Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``The first call I got this week was from a member of the Virginia media asking what Jim Copeland had done wrong,'' Hall of Fame spokesman Mike Schulze said Wednesday. ``I thought to myself, `God, don't drop this in his lap.'''
The Hall of Fame Bowl, with the fourth choice of ACC teams, chose Duke over higher-ranked Virginia as an opponent for Wisconsin. Although he didn't knock Copeland, Schulze praised the Blue Devils' efforts.
``From the Duke standpoint, they targeted us early,'' Schulze said. ``We would say, `If you keep winning, we won't have a shot at you,' but we don't make a decision based on which AD has been calling us the most.
``I will say that the Duke fans and alumni were calling when they were 7-0 on the chance that they might be available. We didn't hear from the Virginia fans, to speak of. If you want to make a comparison, that's where the difference lies.''
It didn't hurt the Blue Devils that their season ended Nov.19 - six days before Virginia entertained North Carolina State. The Hall of Fame Bowl didn't even send a scout to the UVa-State game.
``We knew that Virginia was favored by 14 points and didn't think we had a chance to get them,'' Schulze said, ``but, we probably would have taken Duke over any of the other possible selections [N.C. State or North Carolina]. Duke is very attractive this year.''
Schulze said information is readily available that shows UVa took 4,000 fans to the Carquest Bowl last year.
``We knew the numbers,'' Schulze said, ``but one of the most important factors is the level of excitement of the fans at the end of the season.
``This the first bowl for Duke in five years and the first New Year's Day bowl in 34 years. That was something we had to consider.''
Less puzzling to some is the decision by the Peach Bowl, with the third choice of ACC teams, to choose lower-ranked N.C. State over UVa. After all, the Wolfpack defeated Virginia 30-27, although ACC sources have indicated that State athletic director Todd Turner violated a gentleman's agreement against guaranteeing tickets.
``Some schools did present some marketing plans to the bowls,'' associate commissioner Tom Mickle said, ``but, if you ask me, that's just sound business. I understand Virginia had a plan, as well.''
SHERIDAN WOOED: Less than 48 hours before George O'Leary was named head coach at Georgia Tech, Yellow Jackets' athletic director Homer Rice met Saturday with former North Carolina State coach Dick Sheridan.
Sheridan has recovered from a case of acute diverticulitis that caused him to resign as the Wolfpack's coach prior to the 1993 season, but there was uncertainty over the direction of the Georgia Tech program when Rice retires after the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
HOKIES AROUSED: Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus says he wrote more than 30 letters apologizing to Virginia Tech fans for his comments following the Fighting Irish's 30-11 loss to Boston College.
``I said, `I was standing on the sideline and I remember thinking, how did Boston College lose to Virginia Tech?' '' Powlus said. ``I thought, `how did they lose to anyone?' But I didn't say, `How did they lose to anyone?' ''
Powlus said he even received messages from some Tech fans via E-mail and found some to be so nasty that he chose not to respond.
IN THE METRO: Jamal Gladden, the state basketball player of the year in Ohio last year, left Virginia Commonwealth before playing in a game.
VCU's two early signees were 6-8, 230-pound Todd Cox from Harlan, Ky., and 6-6 Scott Marston from Cincinnati. Cox is billed as a low-post banger and Marston as a 3-point specialist.
ELON-BOUND: Jodie Hallett has become the second Pulaski County girls' basketball player to sign a letter-of-intent. Hallett, who signed with Elon College, follows teammate Kim Cruise, who earlier had committed to Radford.
Hallett, the player of the year in the Roanoke Valley District, will join former Cave Spring star Kim Stewart at Elon. Stewart, from Cave Spring, recently hit a game-winning 3-pointer against Limestone.
MORE RECRUITING: Laurel Park basketball teammates Warrick Scott and Girard Foster signed letters-of-intent with Johnson C. Smith , a Division II program in Charlotte, N.C. Scott is the son of Laurel Park coach Frankie Scott.
Oak Hill Academy basketball coach Steve Smith says Virginia and North Carolina are in the best shape with 6-9 center Melvin Whitaker. Whitaker, originally from Garner, N.C., also likes Cincinnati, North Carolina State and Maryland but is not yet an academic qualifier.
All three of UVa's women's basketball signees were ranked among the top 100 recruits by the Blue Star scouting service, including the last to commit, 6-foot Kate Mooney from Lakewood, Ohio.
LOCAL UPDATE: One-time William Fleming basketball standout Terrell Milam has played only 23 minutes in the first four games for Longwood, coming off a 23-6 season in 1993-94. Milam has two years of eligibility after transferring from VMI.
Former James River High football lineman Webster Booze was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn., which was 6-2 and ranked 19th in NAIA Division II before losing its final game.
Booze's arrival at Tusculum in 1991 coincided with the revival of the football program after a 41-year hiatus.
by CNB