Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 18, 1993 TAG: 9303190035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
MANHATTAN COACH NEARLY MOVED TO CHARLOTTESVILLE
Fran Fraschilla, whose Manhattan basketball team meets Virginia on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, isn't as familiar with the Cavaliers as he might have been."I thought we were moving to Charlottesville," said Fraschilla, who was an assistant coach at Providence in the spring of 1990, when Providence coach Rick Barnes agreed to succeed Terry Holland as UVa's head coach.
Barnes changed his mind after meeting with Providence officials; however, in talking to Fraschilla, you get the distinct impression that it was almost a done deal.
"I thought it was pretty close," Fraschilla said. "It was never 100 percent, but, when we knew there was a chance, we started looking."
At prospects? Fraschilla, not wanting to say too much, let the thought pass.
"My wife and I started fantasizing about what it would be like to live down there," Fraschilla said. "I'm a Civil War buff and my wife's a Southerner. Her family is from North Carolina, and she went to Duke."
If Barnes had gone to Virginia, Fraschilla does not think he would have been a candidate for the Providence job.
"At the time I was 31 and I'd just gotten to Providence," said Fraschilla, who had worked with Barnes on Gary Williams' staff at Ohio State. "I don't know the whys and wherefores of Rick's decision, but it never got to the point of talking about his successor."
There are numerous connections between the Virginia and Manhattan programs - Jaspers assistant Anthony Solomon played at Virginia; UVa assistant Dennis Wolff was a finalist for the Manhattan job - but Fraschilla didn't immediately think of his brush with the Cavaliers.
"It occurred to me only in passing," said Fraschilla, who, in his first year, has taken Manhattan to its first NCAA appearance since 1958. "Really, the main thing that struck me was, we were playing a good basketball team out of the ACC."
\ PURCELL PRAISED: Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster says Blacksburg High School graduate Jay Purcell would be his choice as the Hokies' most valuable player after a season in which he averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Purcell shot 43 percent from the field and 36 percent on 3-point attempts - both career highs.
"Last year, we told Jay, `We're going to bring in two guys to beat you out,' kind of half-kidding," Foster said. "He took it seriously."
\ ALLEN PIPELINE: Frankie Allen has picked up transfers from Arkansas-Little Rock in both of his head-coaching stops. The first, Johnny Tooley, never played at Virginia Tech because of chronic ankle problems, although he remained in school. The second, 6-foot-11 Carlos Rogers, was the leading scorer for Tennessee State in its march to the NCAA Tournament.
\ NCAA-BOUND: Basketball official Duke Edsall from Roanoke has been assigned first- and second-round men's NCAA Tournament games in Orlando, Fla. Former Roanoker Sam Croft, now living in Greensboro, N.C., is headed to Salt Lake City.
\ LOCAL TIES: Milton Brown Jr., a starting forward for Midwest Regional participant Oklahoma State, is the son of former Roanoker Milton Brown, who now lives in California.
\ PROMOTED: Mike Byrnes, a former assistant basketball coach at Ferrum College and Roanoke College, has been appointed head of the postgraduate program at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham. Byrnes was an assistant this past season to Larry Matthews, who is retiring after leading Hargrave to a 91-15 record since the program was revived in 1990-91.
\ RECRUITING: Virginia basketball signees Jamal Robinson and Mike Powell will be among eight ACC basketball recruits on display April 8 at the 20th anniversary Capital Classic high-school all-star game at Cole Field House.
\ ANOTHER KIRBY: Virginia has added a late football signee, 6-foot-2, 215-pound running back Charles Kirby from Fayetteville (N.C.) Southview High. It was thought Kirby might attend prep school until he called the UVa football office to report improvement in his Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Kirby is not related to UVa all-time rushing leader Terry Kirby, "but, when he walked in the door, you had to be struck by the similarity in build," Cavaliers recruiting coordinator Gerry Capone said. Charles Kirby is projected by some as a fullback.
\ WOMEN'S HOOPS: Glenvar High point guard Nikki Hall, an All-Pioneer District and All-Region C selection, has accepted a scholarship offer from Longwood College. Hall, a starter since the end of her sophomore year, averaged 12.1 points and 4.3 assists as a senior. . . . Sophomore Ali Colgrove from Cave Spring started all 28 games for Coastal Carolina and had scored in double figures in four of six games before going scoreless against Radford in the Big South Tournament.
\ DATE CHANGED: The Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's lacrosse champion may not be determined until May with the postponement of last Saturday's scheduled game sending Roanoke to Washington and Lee. The teams will play May 6, two days before the Lee-Jackson Classic between W&L and VMI.
\ NON-REVENUE: Mike Nicklaus, a freshman golfer at Georgia Tech, is the third son of golfing great Jack Nicklaus to attend an ACC program. Steve Nicklaus lettered in football at Florida State and Jack Nicklaus II was on the golf team at North Carolina. . . . Transfers in non-revenue sports have instant eligibility, meaning former state golf champion Curtis Deal will have four years of eligibility at Virginia Tech after sitting out this season at UVa.