6BThe Daily Tar Heel Friday, September 2, 1988
Charlotte must be patient
with Hornets' mediocrity
:..The crowd was mostly buttoned
downed and neck-tied, with a few
exceptions. Most had white-and-teal
buttons affixed to their shirts, and
they crowded around the widescreen
TV in Charlotte's Civic Center on
June 28 for the city's biggest step on
its long, dusty path to recognition as
a top American city.
Some Charlotteans have been
known to rejoice over the mention
of the city by itself in type without
the "N.C." designation.
But back to that historic, sweltering
Tuesday. Around 1 p.m., a man
named David Stern, who happens to
be commissioner of the National
Basketball Association, stepped to a
podium in New York City's Madison
Square Garden. The crowd grew
quiet as Stern made the following
announcement: "With the ninth pick,
and their first ever in the NBA, the
Charlotte Hornets select Rex Chap
man of Kentucky."
So the college draft is over, as is
the expansion draft, in which the two
new teams (the other being the Miami
Heat) get to draft the dregs off the
rosters of their NBA bretheren. And
come Nov. 4, the Hornets will jump
center in their first regular-season
NBA game, against the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
Like most native Charlotteans, as
well as a few loyal others in this state,
I am excited by the thought of the
Queen City finally landing a profes
sional sports team. George Shinn, the
5-foot-5, elfish businessman who
approached the NBA and made the
league take notice of Charlotte, is a
godsend to the city.
But just what is happening with the
Hornets? Well, it has been a busy,
charged summer for Shinn and his
cohorts, general manager Carl Sheer,
director of player personnel Gene
Littles and coach Dick Harter, since
that college draft.
: First, though, let's look at what the
Hornets got in the expansion draft.
At the top of the list is Dell Curry,
a second-year player plucked from
the up-and-coming Cavaliers. Curry
is a steal, a player who could be a
solid guard for years to come.
Then there's Kelly Tripucka, who
the Hornets obtained from the Utah
Jazz for a draft pick. Why?
Tripucka, who was a frequent All
Star in the early 1980s, is over the
Chris Spencer
Asst. Sports Editor
hill and certainly not worth his
$971,000 price tag. He probably
wouldn't merit a look at a half-price
sale, either.
The only other mentionables of
that draft are Ricky Green, the
probable starter at point guard, and
6-foot-ll Dave Hoppen, a backup
center on any other team (he was just
that in Golden State, backing up
Ralph Sampson). But, hey, this is like
putting together a jalopy you just
mix and match parts, and hope it will
run.
Oh, yeah, the Hornets also picked
one of the ugliest players in the
league, former Wake Forest point
guard Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues, who
was Washington's first pick last year
and who bombed in the little time
he spent on the court. Here's hoping
he wast drafted for trade bait.
Of the players mentioned so far,
only Hoppen is taller than 6-8. In the
college draft, Scheer elected to go for
"backcourt speed" over size and
selected Chapman, who is 6-4.
They did get some size in the
second and third rounds with 6-8
Tom Tolbert of Arizona (You
remember him from the NCAA West
Region Finals, don't you?) and 6-9
Jeff Moore of Auburn, who missed
most of his senior season with a hand
injury.
Then came the courting of 6-10
Kurt Rambis, who started for 4!i
seasons with the L.A. Lakers before
A.C. Green beat him out. Some
compare him to Clark Kent, but he
often plays like Casper, the Friendly
Ghost he just disappears.
Rambis signed a four-year contract
for $2.4 million on July 27. He
averaged just 7.4 points per game last
season.
Following that, the team made a
good move by picking up former
Houston Rocket forward Robert
Reid, who provided them with a no
lose situation by agreeing to an
unguaranteed $400,000 contract.
That way, the Hornets don't have to
pay him if they get a good offer from
another team.
The team also signed former. L.A.
Clipper Earl Cureton, a 6-9 forward
who will give them some help off the
bench. Cureton was signed July 20,
the same day the team showed. off
its new uniforms, designed by vorld
famous, native North Carolinian
Alexander Julian. At least theyH look
good in their pleated shorts and
striped jerseys.
In an early August set of rookie
games, one of the most notable
players was, of all people, Ranzino
Smith, the 6-foot shooting guard
fresh out of Dean Smith's program.
But, alas, the Hornets said they had
enough guards and instead elected to
keep ex-L.A. Clipper bench-warmer
Tim Kempton, a 6-10 player who
impressed Littles with his "scrappy
play."
If all these transactions make you
wonder if Scheer, Littles and Harter
are just Larry, Moe and Curly in
disguise, the key phrase is "Be
patient." While the Hornets have
drafted some players of questionable
worth, you can't expect them to go
out and sign Mr. Jordan to a contract.
