When Lewis Preston describes himself as a man who embraces challenges, he has the background to prove it.

"Remember, I went to VMI," said Preston, a graduate of Franklin County High School who holds the Keydets' career record for blocked shots. Preston, who spent two years on Billy Donovan's basketball staff at Florida, recently moved to Penn State.

"This is the third so-called football school I've gone to," said Preston, who was at Notre Dame for six seasons, 2001-2006.

Preston, 38, has a national championship ring from his first year at Florida and saw the Gators win 24 games this past season despite losing their entire starting five from 2006-2007.

Preston pursued the Penn State job after speaking to friend Hilliary Scott, who left the Nittany Lions' staff to become the head coach at Division III Lynchburg College.

"When this opportunity presented itself, I took stock of my career," Preston said Wednesday. "At Florida, I was on a staff with two former head coaches. Larry Shyatt had 34 years' experience and Rob Lanier had 20 years' experience.

"At Florida, the coaches weren't designated as the No. 1, 2 or 3 assistant, but this was an upward move for me. I'll have more of a role as a recruiter, coach and scout. To get to where you need to go, sometimes you've got to make tough decisions."

Three days after Penn State announced the hiring of Preston, 38, Florida announced its selection of 31-year-old ex-Clemson assistant Shaka Smart to fill its vacancy.

Preston said he felt no pressure to leave and noted Florida's ability to come together with a 2007-2008 roster that included seven freshmen and zero seniors.

At Penn State, former Drake head coach Kurt Kanaskie is viewed as the top aide to head coach Ed DeChellis, whose fifth Nittany Lions squad went 15-16 in 2007-2008.

"I think it's been established that Penn State has a student body that's totally immersed in athletics," Preston said. "It's just a matter of getting the athletes here to experience that."

More coaching

Scott isn't the only coaching newcomer in the ODAC, where Hampden-Sydney introduced former William and Mary assistant Durant "Dee" Vick Jr. as its new men's basketball coach. Vick succeeds Ryan "Bubba" Smith, who resigned earlier in the month and took the head-coaching position at Sewanee.

Vick, son of Roanoke realtor Durant Vick, grew up in Raleigh, N.C., and later played for future William and Mary coach Tony Shaver at Hampden-Sydney. Vick was an assistant on the Tigers' team that lost to Wisconsin-Platteville in double overtime in the 1999 Division III championship game in Salem.

Vick takes over a Tigers' team whose leading scorer, 6-foot-3 guard Turner King from Roanoke Catholic, has two years of remaining eligibility. King averaged 19.3 points this past season.

Recruiting

Shawne Alston, a running back from Phoebus High School in Hampton, has become the third football player from his school to make an oral commitment to West Virginia for 2009. First-year Mountaineers' assistant Chris Beatty, once the offensive coordinator at Hampton University, also landed highly regarded wide receiver Logan Heastie from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake.

n Virginia Tech has received a women's basketball commitment from 5-foot-6 Kyani White, who will be a junior next year at Stonewall Jackson in Manassas, where she plays for her father, Nsonji. White averaged 17 points and 7.6 assists as a sophomore and had nine Division I scholarship offers, according to the Manassas Journal Messenger.

n UVa has received commitments for 2009-2010 from 6-3 Erinn Thompson, the North Carolina player of the year in her classification; 5-10 Lexie Gerson, the New Jersey prep player of the year, and 6-3 all-area player Simone Egwu from Arundel, Md.

Cancellations

Virginia Tech men's basketball signee Kendall Durant will not be enrolling in September, Hokies' head coach Seth Greenberg confirmed Wednesday.

Durant, a 6-3 guard from the Washington, D.C., area, spent the 2007-2008 season at New Hampton (N.H.) Prep. He was the lone perimeter player in a three-man Tech recruiting class that includes frontcourt players Victor Davila and Gene Swindle.

Greenberg indicated that the next step for Durant, who attended three high schools or prep schools, might be junior college. The Hokies are not actively seeking to fill their 13th scholarship spot.

Draft winds

Prolific VMI scorer Reggie Williams will go to Portland with the 55th overall pick in the upcoming draft, according to NBADraft.net. According to that same Web site, three-time, first-team All-ACC selection Sean Singletary will not be chosen in either of the draft's two rounds.