Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 25

hi SHs McCray commits to Lady Vols wasnt very impressed the first Tennessee's reputation as one time she saw Melissa It was of the top programs in the coun-against Sullivan North our first try the Lady Vols were run-loss and she didnt have a very ner-up to national champion pood game Her assistant saw her Southern" Cal last year and qual-m some other gatnes and was ifled for the NCAA tournament By Victor Hull P-C Astlitwn Sport Editor North Carolina loss was Ten neBseergain Science Hills all-state all-everything girls basketball star the last two seasons Melissa McCray has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Tennessee and play for coach Pat Head Summitt Although North Carolina -appeared to be the front runner for McCrays services a visit to the Knoxville campus two weeks ago turned the tide in favor of the Lady Volunteers "I went down there for a visit and liked the team the school the coach said McCray a 5-foot-10V4 forward for the Lady Hilltop-jpers who is projected as a No 2 Sard for the Lady Vols "I really ed it a lot so I decided to go there I spent quite a bit of time with (Summitt)" McCray had been courted by many major schools in the country but UTs interest wasnt intense until she exploded for 38 points in Science Hills round loss in the girls state tour- nament earlier this month "I think she was kind of a sleeper in terms of Tennessee" said Science Hill coach Gary Scheuerman "Pat Head Summitt McCray averaged 20 points and 95 rebounds this season to lead Science Hill to its first-ever Big Nine championship In her two-year career with the Lady Toppers McCray scored 1322 points and pulled down more than 500 rebounds During that time Sci-' ence Hill was 57-12 and made two trips to the state tournament Prior to McCrays transfer Science Hill was 1-26 and had never appeared in a state tournament "That speaks highly of her abil ity She always rose to the occasion said Scheuerman 1 really believe shes a major college pros- Please see McCRAY Page 28 Melissa McCray this season losipg in the regional finals certainly didn't hurt McCray who had already visited North Carolina went to UT and spw the Lady Vols defeat Virginia in the NCAA tourney That helped a lot" McCray who transferred to Science Hill from Rutledge said of UTs tradition "They seem to be very competitive Id like to play for them i thought Carolina was good too but 1 prefer Tennessee Mar 28 1985 Uf dream Worrell deserves chance with Bucs ChFis Dortch very impressed "The first game of the (state) tournament Pat Head Summitt was there She was sold Melissa did everything you can do with a basketball She took it coast-to-coast a couple pf times played the point It gave them an opportunity to see what she could do They invited her for a visit and offered her a full scholarship I think Melissa was very impressed" UTs Richardson crashes 1 AP Laserphoto into Indianas EyI By Jimmy Smyth P-C Executive Sports Editor NEW YORK Don DeVoes dream of having one of his Tennessee teams win a national championship was shattered by Indiana as the Vols fell 74-67 in thesemifinalsof the National In- vitation Tournament Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden Down by l3 -points in the first half and by 11 almost five mi- nutes into the second half the Volunteers led by Tony White pulled into a 56-56 tie as the final 10 minutes started and led 61- 60 after Rob Jones scored with 8:22 remaining in the game The score was tied twice more at 62 and 64 but Indianas Dan the frrr in cMy 4 H'ww'v-'3 fror tn jy Twoxlhree-point plays by White vi tr- helped the el Ligm Ikexj pull back White scored 14 of his leading 22 points in the second half Anthony Richardson scored 15 Jones 13 and Michael Brooks 11 as Tennessees record fell to 21-15 with a chance in Fridays consolation game to tie a school record of 22 victories set by the 1976-77 team Bobby Knights Hoosiers carry a 19-13 record into Fridays Having been rebuffed in their Efforts to hire a big-name basket ball coach East Tennessee State officials now have the option of taking a drastically different approach in appointing a coach an approach that if employed will draw criticism despite the fact it has been proven successful many times even at ETSU Rather than comb the upper-level Division 1 schools for an Assistant or even a proven head fcoach as in the case of Auburns Sonny Smith who had the distinction Tuesday of crushing ETSUs spirits for the third time in a decade why doesnt the university simply look for a head coach whos proven his ability on the small-college level? -True such a move hardly generates excitement which in turn generates dollars But what is taord- important a quick fix of a few extra bucks or the stability