Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 15, 1990 TAG: 9005150176
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
Scott, the high-scoring swingman who helped Georgia Tech reach college basketball's Final Four, is giving up his final year of eligibility to enter next month's NBA draft.
"The kid is ready for the NBA," Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins said Monday at a news conference. "We talked about rookies not playing this year in Scott the NBA, that he could sit on the bench his first year, while here he would be an All-American. But he's physically ready for the NBA."
Scott, expected to be a lottery pick in the June 27 draft, joined four other underclassmen who previously declared for the draft - sophomores Chris Jackson of Louisiana State and Jerrod Mustaf of Maryland, and juniors Marcus Liberty of Illinois and Sean Higgins of Michigan.
Venezuela native Carl Herrera, a junior forward at the University of Houston, said Monday that he also would come out. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Herrera was a consensus All-Southwest Conference selection last season. He led the Cougars in scoring with 16.7 points per game.
Other underclassmen who could enter the draft are All-American Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon of national champion Nevada-Las Vegas. Neither has made his intentions public. The NBA is expected to release its official list of underclassmen later this week.
Luc Longley of New Mexico and Rodney Monroe of North Carolina State, both of whom had considered leaving early, decided to stay in school.
"It was a tough decision," Scott, wearing tinted glasses, Bermuda shorts and a colorful sport shirt, said at the news conference. "But I weighed the pros and cons and decided to enter the 1990 draft. I just think now is the time to move on."
Scott, a 6-8, 230-pounder used at forward during his three seasons at Tech, is projected as a shooting guard in the NBA.
The 21-year-old from Reston, Va., the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year in 1989-90, led the league in scoring with a 27.7 average and led the Yellow Jackets to the ACC Tournament title. Tech won the Southeast Regional to get to the Final Four, then was eliminated by UNLV.
To be eligible for the NBA draft, undergraduates had to announce their intentions in a letter to the league postmarked by midnight Sunday.
"To be totally honest, when the season ended, I thought I would go [pro]. Then I changed my mind and it went back and forth." Scott said.
The final decision came down to "timing," he said.
"Certain players stayed in," Scott said. "I spoke with my mom and she basically said to do what I wanted and that she was behind me. It was my gut feeling to go now."
Scott averaged 15.5 points per game when he was named ACC freshman of the year. As a sophomore, he averaged 20.3 points. He ranks third on Tech's all-time scoring list, with 2,115 points. Scott holds the ACC records for 3-pointers in a game (11), season (137) and career (351).
Cremins said three Atlanta lawyers were brought in for consultation, as well as former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Fratello.
"They gave Dennis a good feel for what was going on, but the bottom line was that he made the decision himself," Cremins said.
"There's no guarantee where he will go in the draft, but with all the research we've done, we think he'll go high. Even if it's as low as 10th, he has a unique gift - he can really shoot the ball. Dennis is ready for the next challenge."
by CNB