Wake recruit
Paul the real thing
Hokies in good with Amherst's
Booker
By DOUG
DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Fridays
I'm not sure I saw the future of college basketball in a visit to
Hampden-Sydney earlier this week for the summer's first installment of the
Five-Star Basketball Camp.
I may have seen the future of Wake Forest basketball.
Most of the buzz inside Kirby Field House surrounded point guard Chris Paul
from West Forsyth High School outside Winston-Salem, N.C. Paul, listed at 6
feet but probably closer to 5-11, made an oral commitment to Wake Forest
earlier this spring.
"An absolute steal," veteran talent scout Tom Konchalski called
it.
Paul led his team to an undefeated record in the NBA division, where camp
rules prohibit a player from being on the floor for the whole game. Paul
scored 40 points in the semifinals, including 28 in the first quarter, when he
hit his first eight shots.
In the Orange-White Classic later that night, Paul collaborated with White
All-Stars teammate Major Wingate on an alley-oop dunk to start the game and
then, after concentrating on playmaking for the first five minutes, scored 11
points in his second five minutes.
Paul, who bears a slight resemblance to one-time Virginia point guard Cory
Alexander, has a polished offensive game but impressed Konchalski with his
attention to both ends of the floor and overall instincts.
When Paul was at Five-Star last summer, he was considered a second-tier
prospect who was assigned to the NCAA division. He has been described as a
lifelong North Carolina fan who eventually was offered a scholarship by the
Tar Heels, but not until Wake Forest had him virtually locked up.
Paul also had an offer from North Carolina State, which needs a point
guard, but so do the Deacons. Wake started off the 2001-2002 with four point
or combination guards -- Broderick Hicks, Erwin Murray, A.W. Hamilton and
Taron Downey -- but the first two completed their eligibility and Hamilton
transferred to Marshall.
Downey will be joined this year by Oak Hill Academy product Justin Gray,
who may see some time at the point, but Paul should have an immediate impact
in 2002-2003.
THE THREE MOST prominent juniors in Hampden-Sydney were Paul; Wingate, a
6-10 post player from Florence, S.C., and J.R. Reynolds, a 2,000-point scorer
for Roanoke Catholic who will play his senior year at Oak Hill Academy.
Reynolds has been rated the nation's No. 37 rising senior by the Hoop Scoop
and No. 49 by Prep Stars. Part of that may be based on reputation and name
recognition, Konchalski said, because Reynolds already has made an oral
commitment to Virginia.
Whether Reynolds becomes a consensus top-50 player will not be determined
until the end of the summer, Konchalski said. Reynolds was one of four players
(out of 24) who had not scored in the Orange-White Classic by the time I left
at halftime.
To his credit, Reynolds did not force the action and demonstrated good
court awareness and ball-handling ability, as well as his signature quick
first step. Reynolds later was recognized as the top defensive player in the
NBA division.
Wingate, whom I remembered from his matchup with DeSagana Diop at the 2000
Hampden-Sydney camp, has the athletic ability and shot-blocking skills to play
at the high-major level but lacks diversity in his offensive game.
Wingate, a top University of South Carolina target, is rated 17th by Prep
Stars and 78th by the Hoop Scoop.
Rising juniors in the Orange-White Classic included James On Curry, a 6-3
combination guard from Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane, N.C. Curry was
a virtual nobody until he came to a shooting camp run by Hampden-Sydney coach
Tony Shaver in the summer of 2001.
Shaver, a former UNC basketball manager, knew he would never have a chance
at Curry and put in a call to Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty.
ONE OF THE MOST intriguing "prospects" at Hampden-Sydney
was point guard Yony Kifle, a 5-9 rising junior who made the Orange-White
Classic in the NCAA division.
Kifle plays at Mount Mission, a Christian school in Grundy with which I was
totally unfamiliar until Wednesday night.
Kifle, originally from Ethiopia, moved to this country seven years ago. His
family lives in Alexandria but somehow he ended up as a boarding student at
Mount Mission, where the 11 players on the team were the 11 players who showed
up for the first day of practice (there were no tryouts).