of a coach who will stay around long enough to build a program? Allow me to cite examples of two schools in ETSUs own conference that got burned by what Ill call the big-time- assistant syndrome -The ftrsfr-ur Turman which rtt a coup-by hiring a -basketball coach Jene Davis off Indiana Coach Bobby Knights staff After all hiring Knight assistants was the fashionable thing to do several other Division I schools had established the trend and besides Davis came with Knights own recommendation Last month Davis quit Furman under heavy pressure having Coached the Paladins to a dismal 28-58 record in three seasons -Whats that you ask a former Knight assistant down the tubes? Indeed providing us with Lesson No 1 in hiring coaches: Greatness or in this case coaching expertise doesnt just rub off on someone My next example is Appalachian State which surprised everyone two years ago by hiring LSU offensive coordinator Mac Brown as its head football coach (ETSU was also in the hunt for Browns services but as well find out later Appalachian State not Whites free throw at 9 54 left on the clock Blab scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds for Indiana Steve Alford followed with 23 points DeVoe said much of Tennessees success in making a run at Indiana was "because Anthony JRichardson) was doing such a good job switching off of his man and playing Blab Maybe we should have done that in the first half Blab scored 14 points in the first half "A couple of calls out there hurt us DeVoe said DeVoe referred to a late offensive charging call on White with 21 seconds left Kreigh Smith sank one of the free throws to spread the Hoosier lead to 71-67 and Indiana -get two more chances at the free throw line including a technical on 'DeVoe for being out of the usdrvng box- The Vols sank only nine of 19 free throws while the Hoosiers hit 12 of 17 Indiana out-hit the Vols 564 percent to 527 from the field and the two teams were all even 29-29 on rebounds Jones (11) and Richardson (8) led Tennessees board work White said he felt he not Smith had been fouled on the late offensive foul call "He ETSU was the loser in that battle) Predictably Brown guided the Mountaineers to a winning season in 1983 but just as predictably he soon bolted for greener astures going to Oklahoma to come -offensive -coordinator Jor Barry Switzer Brown has since changed addresses again taking over as head coach at Tulane Lesson No 2 in hiring coaches: Bypass the man who never unpacks his bags Considering the level of Division I ETSU now finds itself entrenched in it is perhaps sound logic for the school to -hire a qual- ii its jvv tvosUviiij Coach Thats he? Furmn -moved to correct the- mess jts basketball program had become Tuesday the school named Presbyterian coach Butch Estes as the successor to Davis- Youve probably never heard of him but sports writer friends of mine in the Carolinas tell me hes an excellent coach ETSU just happens to have a coach that fits Estes descnption in its employ Hes currently serving as interim head coach His name is Phil Worrell Though most of the people Fve talked to adminstrators athle-Jic program boosters fans opposing coaches think elevating Worrell to permanent head coach would be a good move there are those who think it would be disastrous I agree with the former opinion and heres why: Worrell a native of basketball-crazyTrnii- I ana has fashioned his coaching championshi pga mea gainst (Smith) had freedom to move lCLA (17-12) which defeated White said "He pushed out on Louisville 75-66 in the other semifinal game Louisville is now 18-17 going into the consolation game Indianas 7-foot-2 Uwe Blab pretty much had his own way as Indiana broke open a close first half that included 10 lead changes before the Hoosiers took the lead on Joe Hillmans basket The two-pointer wiped out Ten- -nessees last lead until the Vols came back to go ahead 57-56 on me Although DeVoe said "Rob Jones (3j-for-9) was miserable on free throws he also added "a couple of others didnt deliver Jones had four assists and a blocked shot along with his points and rebounds DeVoe reminded that "Rob Jones helped get us here Brooks hit only five of 10 bas- Please see VOLS Page 28 Carriers efforts saved race Nine in contention for ETSU position "This track doesnt really belong to anybody but the people Theyre as loyal a group as there is in the sport Theyve always been supportive Race fans cant breathe easy yet Hodgdon has until early June to settle his debts in Bristol and it isnt clear what hell do He had a chance to sell the track back to Carrier just before filing for bankruptcy but the two couldnt reach agreement Carrier is still interested "He has to come up with a plan by June 8 Carrier said "I dont know whats going to happen