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Thursday, March 16,1989
SPORTS
Page 7B
James
Cuthbertson
Post Sports Writer
Shooting Advice From
Hornets Veteran Reid
Versatile Robert Reid of the Charlotte Hornets has some ad
vice for those connoisseurs of his shooting ability.
''Practice. You should have to practice and practice to devel
op the kind of motion that will result In good shooting form,"
he said. "Don't try to copy anyone else's shot. Work on the type
of shot that Is best for you."
Happy to be with the Hornets, for those aspiring NBA stars
In high school and college, Reid said that you have to have ted-
ent, you have to respect the guys who you play with, and you
have to be at the right place at tte right time.
'You can be an All American In college, but you have to real
ize there Is always someone better than you. You have to run
fast and play good defense and hope that you are selected by a
team that can use your talents and give you playing time."
In offering his assessment of good shooters, Reid said that
Rex Chapman's performance in the loss to Sacramento was a
stellar performance.
"Rex played a tremendous game," he said.
Dell Curry swished in one of the prettiest Jump bank shots
that I have ever seen during the Charlotte Hornets game with
the Denver Nuggets. It was definitely one of the highlights of
the game. Curry has the best form in the NBA.
A little about Curry... Although he has not played much this
season for the Hornets, first facing an injury and then being
sidelined for several games on a coach's decision, he Is defi
nitely one of the favorites on press row. He was the first
player chosen In the expansion draft by the Hornets and sev
eral Hemet fans hope that eventually he gets Into the rotation
because his ability is highly evident, especially on the offen
sive front, an area In which the Hornets are hurting.
His season high was in New York In February when he
scored 19 points and had three assists in 22 minutes of play. A
little more pla}rlng time might produce even more results.
Here's hoping that the Hornets do not trade Curry and decide
to use him in the future. He's got some of the best shooting
form In pro basketball.
Curry, bom In Harrisonburg, Virginia, Is a 6-2, 195-pound
shooting guard from Virginia Tech.
His career high was last season with Cleveland when he
scored 27 points against Golden State while going 11 of 16
from the field, one of one from three point range and four for
four from the line.
We believe that given more playing time, Curry can produce
those results for the Hornets.
tM|i***«4>**4r*
Congratulations are In order for UNCC's Henry Williams. He
was voted the Sun Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Year.
The 6-2, 170-pound guard averaged 17.1 points per game. He is
a tantalizing, exciting player to watch with a wide repertoire
of dunks and amazing moves that leaves opponents befud
dled.
********4,
ALL CISAA team members were Jay Thomas, Matt McDo
nald, and Chris Berger from Charlotte Latin; Lane Jones,
John Martin and Lamar Drye from Charlotte Christian;
Keith O'Connell and Cory Eflrd from Providence Day and
McCord Moody and Greg Sweet from Country Day.
ALL STATE NCISAA choices for the girls were Anna Lltaker,
Charlotte Latin; Jeimy Edwards, Charlotte Latin; Eileen Mal-
lett, Winston-Salem Bishop McGulness; Tracy Hardaker, Dur
ham Academy; Melinda Nichols, Charlotte Country Day; Jen
ny Deckleman, Country Day; Heather McKalg, Providence
Day; Jen I^an, Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons and Jennifer Mel-
neke. Cardinal Gibbons.
ALL STATE NCISAA choices for the boys were Thomas Rob
erts, Greensboro Day; Joel Faircloth, Forsyth Country Day
Chris Berger, Charlotte Latin; Keith O'Connell, Providence
Day; Bryan Bradlng, Forsyth Country Day; John Martin,
Charlotte Christian; Bryan Dmm, Durham Academy; Randy
Smith, AshevUle School and Marshall Fall, Asheville Caro
lina Day.
Smith’s Beard Wins
CIAA's Academic Award
Sharrlon Beard, a senior psy
chology major at Johnson C.
Smith University, has been
named the Central Intercolle
giate Athletic Association's
(ClAA) "Most Outstanding Fe
male Academic Athlete." She is
22 years old and halls from An
derson, Indiana.
Sharrlon played on the Lady
Golden Bulls basketball team
for four years, women's volley
ball for three and the softball
squad for three years. She has
been president of the Duke Hall
Council, is a member of the Psi
Chi Honors Society, Psychology
Club, Social Science Club and is
w student representative on the
JCSU Athletic Committee.
Sharrlon received the Mechan
ics and Farmers Bank Award
(given annually to a top senior
athlete with a high scholastic
average), the Leroy Sargent
Award (Psychology) and is a
MARC Scholar In Science.
Sharrlon's cumulative grade
point average as of last semes
ter was 3.36. She will graduate
this year and has narrowed her
top three choices for graduate
school to the University of North
Carolina, Indiana University
and Ohio State. She plans to
continue her psychology train
ing with an emphasis on physi
ological psychology. After com
pleting medical school, she
hopes to become a private prac
ticing psychiatrist.
Athletic Director Horace Small
called Sharrlon "a leader in the
university community and an
outstanding athlete." She was
captain for two different JCSU
teams. Student Affairs Vice
President Dr. Franclne Madrey
says Sharrlon "has maintained
high scholarship, is a positive
role model and is a student of
whom we are all proud, not only
in terms of her athletic perfor
mance but in scholarship, con
duct and responsibility.
In 1987, Sharrlon was named
Beslda All-American, AlI-CIAA
and was selected to the All-
ClAA Tournament team. She is
the daughter of Lennett Beard of
Anderson, Indiana.