Kifle, who has a mean crossover, said Mount Mission plays other small
private schools from Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee. One of
its opponents was the Oak Hill Academy "red" team, which went 29-1
in the shadow of the Warriors' more acclaimed national team.
SCOTT ABELL, ENTERING his first year as the football coach at
Amherst County, conceded that Virginia Tech has the inside track for Barry
Booker, rated the No. 9 junior in Virginia by The Roanoke Times.
The Hokies "definitely have their foot in the door," said Abell,
noting that Tech has signed the top prospect out of Amherst in each of the
past two seasons (Tim Sandidge in 2001 and Brian MacPherson this year).
Booker, listed as a 6-3, 240-pound fullback and linebacker at the end of
the 2001 season, has grown to a 6-5, 255-pounder who is likely to be a
defensive end for Abell, who coached at Liberty High School through the 2001
season.
"Barry's got a great deal of potential," Abell said. "There
are spurts when he's completely dominant. He was the area player of the year
in basketball up here. There are just so many things you could do with him.
"He could be a tight end or you could bulk him up and make him an
offensive lineman. Coach [Larry] Slade at Tennessee said, 'We could play him
at five different positions.' He's only really bought into the weight room in
the last 3-4 months."
Booker, whose grade-point average is in the 2.7-2.8 range, has offers from
Tech and East Carolina. Abell said there is a 99-percent likelihood that
Tennessee will offer Booker and Abell knows that UVa coach Al Groh "is
very interested."
A second Amherst player who probably will get some Division I-A offers is
Emanuel Turner, a 6-3, 225-pound linebacker who has a 3.0 grade-point average.
Turner was close to 6 feet and 210 pounds to start the 2001 season.
"I shook his hand after I got the job and said, 'I'll be honest with
you, when we played this year, I don't remember anybody with your build,'
" Abell said. "He said he had grown 1-2 inches since football and
added 20 pounds or more."
Abell said Turner will go to summer camp at Maryland and Virginia for a day
each and then join his Amherst teammates at Tech's team camp.
"I'm confident he'll get one or more offers out of those camps,"
Abell said.
| JC
All-American gives UVa haul a lift |
| The
Cavaliers expect the arrival of Devin Smith to help offset the departure
of Roger Mason Jr. |
By
DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES |
Time
will tell if events of April24 have the same effect on the Virginia men's
basketball program in the long term as they did in the short term.
That was the day the Cavaliers signed Devin Smith, a
6-foot-5 junior-college All-American from New Castle, Del., and
Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
Whether Smith becomes an impact player at the ACC
level is anybody's guess, but when he informed the UVa
staff of his decision, it represented the first good news the Cavaliers
had received in six weeks.
Already that month, veteran assistant Tommy Herrion
had resigned to become the head coach at College of Charleston and top
returning scorer Roger Mason Jr. had applied for the NBA Draft - that
after 10 losses in the last 13 games.
"April was a very, very difficult month for us
in a lot of ways," coach Pete Gillen said. "We want what's best
for Roger, but that certainly hurts our team, and losing Tommy was a big
jolt.
"It was a tremendous lift getting Devin. Some
great programs [Kansas and Iowa] were after him, so we were fortunate.
And, then, to have him for three more years ... he'll be an impact player
for our program."
Gillen said earlier that he does not expect Mason to
remove his name from consideration by the Wednesday withdrawal deadline,
but life after Mason does not look as unappealing with the addition of
Smith.
Smith, overlooked as a post player in high school,
established himself as an accurate outside shooter at Coffeyville, where
he made 108 3-pointers last season as a freshman.
"We want to try and recruit more
shooters," Gillen said. "We still believe in quickness and
playing fast. We don't want to change everything. We still won 17 games
without a veteran point guard, but there were some reasons we had
problems.
"We want guys who can put the ball in the
basket. The guys who can't, they've got to improve or lose playing time.
