Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 14, 1991 TAG: 9103140225
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One, Butch Estes of Furman, was preparing to take his team to Morgantown, W.Va., where the Paladins face West Virginia in a first-round National Invitation Tournament game Friday.
Another, Portland Trailblazers assistant coach John Wetzel, was ready to take the sideline in Phoenix as the Blazers played the Suns.
Estes, Wetzel and Tennessee-Chattanooga's Mack McCarthy - all of whom have ties either to Virginia Tech or to current Tech administrators - expressed a degree of interest in the job. None said they had been contacted by Tech.
Colorado State coach Boyd Grant, who coached at Fresno State when Tech athletic director Dave Braine was an assistant athletic director there, said he hadn't been contacted and said he didn't know what he would say if he were.
Braine, meanwhile, was in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday night. Speculation was that he was meeting with former Tech star Allan Bristow, now vice president of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets. Bristow could not be reached for comment.
"If I were, I would not tell you," Braine said from his hotel room when asked if he was in Charlotte to talk to prospective Tech candidates. "I'm not going to talk about it in the paper."
Estes, 43, was Furman's coach during part of the time current Tech assistant athletic director Danny Monk was an administrator at the Southern Conference school. The Paladins, at 20-8, are the Southern Conference champions. Estes is 97-75 in six years there.
"I've always had a great respect for Virginia Tech and can remember when Bobby Stevens hit the jumper at the buzzer in the [1973] NIT," said Estes, a High Point, N.C., native who graduated from North Carolina. "It would be an honor for me to talk with them. It's certainly an attractive situation, no question about it."
McCarthy, 48, is a native of Covington and a 1974 Tech grad. The Moccasins were 19-10 this year, and McCarthy is 113-67 in six years at UTC.
"I definitely have a lot of feelings for Virginia Tech," McCarthy said. "I think it's one of the great schools in the country."
Wetzel, 45, graduated from Tech in 1966 and was head coach of the Phoenix Suns in 1987-88 before taking an assistant's job with Portland. He said he doubted he would become a serious candidate because he has no college coaching experience and is tied to the Blazers at least until May. Last year, Portland went to the NBA Finals in June.
"If they were to have some interest, I certainly would be willing to listen," Wetzel said.
Grant, 57, had six straight seasons winning 23 or more games at Fresno State and has experienced similar success at Colorado State, winning 82 games in four years.
"Dave Braine's one of my best friends," Grant said. "I just think it would be something so hard for me to comment on . . . until he would say something to me."
by CNB