Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508210046
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ducharme had said Thursday night that the Cavaliers were in a ``dead heat'' with Virginia Tech. He took unofficial visits to Virginia Tech, UVa and North Carolina State.
``I'll take an official visit later to whatever school I choose,'' said Ducharme, who will be a senior this year at Douglas Freeman High in Richmond, where he plays tight end and defensive end for the football team.
Ducharme, who came to national attention with his play at camps and at the AAU 17-and-under championship in Winston-Salem, N.C., has spent much of the summer trying to convince schools of his impartiality.
``A lot of coaches have come up to me and asked, `Is it true you're going to UVa?''' Ducharme, whose older brother and sister have attended UVa, said. ``I tried to tell them I was totally open.''
The Cavaliers didn't make the final decision to offer Ducharme a scholarship until watching him in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he helped Richmond Metro to a second-place finish.
Ducharme, a second-team All-Richmond Metro selection in basketball, has tried to improve his toughness by playing football and his agility by running the hurdles in track. He has been compared to former UVa basketball player and football quarterback Matt Blundin, but is said to have better offensive skills.
Ducharme had a 4.3 grade-point average last year, when four of his six classes were honors classes and he received his only B in government. He had a score of 1,340 on the Scholastic Assessment Test.
Ducharme joins 6-5 Monte Marcaccini, a transfer from Pepperdine who announced Sunday that he will enroll at UVa at the end of the month. Marcaccini will have three years of eligibility starting with the 1996-97 season.
A third likely recruit is 6-10 Melvin Whitaker, who signed with the Cavaliers this past spring but failed to meet NCAA eligibility standards. Whitaker has enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy, with plans to play for UVa next season.
Ducharme had offers from UVa, Tech, State, James Madison, Richmond, Davidson and Rutgers. Wake Forest liked him for football, but wanted to save the one basketball scholarship it currently has available.
Ducharme, whose father is a college professor, was rated one of the top 10 power forwards and one of the two biggest surprises at the NIKE Camp by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
by CNB