Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 26, 1993 TAG: 9308260017
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Byington has agreed to home visits from seven Division I programs, several of which already have offered him scholarships.
Home visits are scheduled with Virginia Tech, Radford and five Colonial Athletic Association schools - Richmond, William and Mary, George Mason, East Carolina and North Carolina-Wilmington.
Byington, a 6-foot-4 guard, will entertain three schools during the week starting Sept. 11 and meet with four schools the next. He will narrow his list to four or five for official visits in anticipation of signing in November.
"I've always wanted to go to a Division I school since I was little," Byington said. "People talk about the ACC - and I'm still on the mailing list for some of those schools - but I'm satisfied with the interest I've gotten so far."
Byington, a second-team All-Group AA choice and the lone junior to make first-team All-Timesland, will have no trouble qualifying academically for a scholarship. He scored 970 on the Scholastic Assessment Test as a junior and has a grade-point average just under 3.0.
This summer Byington made the all-star game at two sessions of the Five-Star Basketball Camp. He was named best role player at the Five-Star Camp at Hampden-Sydney, where his team went undefeated.
\ STAPLES VISITING: To no one's surprise, Curtis Staples has scheduled campus visits to Virginia and Wake Forest on the first two weekends of October. Staples also is considering Georgetown, Michigan and Ohio State, although there is an impression that UVa and Wake are his top two choices.
"That's what everyone keeps asking me," said Staples, who will play his senior year at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson after transferring from St. John's in Frederick, Md. "Those are definitely two schools that I will be considering, but I really am interested in Georgetown. I wouldn't rule out [the Hoyas]."
Staples is one of 40 seniors who have been invited by Nike to Beaverton, Ore., for an all-star game and a tour of the shoe company's World Campus in mid-September. "I'm sure they feel some of these kids will be pros one day and they want to expose them to Nike early," Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said.
Staples will be joined on the trip by Oak Hill teammate Alex Sanders, whose top choices are Minnesota, St. John's and Arkansas. A third Oak Hill senior, point guard Tarik Turner, is said to favor California and Syracuse. Turner played at St. John's last year with Staples.
\ UVA EYES BIG MEN: Inus Norville, a 6-foot-9 center from Fayetteville, N.C., and Hargrave Military Academy, has indicated Virginia is his top choice; however, he has not met NCAA academic standards and is prepared to take a post-graduate season.
Virginia is on a list of 11 schools being considered by 6-foot-8 Bobby Lasor from Norwich, N.Y., who had 33 points and 13 assists in the final game of the Empire State Games. However, 6-9 Sean Daugherty from Vincennes, Ind., returned from an unofficial visit to UVa and made an oral commitment to Wisconsin.
\ HOKIES LISTED: Virginia Tech is on the final list of 3-point specialist Robert Shelton from Louisa. Shelton's other finalists are Florida State, Texas, North Carolina-Charlotte, Providence and Virginia Commonwealth.
\ MOVES: One-time Oak Hill standout Ben Davis, who transferred from Kansas to Florida last year, is planning to leave Florida and enroll at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. If he graduates from junior college, he will have two years of Division I eligibility beginning with the 1994-95 season. . . . Indiana has received a commitment from 6-8 Andrae Patterson from Abilene, Texas, rated the No. 2 prospect in the country by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
\ WOLFPACK CASUALTY: Chuck Kornegay, who started six games for N.C. State last season before being declared ineligible, has elected to turn professional. Kornegay, a 6-9 forward who was considered the Wolfpack's top recruit in 1992, regained his eligibility in summer school but decided he did not want to remain in college.
\ IN THE NFL CAMPS: Ray Crittenden, who had nine receptions in his Virginia Tech football career, has been one of the surprises of the New England Patriots camp. Crittenden, a free agent, played soccer and basketball until joining the football team as a fourth-year junior.
Although Crittenden survived the latest round of cuts, ex-Hokies waived this week included veterans John Granby by New England and Al Chamblee by Tama Bay, as well as Tony Kennedy by Dallas and Jerome Preston by the New York Giants. Ex-UVa center Tim Samec was cut by Pittsburgh.
\ TOP 25 UPDATE: Sidney Cutchin, a standout fullback and linebacker last year at Laurel Park, has accepted a football scholarship from Morgan State. Cutchin, the last unsigned member of the Roanoke Times & World-News Top 25, originally signed a letter-of-intent to wrestle for Coppin State, which prevented schools from contacting him for football until the letter was voided.
\ PRUNER RECOGNIZED: Emory & Henry defensive end Scott Pruner, who has 29 quarterback sacks the past two seasons, has been named a preseason All-American in Division III by three publications. Pruner, a senior from Cave Spring High in Roanoke, is a two-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection.
\ IMPOSING SCHEDULE: VMI, trying to improve on last year's 3-8 record, faces a daunting schedule that includes seven teams ranked in the top 20 in Division I-AA by the Sports Network Poll. Five of those games will be on the road, including an Oct. 9 date with No. 1 Marshall.
by CNB