Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993 TAG: 9304290014
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I believe some of that is natural," said Jones, the Cavaliers' head coach. "I just hope people will give him a chance and not write him off based on his statistics."
Bogosh, 7 feet 1 and 240 pounds, averaged eight points and five rebounds this past season for Bacone Junior College in Muskogee, Okla.
His other visits were to Pittsburgh, Hawaii and Cal State-Fullerton, and he rejected a late pitch from Seton Hall.
"I've always wanted to play in a league like the ACC," said Bogosh, who played in Parkton, Md., north of Baltimore, and now lives in York, Pa. "I wasn't sure I'd ever have the opportunity."
Bogosh is the first 7-footer to sign with Virginia since Ralph Sampson in 1979, though he may be more reminiscent of UVa junior-college recruits Wingo Smith and Brent Bair.
"I have not compared him to those guys because he's considerably taller," Jones said. "We needed size, and we felt like Mark gave us the combination of size and academic background we needed."
Jones said it is not unreasonable to think Bogosh might start next season.
"Right now, it would be a mistake to rule anybody out," Jones said, "especially any of the big guys. If I were Chris Alexander or Shawn Wilson or Mark Bogosh, I'd be foolish not to be spending 20 hours a week in the weight room."
Bogosh became a high priority for the Cavaliers after they finished second on high school All-America center Jason Lawson, who signed with Villanova. Jones has one more scholarship to give, and he was in Spain last week to watch 6-10 Ricardo Peral, who plays for a club team outside Madrid.
Peral, considered the equivalent of a top-50 prospect in this country, has met eligibility levels on the Scholastic Assessment Test, but Virginia has asked the ACC to review his club-team arrangement.
Bogosh originally signed with Maryland-Baltimore County and played 10 games as a freshman in 1990-91, when he averaged 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. He subsequently worked in the Virgin Islands, where he lived on a sailboat, before contacting Bacone coach Carl Scott.
Scott was asked if Bogosh could play in the ACC.
"Evidently [the Cavaliers] think so," said Scott.
by CNB