Last year, teams cheated off of different players. We can't let that
happen again."
Smith and fall recruit Derrick Byars were Virginia's
only signees, but the Cavaliers could put five scholarship players on the
floor who were not in uniform in 2001-02.
That would include center Nick Vander Laan, a
transfer from California; combination guard Todd Billet, a transfer from
Rutgers; and point guard Majestic Mapp, planning to return after missing
the past two seasons with knee problems.
Virginia will not show up on any lists of the
nation's top recruiting classes, but the addition of Vander Laan, Billet,
Byars and Smith is not insignificant.
"You can funnel it or file it any way, "
Gillen said. "We've got four new guys who are eligible. We've got
four impact players, I think, four guys who are all going to compete for
starting jobs. Some of them will start, but that's all going to be
earned."
Byars, a 6-7 forward, could be the sleeper, which
might be a strange description for a Parade All-American. He was one of
four players UVa pursued in the
fall with the strategy of taking the first who would accept.
Byars was the first to visit and offered his
acceptance before UVa could get its
other three targets - Denham Brown, Brandon Bownman and Amrein Kirkland -
on the grounds. Of those three, only Brown was close to Byars in most
player rankings.
Assistant coach Walt Fuller was able to sell Gillen
on the notion that Byars, a 3.9 student, would leave Memphis.
"We didn't think the odds were great because
it's tough to get a kid out of Memphis," Gillen said. "We went
after three or four kids hard - you can't wait for one guy - but we were
always very high on Derrick."
|
Making a crossover move
Ex-U.Va. star has reason to root for Kobe
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
|
Jun 12, 2002
|
Last year's NBA Finals put Jerrod Washington in an awkward situation. His
brother-in-law plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Washington, a former
University of Virginia football standout, is from Philadelphia.
"If the Sixers had won, I wouldn't have been mad," Washington
said with a laugh. "This year, I'm Lakers all the way. I've got no ties
to Jersey."
His connection to the Lakers? Washington's wife, Sharia, is the older of
Kobe Bryant's two sisters. Washington, 30, and Kobe, 23, are business partners
and close friends.
"I'm like the brother he never had," said Washington, who
graduated from Virginia in 1993 with a degree in rhetoric and communication
studies.
The vice president of the basketball division of PMG Sports - Bryant's
father, Joe, is president - Washington has lived in Los Angeles since'97. It
was in Philly, though, that he was introduced to the Bryant family.
Maybe it was fate. Washington's father has a photography studio near La
Salle University, which Shaya Bryant, Sharia's younger sister, attended.
Jerrod Washington was working in the studio one day when Shaya stopped by.
They started talking, and she told him about her little brother, a phenom at
Lower Merion High School.
One thing led to another. Washington met Kobe. Then he met Sharia, who was
a student at Temple University. "We just became friends and started
talking," Washington recalled.
The relationship blossomed, and he and Sharia, who played volleyball at
Temple, were married in 1998. They have two daughters: Tayah, 3, and Sydney,
2.
At U.Va., Washington played tailback and cornerback and returned kicks.
In'91, against Virginia Tech, he ran back the second-half kickoff 90 yards for
a touchdown, the first time in 24 years a Cavalier had returned a kick for a
score. In'93, he led Virginia in rushing, gaining 871 yards on 162 carries. He
signed with the New England Patriots - whose defensive coordinator was Al
Groh, now U.Va.'s head coach - but a knee injury ended Washington's career.
None of which Kobe Bryant could have told you when he met the man who would
become his brother-in-law.
So Washington sat Bryant down one day and popped a highlight tape - The
Best of Jerrod - in the VCR. Bryant's reaction to what he saw?
"He was kind of surprised," Washington said. "He was like,
'Oh, man, you had some speed. You were pretty good.' He just thought I was
talking some trash."
When Washington moved to L.A., he became Bryant's personal manager, working
with Kobe's numerous sponsors and helping the aspiring rapper land a deal with
Columbia Records. In the spring of 2000, Bryant and Washington formed their
own label, Heads High Entertainment. Washington spends most of his time,
though, at PMG Sports, which he started in January with Joe Bryant, a former
NBA player.
