Staff Writer

WHEELING - Another star-studded lineup of basketball coaches has been assembled for this year's Basketball Coaches Clinic at Wheeling Jesuit University.

The 8th annual event - played host to by the university, the OVAC and Wheeling Hospital's Urologic Research Institute - will take place Sunday, Sept. 27 at WJU's McDonough Center.

''This lineup rivals any of the Nike clinics that I've seen this year,'' said Dr. Gregory Merrick, executive director of the Urologic Research Institute. ''There should be no excuses for any coach not to attend this clinic.''

Speakers include Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, who spoke at last year's clinic, along with former UNLV and Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian and current Pitt coach Jamie Dixon.

Other coaching heavyweights on the agenda are Davidson's Bob McKillop, St. Frances High School's Mark Karcher and Wheeling Jesuit's own Danny Sancomb.

''If you have any interest in basketball, there's not too many places you can go to see coaches like this,'' Sancomb said.

The event will begin with registration at 7:45 a.m. Chaney, who will take the court at 8:45 a.m., will discuss the four R's and Temple Basketball.

Chaney, who will present Rutgers coach and protege C. Vivian Stringer for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night, led Temple to numerous postseason tournament appearances and has been a leader in promoting women's basketball.

Merrick said the clinic is open to all men's and women's college coaches, as well as boys' and girls' prep coaches.

''Eventually, we'll probably bring in a big-time women's coach,'' Merrick said. ''We also want to attract more women's and girls' coaches. That was one of the things coach Chaney was disappointed about last year, that we didn't have more women's coaches in the audience.''

Merrick said 148 coaches attended last year's event, headlined by Chaney and Wake Forest coach and Ohio Valley native Dino Gaudio. This year, he would like to see somewhere in the area of 200 attend.

''Anyone that has an interest in basketball, we would love to have them,'' Merrick said.

Tarkanian, famous for biting his towels on the bench, led the Runnin' Rebels to the 1990 NCAA crown and also had UNLV in the Final Four in 1987 and 1991. He finished his career at Fresno State.

''Tark the Shark'' will discuss his Amoeba defense.

Dixon, one of the brightest young coaching minds in the nation, will talk about man-to-man defensive principles and philosophy.

The Pitt coach had his Panthers No. 1 in all major polls at one point last season and guided the team to an Elite Eight appearance. His 132 career victories rank as the third most victories after five seasons as a head coach in the history of NCAA Division-I basketball.

McKillop will detail special teams play.

The Davidson head man helped propel it onto the national stage in recent seasons. Davidson, led by phenom Stephan Curry, advanced to the Elite Eight in 2008.

Karcher, a former Temple standout, will talk about half-court attack offense, while Sancomb will discuss transition offense.

Merrick and Sancomb said the clinic will cover almost every area of the game.

''In one day, we'll have everything,'' Merrick said. ''We hope to always have balanced programs.''

The clinic has always been able to attract top coaches. Past speakers include John Beilein, Bob Huggins, Dave Wojcik and Jim O'Brien. The quality of coaches is bringing in clinic attendees from a wider area. Merrick said coaches from the Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Columbus areas have expressed interest in attending.

''The more people we can get on campus is good for us and great for the area,'' he said.

Cost of the clinic is $50 ($60 after Sept. 23 and at the door). Registration includes a WJU coaching clinic long-sleeve T-shirt, OVAC clipboard, box lunch and information on Coaches vs. Cancer.

To register or for more information, call Merrick at (304) 243-3490 or Sancomb at (304) 243-2366.

Cancer Research Classic

The pairings have been announced for this season's Cancer Research Classic basketball event at Wheeling Jesuit.

The event, in its third year, will take place Friday, Jan. 1, and Saturday, Jan. 2.

The first night will be highlighted by an 8:30 p.m. matchup between Wheeling Park and Wheeling Central. This will be preceded at 7 p.m. by Paterson (N.J.) vs. Huntington (WV) Prep.

Saturday's schedule includes Neumann-Goretti (Pa.) vs. Christ the King (NY) at 12:30 p.m., St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.) vs. Cleveland St. Ignatius at 2:05 p.m., Wheeling Central vs. Sewickley Academy (Pa.) at 3:40 p.m., Rice (NY) vs. Gonzaga (DC) at 5:15 p.m., and St. Frances Academy (Md.) vs. St. Benedict's Prep (NJ) at 6:50 p.m.