Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Staples first gained national exposure last year at Five-Star with an 8-for-9 shooting performance in the all-star game at Radford University, the camp's home for the past eight years.
Staples was 7-for-9 this year in leading the Orange team to a 114-67 victory in the all-star game. He also limited friend Tarik Turner, chosen as the camp's outstanding player before the all-star game, to one field goal in 11 attempts.
Staples, who played at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke before spending his junior year at St. John's of Frederick, Md., was given the opportunity to play point guard, which might be his position if he is fortunate enough to play beyond college.
"He's a top Division I prospect," camp director Howard Garfinkel said, "[but] right now he's a two-guard trapped in a point guard's body [at 6-foot-1]. To go to the next level and be a big-time factor, he needs to learn the lead-guard spot.
"He's a Cory Alexander. If it took Cory Alexander two years to make the switch from shooting guard to point guard, there's no reason Staples couldn't do it."
Staples, who already has met NCAA academic requirements for freshman eligibility, will be at the Nike camp in Indianapolis next week after receiving one of the invitations that go to the nation's top 100 rising seniors. He said his interests currently lean to ACC and Big East Conference schools, with an edge to the ACC.
Salem High School guard Mark Byington joined Staples at Five-Star and was voted Role Player of the Week. Staples also was voted Co-Mr. Station 13 for doing voluntary drills.
\ IVERSON TO SPECIALIZE: Allen Iverson, who led Bethel High School of Hampton to state championships in football and basketball, has decided to play only basketball in college. Iverson, arguably the top college prospect in the state in both sports, has not decided if he will play football in the fall for Bethel.
\ VSAF IN NEWS AGAIN: A flap has developed at Virginia over the refusal of the Virginia Student Aid Foundation to inform contributors that only 80 percent of contributions are tax deductible, even after being urged to do so by the school's chief financial officer, Leonard Sandridge. VSAF officials contend the foundation has fulfilled its obligation by recommending that contributors consult their tax adviser.
\ MARK RESURFACES: Joe Mark, a past executive director of the VSAF, has been appointed golf coach at Davidson. Mark, terminated by UVa for his role in VSAF loans to student-athletes, was hired by Davidson athletic director and ex-UVa basketball coach Terry Holland as a fund-raiser and serves as assistant director of the Davidson Athletic Foundation.
\ MAROONS RECOGNIZED: Former men's lacrosse coach Paul Griffin and all-time scorer Paul Goldsmith were among five men and women recently inducted into the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame. They were joined by Joy Scullin Black, a lacrosse and field-hockey standout from 1979-82; basketball player Gerald Holmes, who scored 1,791 points and helped lead the men's basketball team to a 107-12 record from 1979-83; and Ann Turner Lawler, who competed in field hockey and swimming and also founded the women's lacrosse team in 1979.
\ ALEXANDER TRAVELING: Virginia point guard Cory Alexander is headed to Palencia, Spain, as a member of the U.S. Men's Under 22 World Championship team, which finished 6-1 in a qualifying tournament in Rosario, Argentina. Alexander shot poorly (41.4 percent), perhaps accounting for a relative lack of playing time (14 minutes per game).
\ COACHING SCUTTLEBUTT: Ernie Nestor, who resigned as George Mason basketball coach after his second consecutive seven-victory season, could be returning to the staff at Wake Forest for a second stint. Nestor, also a former Bassett High School coach, would succeed restricted-earnings coach Larry Davis, who landed a full-time job at Ball State.
Former VMI basketball coach Bill Blair, an assistant coach with the Washington Bullets for the past seven full seasons, has rejoined the man who gave him his first NBA job - new Indiana Pacers coach Larry Brown. In a recent trip to Lexington, Blair expressed concerns about his job security in Washington, although Brown is not known for staying in one place.
\ WOMEN'S HOOPS: Approximately 2,000 tickets remain for the 1994 Women's Final Four at 12,500-seat Richmond Coliseum. Virginia Commonwealth, the host school, is accepting ticket orders by phone at (804) 367-1726. A summer sellout is possible. . . . Michelle Hiett, who averaged 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds for Radford University during the 1992-93 season, has elected to pass up her final season of eligibility to concentrate on academics.
\ AROUND THE STATE: Antwan Chiles, a top quarterback recruit for Florida in 1991, has transferred to Liberty. Chiles, who tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass against Tennessee last season, will be eligible immediately because he is dropping from Division I-A to I-AA. The Flames have been ranked 12th in I-AA by The Sporting News.
Infielder Wayne Hunt, a first-team All-Tidewater selection from Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, has signed with VMI. Hunt batted .403 as a senior and stole 102 bases in 109 career attempts.
Washington and Lee lacrosse recruit Doug Gubner is expected to battle 1992 backup David Jones for the starting goalie's job as a freshman. The winner will be the Generals' fourth starting goalie in four years. Gubner and another of W & L's top prospects, midfielder Shane McLaughlin, are from Long Island.
Ferrum College soccer players Jessica Bier and Elaina Lopez have been chosen to the academic all-state team. Bier, a rising senior from Ferrum, has a 4.0 grade average. Lopez, who graduated in the spring, was voted Ferrum's top student-athlete.
by CNB