PMG's clients, Washington said, include former Tennessee star Marcus
Haislip, a probable first-round pick in the June 26 NBA draft, Arkansas'
Brandon Dean, UCLA's Billy Knight and Providence's John Linehan.
His dream of an NFL career ended when he tore up his knee, but Kobe's
brother-in-law isn't complaining. He looks at his life and likes what he sees.
Who wouldn't?
"It's been a wonderful ride," Washington said. "I'm very,
very blessed in that aspect."
U.VA. NOTES
CAMP GROH-ING: Al Groh's first football camp at the University of Virginia
attracted about 400 high school players. A year later, Groh and his staff have
added a second session and are preparing for an invasion of about 1,100
players.
"We've completely reorganized and restructured the whole thing,"
Groh said. "We're trying to ratchet up the energy on a lot of things, and
this fell right in line with that."
Mike London, the Cavaliers' recruiting coordinator, has taken over as camp
director. The first session starts Sunday.
Summer camp has become an integral part of the recruiting process at most
Division I-A schools. In February, Virginia signed about a half-dozen players
who had attended its 2001 camp, including Patrick Henry quarterback Anthony
Martinez and Heritage-Newport News tailback Michael Johnson.
STARRY NIGHT: Six U.Va. football recruits have accepted invitations to play
in the Super 45 game June 22 at Centreville High. The all-star game (7:30
p.m.), formerly known as the Super 44, matches teams from Northern Virginia
and Maryland.
The Maryland roster includes lineman Ron Darden (Glen Burnie High). Five
U.Va. recruits will play for the Virginia team: defensive backs Stefan Orange
(Culpeper) and Marcus Hamilton (Centreville), tailback Kenneth Tynes
(Centreville) and linemen Keenan Carter (Potomac) and Robert Armstrong
(Washington-Lee).
Some college coaches prefer their recruits not risk injury in all-star
games, but Groh said, "I'm a proponent of competition. It's an honor to
be selected, and if it's something a kid aspires to, I support that."
TESTY SITUATION: Groh still doesn't know if several of his recruits will
qualify academically, most notably Hylton High linebacker Ahmad Brooks, USA
Today's national defensive player of the year in 2001.
"This is a very bright kid," Groh said. "Certainly his
grades the last two semesters reflect that."
But Brooks, who's awaiting his latest SAT and ACT results, has struggled
with standardized tests.
"As a person who took the SAT on multiple occasions, I can appreciate
that," said Groh, a U.Va. alumnus.
Groh has said that Brooks can attend U.Va. as a partial qualifier in
2002-03 if he doesn't meet NCAA standards for freshman eligibility. To do so,
however, Brooks would need at least a 2.525 grade-point average in his core
courses. If he's classified as a non-qualifier, Brooks would probably enroll
at a prep school.
"This is just all about that SAT score," Groh said.
"Everybody here is confirmed that this is a young man with very good
brainpower who will function very well academically at the University of
Virginia."
ON THE MEND: Starting defensive end Chris Canty, who broke his right leg
April 12, should be "ready to go" when U.Va. opens practice Aug. 1,
Groh said. The 6-7 Canty, a redshirt sophomore, has spent extra time in the
weight room since getting hurt. He's up to 283 pounds.
"I saw him [Tuesday], and he looks great," Groh said. "His
doctors say he's right on schedule. He feels very good."
BACK IN TOWN: The first session of summer school started this week at U.Va.
Taking classes are all but one of basketball coach Pete Gillen's players,
including 6-7 freshman Derrick Byars, a Parade All-American from Memphis,
Tenn. Junior-college transfer Devin Smith, who's home in New Castle, Del.,
plans to attend the second session of summer school.
Roger Mason Jr., Virginia's leading scorer in 2001-02, is not in school.
Mason, a 6-5 guard who has a year of eligibility left, is expected to remain
in the NBA draft unless he determines that he is likely to fall to the second
round. He's working out for NBA teams this week.
