Within a week of his appointment as player personnel director of the Portland Trail Blazers, Brad Greenberg found himself in Madrid, trying to get European stars Arvidas Sabonis and Drazen Petrovic signed to contracts.

Almost 20 years later, he hasn't lost his eye for international talent.

Greenberg's first Radford recruiting class includes a pair of foreign-born players, 6-foot-11, 260-pound Artsiom Parakhouski from Belarus and Masse Doumbe from France.

If he were still at Virginia Tech, where he served as an assistant to his brother, Greenberg said he would not have hesitated to recruit Parakhouski for the Hokies.

Parakhouski, who plays for the No. 2-ranked junior-college team, College of Southern Idaho, "is a big, strong, agile kid who can rebound and run," Greenberg said. "Plus, he's a wonderful kid. He called me after our first win. Usually, it's the other way around."

Greenberg didn't go to Europe this time; rather, he sent assistant Ali Ton, a Davidson grad who previously served as an assistant coach for the Turkish Under-20 National Team.

"I did not know Ali, but I knew of him as a player," Greenberg said. "Because I had spent a lot of time in Europe and had an appreciation for international basketball, I found quickly that we sort of spoke the same basketball language.

"He's got a very bright mind and he's a hard worker who has a feel for international prospects."

Greenberg's native-born signee is Aaron Austin, a 6-3 point guard from Newport News. Austin, who transferred to Massanutten Military Academy for his senior year, had 26 points and nine assists last weekend against fifth-ranked St. Thomas More in the National Prep Showcase.

Around the ACC

An updated Virginia Tech football schedule on hokiesports.com has been circulating in Charlottesville, where Virginia hosts the Hokies on Saturday. The schedule shows Tech meeting Boston College in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 1 in the ACC championship game. Tech would need to beat Virginia to clinch a berth.

n Boston College, a 14¹₂-point favorite Saturday against visiting Miami, has lost 15 straight games to the Hurricanes since Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to Gerard Phalen lifted the Eagles to a 47-45 victory in the Orange Bowl in 1984.

n Preston Parker, who rushed for 133 yards and two TDs for Florida State in its 24-16 victory over Maryland, had never played anywhere but wide receiver dating back to high school in Delray Beach, Fla.

Local update

Ingrid Oelschlager from Roanoke was named to the all-tournament team after helping Bowdoin College to a perfect season and the NCAA Division III field hockey championship, the first for Bowdoin in any sport.

Oelschlager, the freshman of the year in the New England Small College Athletic Association, came off the bench in all 20 games but her 16 goals ranked second on the team. In high school, she was a three-sport standout at Phillips Exeter (N.H.) Academy.

n Khadijah Whittington from Roanoke went over the 1,000-point mark for her college career with 11 points and 13 rebounds in an 80-47 victory over Arizona.

n Catherine White, who won 15 state championships in cross country and track and field at Northside, finished her freshman year at Arkansas by finishing 199th as the Lady Razorbacks took 13th at the Division I championship meet.

"She ran solid all the way through the season," coach Lance Harter said.

Recruiting

The fall signing period that ended Wednesday wasn't restricted to men's and women's basketball. As expected, Kyle Long, younger brother of UVa football star Chris Long, signed with Florida State for baseball. Liberty's baseball program added Tyler Bream, the son of Flames alumnus and former major-league first baseman Sid Bream.