ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
BRENDAN DUNLOP, a point guard who has garnered national attention, makes an oral commitment to Tech.
There's some bad news for the mid- and high-major men's basketball program who have been inquiring about point guard Brendan Dunlop.
They can stop calling. Virginia Tech has him.
Tom Fraher, the coach at Mount St.Michael Academy in the Bronx, N.Y., said Tuesday that Dunlop has made an oral commitment to the Hokies.
Based on the schools involved in recruiting Dunlop, he is a good catch for Tech.
``You've got it,'' Fraher said. ``This is a point guard who's very good now and who's going to get better. He's well-educated and comes from a good family and would be a steal for anyone who signed him.''
Mount St.Michael was 49-5 in Dunlop's two years as a starter, including 28-1 last season, when it won the city championship. The team reached the city semifinals this year, with Dunlop averaging 16 points and seven assists.
``He's the best defender on our team and one of the best in the city,'' Fraher said. ``The only negative is he needs to get stronger, but that will come with time. He's a great floor leader and a good shooter out to 15 feet.''
Fraher said Dunlop took official visits to William and Mary and Bowling Green and was scheduled to tour Florida State and Miami (Ohio). Other schools who had called for information included Villanova, Nevada-Las Vegas and Virginia.
``He went from a low- to mid-Division I recruit in September and October to a player that the ACC and Big East schools were calling about,'' Fraher said. ``If there's one word I have for him, it's `gamer.'''
Dunlop enters a situation at Tech where the returning point guards will be a senior, Troy Manns, and junior Myron Guillory. The starting point guard, Shawn Good, has used up his eligibility.
Nathaniel Bailey, who signed with Tech in November, is more likely to spend the 1996-97 season at Hargrave Military Academy.
Fraher described Dunlop as very academically minded, with a 90 average and a 940 on the Scholastic Assessment Test.
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