Mason, who skipped the recent NBA predraft camp in Chicago, has until
Wednesday to pull out of the draft.
APPRENTICES: Groh's on-the-field graduate assistants this season will be
Andy Heck and Reed Case. Heck, a former NFL offensive lineman who came to U.Va.
last year, will work with the offense again. Case, who assisted video
coordinator Casey Grosh last season, will help on defense. He replaces Brett
Sawyer, who left for Princeton.
SOUTHBOUND: Former Iowa State basketball standout Shane Power, who visited
Virginia last month, will transfer to Mississippi State. MSU assured Power, a
6-5 swingman from Crown Point, Ind., he would receive significant playing time
when he became eligible in 2003-04. U.Va., whose roster is loaded with
perimeter players, made no such guarantees. - Jeff White
|
Curry commits to UNC
|
By NEIL AMATO : The Herald-Sun
namato@heraldsun.com
Jun 15, 2002 : 11:02 pm ET
JamesOn Curry hasn’t messed around in two high
school basketball seasons, averaging more than 30 points a game in his
short but spectacular career.
Curry, a 6-2 rising junior guard at Eastern
Alamance, didn’t dally in recruiting, either. On Saturday, according to
Coach John Moon, Curry committed to play at North Carolina.
He can’t suit up for the Tar Heels until November
2004, but Curry made a decision well before he could take a date to the
prom.
"He grew up being a Carolina fan," Moon
said. "He likes the program, likes the coaching staff there, and
it’s close to home. It’s a perfect fit for him."
Officially, Moon said, only UNC had offered Curry a
scholarship. However, countless other schools had stated their interest in
a player on track to become the state’s career scoring leader. In two
seasons, Curry has 1,531 points. He averaged 33.0 as a sophomore, when he
was first-team all-state by The Associated Press and first-team All-Area
by The Herald-Sun.
Moon said Curry didn’t commit early to take any
pressure off. However, Curry already is the subject of intense scrutiny.
One example: Video clips from his pickup games are on the Internet.
"This is what he’s always wanted, to be a
Division I basketball player," Moon said. "He had a place he was
comfortable with."
Curry has been courted by major high school
programs as well — academies with the national schedules and national
reputations — but Moon said Curry is staying at 2-A Eastern Alamance.
"We were told JamesOn couldn’t get recruited
out of a small school," Moon said. "He proved that’s a
lie."
Curry continued the youth movement of sorts in
recruiting. His announcement comes about two weeks after DeMarcus Nelson,
a 6-3 wing guard from Vallejo, Calif., committed to Duke. At the time of
his pledge, Nelson still was in his sophomore year at Vallejo High.
Neither player can sign a binding national letter
of intent until November 2003.
|
Staples
helps promote MS celebrity golf tournament
Robert
Daski
/ The News & Advance
Jun 15, 2002
|
A Virginia basketball reunion will soon take place. It just won't be on
the hardwood.
Curtis Staples, along with his former University of Virginia
basketball teammates, are participating in his celebrity golf tournament
at London Downs Golf Course on June 28 at 1 p.m.
The purpose is to raise money to help find a cure for multiple
sclerosis, with proceeds going to Carilion Health System.
Former UVa standouts Junior Burrough, Cory Alexander and Norman Nolan
and coach Jeff Jones (who's now at American University) along with
one-time football standouts Ronde and Tiki Barber, Shannon Taylor and
Jefferson Forest's Anthony Poindexter are scheduled to compete.
Current Dallas Mavericks and Clemson prodigy Greg Buckner and
one-time Wake Forest guard Randolph Childress are also on the list, as
is St. Louis Ram Terrence Wilkins.
The tournament holds a special meaning for Staples as his
brother-in-law suffers from MS.
"I want to raise money for him while he is still here,"
said Staples, the most prolific three-point shooter in Cavaliers
history. "It's even more important because I have a friend whose
husband passed away from it. So it's hit me. I'm trying to make the
community aware of it. Everybody's coming to help fight the
disease."
