Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``I've told them that I'm a candidate and am prepared talk to them as soon as they decide what direction they want to go,'' Holland, the athletic director at Davidson, said this week.
Holland, men's basketball coach at Virginia from 1974-90, has been considered the frontrunner for the AD's job since Jim Copeland resigned Dec. 9 to go to Southern Methodist.
Sources indicate that Holland has wide support; however, nobody is certain if he would be the choice of UVa President John Casteen.
One possible issue is Holland's decision to hire Joe Mark, a former head of the Virginia Student Aid Foundation. Mark, implicated by an investigation into loans to student-athletes, subsequently sued UVa.
``If [the Mark factor is] true, then I've got to accept that,'' Holland said. ``It is a fact. I did hire Joe Mark.''
Competition could come from Craig Littlepage, who was an assistant basketball coach twice under Holland before becoming an assistant athletic director in 1990.
Littlepage was named acting athletic director in December, at which time he said he would not pursue the full-time job. Many feel he would not be opposed to a draft.
Others mentioned in connection with the post have been N.C. State athletic director Todd Turner, Wolfpack assistant and former VMI athletic director Eric Hyman and ACC assistant commissioner Tom Mickle.
William Harmon, in his first year as UVa's dean of students, heads a large selection committee that has been dubbed ``the gang of 17.'' Harmon has said an announcement is unlikely before the end of the semester.
JEFFERSON PROMOTED: Holland said that ex-UVa basketball captain Garland Jefferson, hired by Davidson as an administrative intern, has been promoted to full-time status.
Jefferson, putting his life back together after treatment for substance abuse, was the boys' basketball coach at E.C. Glass High before experiencing legal problems that led to a brief incarceration.
BACK IN COACHING: Tom Fletcher, a former assistant football coach and administrator at Virginia Tech, has returned to high school as a teacher and coach.
``I am pursuing some coaching opportunities, including a vacancy at [Castlewood],'' said Fletcher, currently a substitute teacher and track coach at John Battle High in Bristol.
Fletcher most recently was the athletic director at Catawba (N.C.) College after working as a fundraiser at Marshall University. He was the AD at Longwood College in the 1980s.
``This move shouldn't surprise anybody who knows me,'' Fletcher said. ``I've always liked coaching. It's kind of fundamental to what I am.''
ON THE ROAD: Virginia Tech has two football scholarships at its disposal and has entertained three or four prospects for official visits since the signing date.
Look for the Hokies to use one of the scholarships for the best defensive back they can find and save the other until the end of the year, in hopes of getting a big-time recruit who may qualify late, such as wide receiver Ricky Hall from Matoaca.
COACH IN DEMAND: Duke's 13-17 record hasn't prevented Southern California from expressing interest in Blue Devils' assistant Tommy Amaker as a possible replacement for interim coach Charlie Parker.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, recovering from back surgery, tapped restricted-earnings coach Pete Gaudet to run the team at least partly so he didn't have to choose between full-time assistants Amaker and Mike Brey.
SURPRISE ATTACK: Wake Forest entered the ACC men's basketball tournament last week ranked eighth in the conference in 3-point field goals per game (6.2) and last in 3-point percentage (34.3).
All the Deacons did in three tournament games was go 41 of 85 on 3-pointers. Randolph Childress set records for 3-pointers made and attempted by going 23 of 44 from beyond the arc.
``It's right,'' Wake coach Dave Odom said. ``We weren't close to the top. But, I would submit that as a misnomer. On a game-by-game basis, maybe we didn't make that many 3-pointers, but we always seem to make them when we needed them.''
No teams have met as many times (19) in the ACC tournament as Wake and North Carolina, although the teams had never met in the championship game before Sunday. Of course, Wake had not met anybody in the final since 1962.
ALUMNI REUNION: Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith was planning a trip to the Midwest Regional in Dayton, Ohio, to watch former Warriors Junior Burrough and Curtis Staples (Virginia), Ben Davis (Arizona) and Makhtar Ndiaye (Michigan).
First-round victories by UVa and Arizona would have set the stage for another matchup between ex-teammates Burrough and Davis, but Davis has been suspended for the three games of the NCAA Tournament before being allowed to play.
``Frankly, that is the toughest part of the whole thing,'' said Arizona coach Lute Olson of Davis' suspension for accepting merchandise from an agent. ``If ever there was a time when a kid needed his friends, it's right now.''
by CNB