but I dont think the problem has changed He was overfinanced from Day 1 "It all boils down to one of three options: He can sell the track to me he can come in with another buyer and pay everybody off or he can let the thing go back on the auction block "If I dont get it I hope whoever does straightens everything out with NASCAR and just doesnt come in here thinking theyre gonna buy a race track and thats it Ill tell you right now if (the new ownership) doesnt suit NASCAR those dates will be gone Regardless of who owns it Carrier said his major concern will continue to be with the fans and the impact of the track on the local economy Please see WORRELL Page 27 Yk Phil Worrell team to an 18-11 record i this year was a late applicant for the ETSU position three years ago Hatfield a former head coach at -Mississippi State lease see CHOICES Page 27 By Kelly Hodge P-C Sports Writer I BRISTOL It probably wont show but chances are Larry Carrier will enjoy Sundays running of the Valleydale 500 a little more than others hes watched True it will be the silver anniversary of an event he helped start back in 1961 but this one may have added meaning to Carrier the last 24 didnt have Without his influence it could very well have become an open date on the Winston Cup schedule "Im just grateful everything has worked out Carrier said Wednesday "not proud just glad I was here at the right time I believe on this go-round the races would have been gone Indeed the whole future of big-time racing at Bristol was cast in doubt when owner Warner Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy in Febru- -ary Another former Hodgdon holding Nashville International Raceway has since lost NASCAR sanctioning for both its races this season and in all likelihood will no longer be a part of the circuit A similiar fate for BIR appeared more than a possibility But Carrier who helped build the track and has served as its president and general manager since Hodgdon gained control pooled his resources and exercised his considerable clout with NASCAR He personally guaranteed future race purses and his continued involvement in the track's operations until it is freed from bank- ruptcy proceedings against Hodgdon 1 went to Daytona and talked to (NASCAR president) Bill France for a day said Carrier "and from what he said at the time he was ready to pull the dates if something positive didn't happen All it took was Carrier's assurances He has enjoyed a long friendly relationship with France and his father Bill France Sr founder of NASCAR To them Camer is stability "I go way back with the Frances said Carrier "I was told from the beginning we wouldnt need a (sanctioning) contract a handshake would do fve never had a contract with NASCAR "Once they knew I was guaranteeing the purses and would be -here and in charge everything was OK I guess I could have walked oil like everybody else but I felt like it would have been a dirty thing to do to the race fans By Chris Dortch P-C Managing Sport Editor The resumes of seven applicants for the basketball coaching vacancy at East Tennessee State have been given to university president Dr Ronald Beller for further consideration but two late applicants have thrown their names into the hat as well The seven include Phil Worrell former ETSU assistant coach and current interim head coach Bob Burton assis- tant to Don DeVoe at Tennessee Tom Meyer former head coach at Illinois-Chicago Circle and the son of former DePaul coach Ray Meyer Weldon Drew the former head coach at New Mexico State Frank Kerns the head coach at Georgia Southern Jerry Jobe who had a 525-197 career record at Oklahoma Christian College and Ed Green the head coach at Roanoke (Va) College In addition Les Robinson the head coach at The Citadel and Kentucky assistant Jim Hatfield have entered the picture Robinson who guided his "I think Ive gotten more gray hairs in the last couple of months here than I did in the first 24 years here he said "The bad thing about it is the Bristol raceway doesnt deserve the scars it got "Too many people have put their support and money into it I dont think Bristol could ever get anything to draw people in here like the track does Its good for the entire Tri-Cities area For the first time ever the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) will televise both Grand National races the other is the Busch 500 in August and the preceding Late Model Sportsman races as well TKe first LMS race the Budweiser 200 is scheduled for Saturday at 2 10 pm The Valleydale 500 will start Sunday at 110 "ESPN goes into 39 million homes" said Camer "It really sells us here People across the country who watch will know something about Bristol and a lot of them will Temember it later down the roaL Parsons 27 fr.