ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 8, 1996 TAG: 9608080027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Virginia Tech, with one men's basketball scholarship available, had several options available after losing recruit Rolan Roberts but plans to designate 1996-97 as the season it will comply with a one-scholarship reduction imposed by the NCAA.
As a penalty for travel improprieties, the Hokies were given a choice of having 12 players on scholarship - one under the limit - either this coming season or next season. Tech had interest in 6-foot-4 Shawn Tann from Southampton High School, but he was not a qualifier.
Tech insiders say coach Bill Foster is close to a commitment from a 6-11 European who would be willing to come this fall, but the certification process can be so complicated for foreigners that Tech won't push to have him declared eligible before the 1997-98 season.
The Hokies will have six scholarships and already have committed three of them to a group that includes the as-yet unnamed European, Roberts (who will attend Hargrave Military Academy), and Jermaine Kilgore, a 6-6 Hargrave product who will enroll at Tech this fall but may not play or receive a scholarship.
Point guard Nathaniel Bailey, who signed with Tech during the fall but did not qualify, remains interested in the Hokies but will not be available for two years. Bailey, once believed headed to Tech, has accepted a scholarship to Odessa (Texas) Junior College.
FOSTER REASSURING: A couple of Tech players were concerned about their upcoming trip to Italy, especially after learning they would be flying TWA out of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
``Coach Foster just told them TWA was probably the safest airline they could fly out of JFK right now,'' said assistant Chris Ferguson, referring to the recent explosion of TWA Flight 800. ``They felt better after that.''
SHOEMAKER TO WAKE: Wake Forest has beaten an impressive field to receive an oral commitment from Josh Shoemaker, a 6-9 post player from Gate City High School who grew three inches over the course of the 1995-96 school year.
Shoemaker, who averaged 16 points and seven rebounds as a junior, had scholarship offers from Wake, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Tennessee. He plays quarterback and is the punter for Gate City's football team, but currently plans only to play basketball for Wake.
METHENEY SAGA OVER: The UVa men's basketball staff was informed that 7-4 sophomore Chase Metheney will transfer to South Carolina, an hour's drive from his home in Charlotte, N.C. There has been little direct contact between the Cavaliers and Metheney, who was redshirted as a freshman and will lose a year's eligibility.
RECRUITING: Brett Harper, a first-team All-Group AAA player at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, has transferred from Hagerstown Junior College to Old Dominion. Harper, a partial qualifier in high school, must sit out the 1995-96 season but will have three years of eligibility for ODU.
SIGNEE CLEARED: Virginia was pleased to hear that the NCAA clearinghouse had approved football signee Donny Green for freshman eligibility. Coach George Welsh had voiced concern over the availability of Green, who had more than 20 sacks last year for Hampton High School.
NO LOSS FOR MOSS: Although it does not have the national name of some Division I-A programs, Marshall had plenty to offer Randy Moss, who from all appearances will make his long-awaited college debut for the Thundering Herd this fall.
Moss, a star wide receiver at DuPont High School in Belle, W.Va., originally signed with Notre Dame but was denied admission following his arrest for battery. He enrolled at Florida State, where he sat out the 1995 season, and then was dismissed from the team after failing a drug test.
Moss would have been ineligible this year at West Virginia, but he can play for Marshall because he is dropping a classification, from Division I-A to I-AA. The Thundering Herd will be moving up to Division I-A after this season, meaning Moss can play as many as three years at that level.
EVEN FOOTING? There is a good reason why Mississippi is opening the season with a pair of Division I-AA teams, Idaho State and VMI. The Rebels lost 15 scholarships when placed on NCAA probation two years ago and have fewer than 70 players on grant - just over the I-AA limit of 65.
IN THE PROS: Bryan Still, a second-round draft pick from Virginia Tech, has no recall of his first touchdown for the San Diego Chargers. Still was knocked to the turf and suffered a concussion Saturday on a 14-yard scoring reception against Minnesota.
IT'S A NATURAL: Clinch Valley and Ferrum, two football programs eager to schedule more in-state schools, will meet for the first time Sept.14 at Ferrum. Ferrum plays Emory & Henry and Newport News Apprentice, but Clinch Valley has no other opponents from Virginia.
``Ferrum has the same problem we have,'' Clinch Valley athletic director Carroll Dale said. ``Nobody will play 'em. Emory & Henry gave us two great games, with a lot of fan interest, but they dropped us because we're NAIA Division 2 and legally can give up to 12 scholarships.''
Dale said Clinch Valley does not give the maximum allowable scholarships, although the Cavaliers do give some athletic aid. Emory & Henry, like Ferrum, has an NCAA Division III program and is not allowed to give scholarships.
CAVALIER GOLD: Women's basketball player Dawn Staley wasn't the only - or the first - Virginia alumnus to receive a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Ex-Cavalier Melanie Valerio was a little-known gold medalist after swimming in one of the preliminaries of the women's 400-meter freestyle relay.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 linesby CNB