Thursday, July 10, 2008
Roster issues resolving at Tech
Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's College Notebook Plus is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Fridays.
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Virginia Tech's efforts to turn a 31-member football recruiting class into the 25-member maximum allowed by the NCAA has proceeded almost uneventfully.
Twenty-three of the Hokies' signees are currently on campus, with another two expected in August.
Headed to Fork Union Military Academy is Tony Gregory, a running back from First Colonial in Virginia Beach, while receiver prospect D.J. Coles from Goochland is trying to decide between Fork Union and Hargrave Military Academy.
Tech also will be without two signees from Group AA Division 4 champion Amherst County: state player of the year Peter Rose and receiver-outside linebacker Derrick McCoy.
McCoy is headed to a junior college, Georgia Military Academy, a move that generally is associated with players who can't meet NCAA eligibility requirements in one year.
Rose, arrested on felony drug charges in the spring, was released from his scholarship by the Hokies in answer to a request from the University of Massachusetts.
At least two Tech signees are scheduled to enroll at midyear -- former All-Group AAA wide receiver Ben Barber from Edison High School in Alexandria and defensive back Kendrick Pressley from Sumter, S.C., a member of Tech's 2007 and 2008 classes.
Goochland coach Joe Fowler said Coles made enough progress academically as a senior that he could enroll at Tech in January, and First Colonial has the same expectations for Gregory.
n Tech signee Jeron Gouveia, the Washington metro player of the year, has notified the Hokies that he wants to be known as Jeron Winslow-Gouveia. Gouveia's father is former Washington Redskins linebacker Kurt Gouveia, but Jeron lives with his mother.
Not so fast
Speculation about a possible football series between Virginia and West Virginia is premature, according to UVa's senior associate athletic director, Jon Oliver.
The Mountaineers and Cavaliers met in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl but have not played in the regular season since 1985. Skits performed by the Virginia Pep Band led to hard feelings in 1985 and 2002 and resulted in that group's banishment from UVa athletic events.
"We haven't had discussions and are not really planning to have discussions," Oliver said. "Given a Penn State series we have on the horizon and [this season's] Southern Cal game that we have to return, it would be a long time before we could get it on the schedule anyway.
"I would never say never, but it's not part of our discussions at this point."
Recruiting
The Virginia Tech men's basketball staff was one of three finalists for C.J. Harris, a 6-foot-3 guard from Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, N.C., who made an oral commitment to hometown Wake Forest in late June. Clemson was the other team in the final three for Harris, the lone junior to make the all-state first team in North Carolina.
n Georgia Tech has taken an oral commitment from Brian Oliver, a 6-foot-6 forward from New Castle, Del., who played the final 20 games of the 2007-2008 season for Oak Hill Academy. Finalists for Oliver, who averaged 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds for Oak Hill, included Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Miami and Pittsburgh.
Oak Hill's statistics were skewed because guard Brandon Jennings, rated the No. 1 player in the country by some services, scored 35.5 points per game. Jennings signed with Arizona but announced he will play in Europe this coming season before making himself available for the 2007-08 NBA Draft.
Matched again
The team that the Sacramento Kings have put together for summer-league play includes second-round pick Sean Singletary from Virginia and his one-time Virginia Tech rival, Zabian Dowdell. Dowdell, who played in Spain last season, and Singletary were fellow first-team All-ACC selections in 2007.
Local updates
Hometown product Robbie Andrews represented the Covington Lumberjacks in the Valley Baseball League all-star game this past Saturday.
Andrews, a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth, is joined on the Lumberjacks' roster by a Roanoke Valley contingent that includes corner infielder Brandon Lower (Hidden Valley), pitcher Kevin Munson (Cave Spring), catcher Evan Noell (Glenvar) and pitcher Turner Phelps (Lord Botetourt).
Lower plays for Virginia Tech, Munson and Phelps for James Madison and Noell at Coastal Carolina. Covington's roster also includes Ferrum pitcher Jonathan Wilson. North All-Stars included Virginia Tech pitcher Kyle Cichy.
