Hill is a former Duke teammate of Jeff Capel III, the son of the ODU coach. He will piggyback a visit and golf game with Jeff III with the camp engagement. Jeff III will also play a prominent role in ODU's summer camps.
Former ODU star Kenny Gattison of the Charlotte Hornets is the featured speaker Wednesday at ODU's team camp.
MISCELLANY: ODU restricted earnings assistant basketball coach Bobby Collins has interviewed for a full-time assistant position at Hampton University. Collins is among the candidates for the job vacated by Jarrell Wilkerson, who became the new head coach at Booker T. Washington High. . . . Charles Bloom, an Emporia native whose parents live in Virginia Beach, has accepted a position as the Southeastern Conference's director of media services. Bloom had been the sports information director at East Carolina since 1988. by CNB