Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990                   TAG: 9005160201
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NBA GREATS INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME

Also enshrined on Tuesday in Springfield, Mass., were Elvin Hayes, Dave Bing and the late Neil Johnston, the Philadelphia Warriors' hook-shot artist who won three straight scoring titles in the 1950s.

"I feel as fulfilled now as I ever have," said Monroe, the NBA's 1968 Rookie of the Year at Baltimore, who later played a key role in the New York Knicks' 1973 championship.

He averaged 18.8 points in his 12 NBA seasons and was named to four All-Star teams.

Bing was rookie of the year in 1966-67 with the Detroit Pistons and averaged 20 points over his 12-year career.

Hayes is the NBA's third-leading all-time scorer. He was a 12-time All-Star who averaged 21 points and nearly 12.5 rebounds in his 16-year career.

Johnston, who died in 1978, averaged 19.4 points in eight seasons with the Warriors.

In other basketball:

An NCAA committee has recommended that six conferences, including the Big South, have their champions meet in a playoff to determine the final three automatic berths in the basketball tournament.

The format, which the NCAA dubbed "play-in" games, was necessary because more than 30 conferences will be eligible in 1991 for the 30 automatic bids.

The Division I Men's Basketball Committee recommended the Northeast Conference play the Patriot League, the Southland play the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference play the Big South Conference, of which Radford University is a member.

Another committee, the NCAA Administrative Committee, will consider the recommendation at a May 24 meeting.

Former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano is under consideration for a job as a college basketball analyst with ABC, according to a report in the News and Observer of Raleigh. An ABC source said Valvano, if hired, probably would sign a two-year contract at an annual salary of at least $250,000. Valvano could not be reached for comment.