Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 3, 1990 TAG: 9005030063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Now that the NBA has begun its seven-week playoffs, all the talk of deep benches is just that - talk.
No team goes deeper than three men on the bench, and only defending champion Detroit has a rotation that assures eight players will get at least 20 minutes per game.
The superstars will play 40 minutes and more, every time out, barring foul trouble or injuries.
The injury to Portland center Kevin Duckworth probably means the Lakers will be in the finals again, although Los Angeles is fortunate to be ahead 2-1 in its best-of-five series with Houston.
Duckworth and teammate Buck Williams both were hurt Tuesday night in collisions with 7-foot-2 James Donaldson of Dallas. Williams, a former Maryland great, has a damaged right eye, but will be available for most, if not all, of the Trail Blazers' series against San Antonio. Duckworth broke a bone in his right hand and is sidelined indefinitely.
Nothing I've seen thus far has changed my feeling that the NBA Finals will match the Lakers against the Pistons for the third straight year. If Detroit gets that far, it may be the coaching swan song for an old friend, Chuck Daly.
One of the truly good guys in sports, a guy who paid his dues for many years and didn't change after he struck it big, Daly probably will surface next season as a TV analyst. He's got the kind of humor that comes across well on the tube, and since he'll turn 60 this summer, it may be time to change gears.
Daly is one of the all-time big spenders, however, so he'll require a fat contract to maintain the lifestyle he enjoys. Chuck never met a clothes store he didn't like, even when he couldn't afford it.
Out of the rumor mill:
Joe Krivak still has a year left on his contract at Maryland, but already names of potential football coaches for the Terps have surfaced. The most intriguing are Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon, whose son once played at College Park, and former Virginia Tech quarterback Don Strock.
Strock never has coached, although there are those who say he really was Dan Marino's coach during that quarterback's glory years with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. It's a fact that Marino hasn't been as successful since Strock left.
One of Wake Forest's prized basketball recruits, 6-foot-8 Trelonnie Owens, has received good news. His latest Scholastic Aptitude Test scores make him eligible to play next season for the Deacons. But Wake's big catch, 6-7 bull Rodney Rogers, still hasn't met the NCAA's Proposition 48 standards, and if he doesn't, he reportedly can't matriculate and play for coach Dave Odom.
The latest school to surface as a potential destination for Maryland stars Jerrod Mustaf and Walt Williams is Tennessee, coached by Wade Houston. Mustaf's father, Schar, who has orchestrated his son's career, also has implied his 6-10 man-child might leave for the pros.
Exactly which players will opt for an early pro career will be known soon. Thus far, the most prominent defections are LSU sophomore Chris Jackson and Michigan junior Sean Higgins.
Most observers say Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott has nothing to prove by coming back to school.
The deadline for underclassmen to apply for the NBA draft is May 13, and the league will announce the list May 17. As usual, there probably will be a few surprises.
With all the talk of reform in college athletics, why isn't something being done about the McDonald's all-star basketball games? They may be played for charity, but this year more than half of the participants currently are non-qualifiers. Yet, they all missed a week of high school.
Many of the stars played in two games, thus missing even more class work.
Maryland almost certainly will not be allowed to play in the '91 ACC Tournament because of its TV sanctions. The basketball tournament will have a seven-team field for the first time since Georgia Tech joined the league.
One of the finalists for the basketball vacancy at George Washington is Boston University's Mike Jarvis, whose name was mentioned during the prolonged UVa coaching search. Jarvis is in contention with fired LA Clippers coach Don Casey. Duke assistant Mike Brey was interviewed, but appears to be out of the running.
by CNB