49ers Fall To Huskies
Connecticut Wins First Round NIT Game 67-62
By HERB WHITE
Post Sports Editor
UNC Charlotte's basketball
season Ceune to an end Wednes
day night In a 67-62 loss to Con
necticut in the first round of the
National Invitational Tourna
ment Wednesday at the Char
lotte Coliseum. The 49ers gave
the Huskies a battle, but Con
necticut's inside power was the
difference.
"They were a very physical
team," said UNCC freshman
guard Henry Williams, who led
the 49ers (17-12) with a game-
high 26 points. "They're the most
physical team we've played this
year."
Connecticut (17-12), the de
fending NIT champion, used Its
pressure defense and the Inside
dominance of forward Cliff Ro
binson to turn back UNCC. The
Huskies, who finished seventh
in the Big East Conference, are
now 25-2 against non-league
opponents in the past two
years.
Robinson, who is seen by
some observers as a first-round
pick In the June NBA draft, hit
11 of 18 shots from the floor to
finish with 23 points. The 49ers
knew about Robinson's reputa
tion, but didn't know how good
he really was, Williams said.
"Robinson seemed to be a real
good athlete," he said. "Better
than we expected."
The Huskies threatened to put
UNCC out of contention early,
rolling to a 9-0 lead. Connecti
cut's full-court zone press
choked off the 49ers offense,
causing UNCC to go nearly five
minutes before scoring. Wil
liams got the 49ers on the
scoreboard with a three-point
shot with 15 minutes six sec
onds left In the first half to cut
the deficit to 9-3.
Once Connecticut relaxed its
press, the 49ers warmed up. Wil
liams scored 14 points In the
half and senior guard Jeff West
came off the bench to give UNCC
a lift defensively. Two steals by
West on consecutive Huskies
possesions led to Williams bas
kets, pulling the 49ers to within
13-11. UNCC had finally found
its touch on offense and Wil
liams was leading the charge.
"I took it upon myself as a
challenge playing a Big East
team," he said. "I felt that I was
on at the beginning."
Robinson had only eight
points in the first 20 minutes,
but he constantly beat the
49ers' big men, Sam Robson and
Cedric Ball, to the choice spots
in the low post. Connecticut
took advantage in the second
half, getting the ball inside to
score at will.
Trailing 29-24 at the start of
the second half, UNCC got as
close as three, but couldn't over
take the Huskies. With Connec
ticut running wild in the lane,
the 49ers went to Its three-guard
setup of Williams, West and By-
UNC Chariotte guard Henry Williams (34) loses
the ball between Connecticut's Rod Sellers (22)
and an unidentified teammate in the Huskies'
67-62 win in the first round of the National Invl-
Photo/FRANK WILLIAMS
tational Tournament Wednesday at the Char
lotte Coliseum. The 4Sers finished the season
17-12.
ron Dinkins to get better perim
eter shooting.
After being held to two first-
half points, Dinkins erupted for
15 in the second to finish with
17 in his last college game.
UNCC hit five of 13 three-point
shots in the second half, but just
couldn't get them to drop in the
final minutes. The 49ers shot 54
percent from the floor in the
second half and 50 for the game,
compared to a blistering 57 per
cent for Connecticut. The Hu
skies shot 51 percent for the
game.
Connecticut gave UNCC sever
al openings in the final two min
utes, missing the front end of
four one-and-one situations.
Despite making only three free
throws in 12 attempts, the Hu
skies managed to hold on. Wil
liams said the 49ers' missed too
many opportunities down the
stretch to win.
"I think we could, but we just
didn't get the breaks at the end,"
he said.
Hornets Woes; Bad
Starts, Defense
Charlotte Loss Streak Goes To 8
By HERB WHITE
Post Sports Editor
The Charlotte Hornets, own
ers of a franchise record eight-
game losing streak, don't have
many answers to why they are in
a slmnp. But, to a man, they re
alize something is veiy wrong.
Loss No. 6 came at the hands
of NBA champion Los Angeles,
which wasn't a big surprise, but
the next, to lowly Sacramento,
was a golden opportunity to
break the streak. But poor
shooting In the first half doomed
the Hornets to plajdng catch-up
in a 114-105 loss.
'We didn't play well In the first
half," said Kelly Trlpucka. "We
needed It as bad as they did.”
Robert Reid, who has been
coming off the bench earlier in
recent games to try lighting the
offense, said Charlotte's prob
lems are varied, but they stem
from Inconsistency. Despite the
poor first half, the Hornets got
to within two points in the
fourth quarter, only to see the
Kings pull away.
'We made the bonehead plays
when we cut it to two." he said.
"When you've busted your be
hind to get that close you're sup
posed to get over the hump."
The obstacle in many cases,
Reid said. Is defense. The Hor
nets, who used it to fuel its tran
sition game earlier this season,
have come up dry. Opponents
have taken advantage of Char
lotte’s lapses to build and main
tain big leads.
'The only thing you can pin
point is defense," he said. 'We’re
just not playing defense. We ha
ven't been playing defense at all
for the last few games."
The Hornets' second major
West coast swing, which started
Tuesday at Denver and finishes
Monday at Sacramento, should
be a major test of Charlotte's
willingness to break Its skid.
Denver, Seattle and Golden
State are in the hunt for playoff
spots, but there is opportunity
for wins at Los Angeles (Clip
pers) and Sacramento.
"Now we're going to find out
what it's like to go on the road to
the West Coast," Reid said.
"We're playing three teams that
are fighting for playoff spots,"
Reid said. "It’s essential that
they don't lose at home."
Despite the losing, Trlpucka
said Uie Hornets have to regain
the hunger they displayed earli
er in the season.
'You can't give up," he said.
'You have to keep going. It's go
ing to be tough going on the
road."
Photo/CALVIN FERGUSON
Charlotte's EUul Cureton (25) drives against Kareem .Abdul-Jabbar.