It just doesnt work that way.
It's, called paying your dues, and
as the new team on the block,
Charlotte will have to endure its share
of losing seasons. That's to be
expected, and everyone in the city,
from the sportscasters on the evening
news to the barbers at the Coliseum
Barber Shop, has used that "P" word
when discussing the team.
But will they be patient? Charlotte
has an image it's trying to stifle as
a town for losing teams, who often
did so because they had no fan
support. This time around, it's the
"big time," for never before has the
city had a team in a major league.
They even built a sparkling, 23,000
seat coliseum for the Hornets.
So far, the signs point to success.
Season-ticket sales have gone over the
15,000 mark, and you don't have to
look far to spot Hornets paraphenalia
across the town.
However, until the team hits the
floor and endures a few humiliating
losses, no one can fairly gauge the
support. The Hornets will probably
be bad for a while maybe even
four or five seasons.
Let's just hope they don't get as
bad as, say, the Atlanta Braves. Then,
well have something to worry about.
Ex-UNC star Tay lorimabbed
for drags again, out 4 games
From Associated Press reports
Seven-time All-Pro linebacker
Lawrence Taylor of the New York
Giants, who had vowed to make
this his best season, was suspended
for 30 days Monday for violating
the NFL's substance abuse policy
for a second time.
Coach Bill Parcells and NFL
spokesman Joe Browne said Tay
lor, a former North Carolina star,
was suspended after testing pos
itive in a recent mandatory drug
test. They declined to disclose
what substance was found.
Taylor had acknowledged that
he underwent treatment for a
cocaine problem in 1986. He
followed with his finest season as
the Giants went on to win the
Super Bowl, becoming only the
second defensive player in league
history to be named the NFL's
most valuable player and setting
a club record with 20'$ sacks.
The suspension means Taylor
will miss four games, including the
season opener Monday night
against the Super Bowl champion
Washington Redskins.
"Obviously when you lose a
player of that nature, it will have
an affect," said Parcells, whose
other All-Pro linebacker, Carl
Banks, ended a 43-day holdout
and signed a four-year pact
Monday.
"However, that player could
have been hurt in the first play of
practice on Wednesday and we'd
have had to make an adjustment.
"I am a little surprised," added
Parcells, a hard-liner on drug
problems. "You don't expect these
types of things. I had every reason
to believe everything was all right
with Taylor."
Taylor, 29, is the ninth player
suspended this summer for sub
stance abuse problems.
Seven others, including Dexter
Manley of the Redskins, were
suspended for 30 days in training
camp after failing preseason drug
testing. All will be back for the
regular season, including Manley,
who reported to the Redskins on
Monday.
Arizona, Iowa and DePao! on
difficult Tar Heel hoops slate
From staff reports
Even though it's just early Sep
tember, and all the talk on campus
is centering around the football Tar
Heels and their vibrant new coach,
basketball lurks just around the
corner.
Before you know it, Oct. 15 and
the official start of practice will be
here, and everyone will be talking
about whether UNC will ever beat
Duke again and if the Tar Heels can
break their ACC Tournament title
drought. At last count, wasnt it up
to 28 years or something like that?
Maybe it just seems that way.
Anyway, the 1988-89 men's basket
ball schedule was released back in
June, believe it or not. We thought
you might like to have a gander at
it.
UNC's schedule calls for 20 games
against teams which played in post
season tournaments of some sort last
year, including nine tilts against teams
which finished ranked in the Top 20.
Coach Dean Smith's Tar Heels will
be looking for their 23rd straight trip
to a postseason tournament, includ
ing a record 15th straight appearance
in the NCAA tourney.
Here 'tis:
NOVEMBER
1 MARATHON OIL (exhibition)
12 USSR NATIONAL TEAM (exhibj
18 TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA (NTT)
26 STANFORD
DECEMBER
2-3 Tournament of Champions at Charlotte (First
Round pairings: UNC va Arizona, Temple vs. Missouri)
7 VANDERBLT
10 Richmond, at Greensboro
17 UCLA
22 Towson State, at Hershey, Pa
29 at San Diego State
. r JANUARY
3 at Pepperdine
5 at DePaul
7 IOWA
11 MARYLAND
15 at Virginia
18 at Duke
21 N.C. STATE
25 at Wake Forest
28 GEORGIA TECH
1-atOemson FEBRUARY
9 atMCState
12 VIRGINIA
14 at OW Dominion
16 WAKE FOREST
19 at Maryland
21 NEVADA-RENO
25 CLEMSON
. . T u MARCH
1 at Georgia Tech
5 DUKE
10-12 ACC Tournament at Atlanta, Ga
Women's track team
rated sixth nationally
From staff reports
: The September issues of Track and
Field News has ranked the UNC
women's team No. 6 in national dual
meet rankings for 1988. All but two
Tar Heel athletes who were regular
scorers will return for the 1989
season.