Staples estimated 30 sports celebrities will be in attendance as UPN
provides television coverage.
"It's a reunion for all of us," he said. "It's a way
for all of us to come together. People always wonder how you get
yourselves together.
"They're just here to support me. It's hit close to home for me
and I'd hate to see it happen to somebody else later. I'd like to thank
everybody for all their support."
Staples said spots remain for at least 10 four-man tournament teams.
Cost is $75 per golfer, $300 per team with an option of tax deductible
donations.
A silent auction will be conducted at tournament's end with
miscellaneous memorabilia for sale.
Golfers have the option of bringing their own equipment or taking
advantage of the club's necessities. Shoes are not provided.
New cars with early 2003 makes are awarded for notching a
hole-in-one.
|
Poindexter
holds out hopes of reviving his NFL career
By Steve Argeris
/ The News & Advance
Jun 11, 2002
|
After getting cut from the Baltimore Ravens last spring, Anthony
Poindexter's football career took its worst turn since the knee injury
that nearly ruined his career midway through his senior year at Virginia
in 1998.
He landed with the Cleveland Browns, but only briefly, falling victim
to the Browns' roster trimming and spending last season out of football.
He moved to California in October, working out with the doctors and
trainers who repaired his nearly destroyed knee ligaments three years
earlier.
And, since then, things have looked up for the former All-America
safety at Jefferson Forest and UVa.
"This is the best place for me to be doing this,"
Poindexter said. "I'm still a Virginia man, don't worry about that.
I miss home something awful, but I have to be out here."
Poindexter has been home just once, in April, since moving to the
West Coast. He returns again to host his annual summer football camp at
James River Day School from June 24-28. Information is available at
(434) 384-7385, and the usual cast of Poindexter's former Cavalier
teammates now playing in the NFL is expected to show up, from Aaron
Brooks to Shannon Taylor.
Poindexter, his wife and two children moved in with his in-laws in
Palo Alto last fall in order to make another go, perhaps his last, at an
NFL career. His agent has already begun working on getting him a shot at
one of the league's 32 teams before their training camps begin in
August.
"You've got to do what you've got to do," Poindexter said.
"The worst part is that I want to know kind of what direction my
life is headed. It's been up in the air for the longest time. I've
trained too long and hard to put it down now."
Poindexter already has a Super Bowl ring from his time as a special
teams player (getting in 10 games in 2000) for the Ravens. If his career
is over, he can accept it.
He's already got a new job lined up; Virginia coach Al Groh has
inquired about Poindexter's availability for an open graduate
assistant's position.
"About two months ago, my brother got a call from one of the
assistants, asking if he thought I'd be interested," Poindexter
said. "I called Coach Groh a day later, and we talked about it. If
the NFL doesn't work out, I hope the job is still open, because I know
that would be where I want to be. If I can't play, I want to stay around
the game. It's what I know."
Poindexter said his body is in good shape, as good as it was in 2000.
"It really broke down on me last summer," Poindexter said.
"It's probably the best I've felt since I've been hurt. Right now,
it's hard to say what's going to happen, but all it takes is one
team."
|
So sad...
Custom-made street organ
will play your favorite Tech tune
Get ready to
rock, Hokies!
When he ordered the organ, Bob "Dutch" van Luyn said the Dutch
craftsmen were a bit taken aback, especially by the idea of a bell-ringing
turkey.
By TOM ANGLEBERGER
THE ROANOKE TIMES
Crank that organ, Dutch!
Ring that bell, Hokie Bird!
Techmen, we're Techmen, with spirit true and faithful,
Backing up our teams with hopes undying ...
You've never seen anything like this.
You've never heard anything like this.
There's never been anything like this.
Hand-made by five old-world craftsmen. Intricately carved.
Delicately tuned. A beautiful, extravagantly decorated street organ that might
have been found in a Holland market 100 years ago.
