ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 6, 1997 TAG: 9703060060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
History has shown that Wake Forest doesn't have to win the ACC regular-season championship in order to capture the men's basketball tournament; in fact, that's what happened last year.
Nevertheless, the Deacons' play over the last month has raised questions about a third straight ACC title and a run at the national championship. Wake is 4-4 over its last eight games, including 3-4 in conference play.
As a result, coach Dave Odom has said that only center Tim Duncan will be assured a starting spot when the Deacons begin ACC Tournament play Friday against a team that beat them five days ago, Florida State.
``It's not absolutely necessary that you're on a three-, four- or five-game roll,'' said Odom, whose Deacons have dropped to No.8 in The Associated Press poll after 16 weeks in the top five. ``The important thing is that you feel good about yourself.
``That's the thing that's missing on our team right now.''
Wake finished one game behind regular-season champion Duke and, as it turned out, would have tied the Blue Devils with a win at Florida State. The Seminoles were coming off a 23-point loss to last-place North Carolina State.
``If we had scored five more points [in a 59-54 loss] and beaten Florida State, maybe we would have felt better, but that would have masked the problems,'' Odom said. ``Sometimes, maybe it's better to lose because it makes you face up to things.
``I think they'll [the players] be more rested, more eager, more alert. I think they want to prove that, in the last three weeks, the team that people have been watching is not Wake Forest. It's some team masquerading as Wake Forest.''
TORNADO WITNESS: College basketball official Howie Burgess from Roanoke was preparing to call a Sun Belt Conference Tournament game Saturday between Arkansas-Little Rock and Western Kentucky when a tornado touched down.
``Another 100 feet to one side and it would have gone right through our hotel,'' said Burgess, who also calls games in the Big Eight. ``There were people killed 1,000 feet from us. One of the other officials is a doctor and he went to attend to the injured.''
WOMACK UPDATE: As of Wednesday, it had been one month since the national letter-of-intent day for college football and the state's No.1-ranked prospect, running back Antoine Womack from Phoebus High School, still had not signed
The family is awaiting a report on the findings of lawyer Earl Dudley, who joined with the NCAA in researching Womack's recruiting. Womack's mother said she believes Penn State realizes that her son will sign with Virginia if there is no evidence of wrongdoing.
``I think [the Nittany Lions] do,'' she said. ``If it was going to be Penn State in the end, don't you think he would have done it before now? Antoine's just waiting around. The deadline to sign is April 1. If the [report] doesn't come back in three weeks, I don't know what's going to happen.
``As far as Antoine, I don't feel that anybody thinks he did anything wrong. He doesn't have a car. I don't have a new job. They asked me if anybody had offered me any money. Nobody offered me any money. They haven't, really. How could it be anything major?''
HOKIES' LOSS: The Virginia Tech football community is mourning the death Sunday of Lawrence White, a standout Hokies linebacker in the mid-1980s. White, who lived in Blacksburg, had been battling cancer since last May.
White, from Nottoway by way of Fork Union Military Academy, was a major contributor on the 1986 Tech team that won the Peach Bowl and finished 9-2-1. White suffered a serious knee injury in Tech's final regular-season game and did not use his final season of eligibility.
IN COACHING: Steve Marshall, who was head coach Frank Beamer's first offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, is the new offensive coordinator and line coach at Texas A&M. Marshall has coached the offensive line at Tennessee since 1993.
Rumors persist that longtime Virginia assistant Tom Sherman may be getting out of coaching. Sherman, who has coached the UVa receivers since 1987 and the quarterbacks before then, is the father of 1996 Cavaliers starting quarterback Tim Sherman.
THE LINEBURG TREE: Wayne Lineburg, son of legendary Radford High School football coach Norm Lineburg, has been promoted to full-time status at William and Mary, where he will coach the tight ends. Lineburg is a 1996 graduate of UVa, where he was a walk-on quarterback.
All four of Norm Lineburg's sons are in coaching. Oldest son Robert is an assistant on the basketball staff at Southern Methodist, second son Mark is the head football coach at Brookville High School and Paul is an assistant at Cave Spring High School.
LOCAL UPDATE: Barry Hamler, a one-time assistant coach at William Fleming High School, was named Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association coach of the year after taking Elizabeth City State to a 19-6 record two years after it was 8-23.
NON-REVENUE: VMI's wrestling team, co-champion of the Southern Conference, will be sending four representatives to the NCAA Championships. Reese Edgington received a wild-card berth at 150 pounds and will join VMI champions Adam Mickiewicz (134), Jason Foresman (150) and Leslie Apedoe (heavyweight).
It was the third individual title in four years for Mickiewicz, who has a 27-3 record and was named conference wrestler of the year. The Keydets needed a major decision from Apedoe in the final match to tie Appalachian State and North Carolina-Greensboro.
LENGTH: Medium: 98 linesby CNB