Contributing writer Jay Wenos
ranked the country's top teams using
four criteria: won-lost record, average
margin of victory or defeat, difficulty
of schedule and a hypothetical head-to-head
matchup of all finalists. Point
totals give the teams were actually a
percentage of raw points scored
compared to the top-ranked team,
which always has a score of 100.
UCLA was the top team, followed
by No. 2 Texas, with 96.7 points.
fe3 GIID3G GGGBS G (iO?
f2 ru'lT
itemtic? mm ou ob? cp us it&tmny i v
CARLOS SOSA
$50,000 SCHOLARSHIPS:
THE FAST TRACK TO
SUCCESS.
Four-year NROTC scholarships are one way to get a head start on a
successful career as a Navy officer. This highly competitve
program offers tuition and other financial benefits worth as much
as $50,000. All these benefits are provided for one purpose: to
educate and train qualified young men and women to serve as
commissioned officers in the Navy.
Call your Navy representative for more information on how
you can be a part of the Navy adventure as a Navy officer with an
NROTC scholarship.
CONTACT: Lt. Chuck Benfield
(919) 962-1198
NAVYOFFICER.
YOU ARE THE NAVY. YOU ARE TOMORROW.
Columbia Street Bakery
& Coffeehouse
Cakes for Birthdays & Special Occasions
Cookies O Muffins O Pastries
Lunch Items 0 Truffles 0 T-Shirts
Espresso, Cappucino, and more .
Everything baked from scratch with the best ingredients
available no mixes, additives, or preservatives
EVENING PROGRAMS & ENTERTAINMENT
NO COVER CHARGE
RETURN THIS COUPON AND RECEIVE
YOUR CHOICE OF
A cup of our freshly-roasted Colombian COFFEE; or
a cup of Herbal or Dark TEA, hot or iced; or a cup
of ESPRESSO, CAPPUCINO, or CAFE AU LAIT
WITH ANY PURCHASE OF $1.00 OR MORE
Columbia Street Bakery & Coffeehouse
107 N. Columbia St. (next to Copytron) 967-9150
EXPIRES
91588
mm:, . rmm
GRANT JONES
SUSAN KRUSE
HOLLY A. VAN DEURSEN
A
W7I
Ira I
i X
U I )
K -
EJlX Structural Engineering.
Analyzing and designing
bridges. Developed working
model of a double spandrel arch
bridge.The HP-28S helps him
analyze structural stress and
geometry. It's the only calcu
lator that lets him do both sym
bolic algebra and calculus..
It features OJV
powerful 1L iiVCOi
matrix math and graphics cap
abilities. And HP Solve lets him
solve custom formulas without
programming. With more than
1500 functions, 32K RAM and
both RPN and algebraic entry,
the HP-28S is the ultimate sci
entific calculator
University of Virginia, Fi
nance. Studies fluctuating
stock and money market
trends. Assisted head trader
in Yen at Chicago Mercantile
Exchange. The HP-12C with
jc Santa Cruz, Marine Biol
ogy. Studies behavior of blue
whales and effect of environ
ment on distribution of mar
ine mammals. The new, easy
to use HP-22S has a built-in
RPN lets him analyze prices, equation library with solver,
MewAcMeweK1
eta
sin
1IM
801! MOTOWE
ratios, net present value and
internal rate of return. He can
even create his own custom
programs. The HP- 12C is the
established standard in fi
nancial calculators.
giving her access to the most
commonly used scientific
equations. Statistics with
linear regression. And alge
braic entry. The ideal student
science calculator
Uversity of Michigan, MBA
candidate. Assisted on pric
ing projects for GM.The HP
17B offers easy algebraic entry.
Plus time value of money cash
flows and linear regression to
analyze budgets and forecasts.
HP Solve lets her enter her own
formulas and solve for any
variable.
Hewlett-
Packard's calculators are built
for your success. Look for them
at your campus bookstore. Or
call 1-800-752-0900, Ext. 658E,
for your nearest dealer
We never stop asking "What if. . .
HEWLETT
PACKARD
Ernes
BSD
.J L .
Sis
nngg
f nnn
r.n com
1
RSQRTr n
HP-28S SCIENTIFIC
CALCULATOR
HP-12C FINANCIAL
CALCULATOR
HP-22S SCIENTIFIC
CALCULATOR
HP-17B BUSINESS
CALCULATOR
1988 Hewlett-Packard Company. GM is a trademark of General Motors Corporation.
PG12807