That would make it neat, but not unique. This
dresser-sized wonder does what no calliope, hurdy-gurdy or street organ has ever
done before.
By golly, when Bob "Dutch" van Luyn gets it
cranking, it toots out "Tech Triumph!" and a wooden Hokie bird rings a
bell. That's right, a Hokie bird, hand-carved by a Dutch artisan, ringing a tiny
bell in time to the music.
Techmen, Oh, Techmen, we're out to win today,
Showing pep and life with which we're trying ...
Even non-Hokies can't deny the joy of the music and of the
vision of van Luyn himself, smiling and cranking out the familiar tune.
"The first time I tried it I thought my arm was going
to fall off," said van Luyn, a Virginia Tech
grad, General Electric retiree and first-generation immigrant from Holland.
The organ rocks back and forth to the beat and the wooden
pipes let loose with that beloved melody that will trill and tweet its way
across parking lots full of Hokie football fans next fall.
We know our ends and backs are stronger,
With winning hopes, we fear defeat no longer ...
Tailgating will never be the same again - assuming van
Luyn can figure out a way to transport the bulky -but-delicate instrument to
Lane stadium and back. When he commissioned the street organ last summer he
raised the bar, not just for Hokie fans but for sports fans everywhere.
"I'll be honest, I blew the budget for a little
while," he said. "It was one of those thoughts in the back of your
mind ... you know they're crazy."
On visits to his homeland he heard the street organs and
was reminded of his happy childhood in Rotterdam - happy, he said, despite the
fear and hunger he and his family lived with during the years Nazis occupied the
city.
"My childhood was a normal childhood, except there
was a war going on," said van Luyn, whose family survived by eating sugar
beets and tulip bulbs. "I think I learned to appreciate freedom and
everything else that we have since World War II even more. It's one of those
lessons you never wish on anyone."
While very proud of his American citizenship, earned while
he was still at Tech in 1962, he's kept his Dutch heritage as well as his
accent.
His home in a rural stretch of Blacksburg was designed to
look like a Dutch farmhouse, complete with gaily painted shutters and an
attached stable that serves as a garage. Two pairs of wooden shoes hang by the
front door, which leads to rooms decorated with old-world touches and Heineken
memorabilia.
What, short of building a windmill, could be better than
adding a home-sized version of a street organ?
"I thought it was a little nutty," van Luyn
admitted.
"I said it, 'It is, but go ahead,'" said his
wife, Trudy.
Traditionally, a Dutch street organ is decorated with
sailboats or windmills and features wooden figures of a conductor, musicians,
comely young lady or such.
"I thought, 'No, no, no, no. We're going to make it a
Hokie organ. We're going to have fun with it,'" van Luyn said. "I know
what the doll's going to be, it's going to be the Hokie bird."
To see our team plow through the line, boys.
Determined now to win or die ...
The Dutch craftsmen were a bit taken aback, van Luyn said,
especially by the idea of a bell-ringing turkey.
"He's looking at the thing saying, 'What the hell is
that?'"
But they agreed.
The organmaker built a magnificent 42-piped draiiorgal, or
turning organ, as it is known in Holland. The painter decorated it with two
turkeys, Torgersen Hall Arch and the War Memorial. A musician arranged
"Tech Triumph" and "Moonlight and V.P.I." for the organ. The
notes were punched into the long cardboard strips that are cranked through the
organ, telling it which notes to play.
And, to top it all off, a woodworker carved a wooden Hokie
Bird that holds a little bell. Cleverly crafted, the Hokie Bird is hooked into
the organ and, at appropriate places in the music, his right hand turns,
striking a bell with a little mallet.
The whole thing was packed into a crate, shipped to New
York and then trucked to Norfolk.
Van Luyn drove down with a U-Haul to get it in March.
The crate was too big for the trailer, but he fit the
organ in once he unpacked it, and got it back to Blacksburg in time for a party
celebrating his 45 years in America. He hid it under a sheet to build suspense
among his guests.
"When I took the sheet off and I started up
"Tech Triumph!" they run up and start clapping."