ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991                   TAG: 9104040365
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NICHOLS LEAVING JMU TO TRY DRAFT

James Madison forward Chancellor Nichols, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound junior, says he will forfeit his final year of eligibility to turn pro.

Nichols said he will send a letter to the NBA this week declaring his eligibility for the June draft. He said if he is not one of the 54 players drafted, he will try to hook up with an NBA team as a free agent.

If that option fails, Nichols said he will try to join the European circuit.

Nichols, who transferred to the Harrisonburg, Va., school from Mississippi State, finished his lone season at James Madison as the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder, averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.

Underclassmen must declare for the NBA draft by May 12.

\ Nevada-Las Vegas' Larry Johnson received the John Wooden Award as college basketball's player of the year, given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, four days after the Runnin' Rebels lost to Duke 79-77 in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Duke went on to beat Kansas 72-65 to win the national championship.

Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound senior forward, was the winner in voting by 1,000 sportswriters and broadcasters across the country. He finished with 1,646 points to 1,389 for Louisiana State sophomore center Shaquille O'Neal.

Johnson's teammate, senior forward Stacey Augmon, finished third with 1,156 points, followed by sophomore guard Kenny Anderson of Georgia Tech with 717 and junior forward Billy Owens of Syracuse with 621.

Wooden, the 80-year-old former coach who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in a 12-year span ending in 1975, presented the award to Johnson.

Duke's Christian Laettner, the most valuable player of the Final Four portion of the NCAA tournament, finished sixth in the Wooden Award voting with 385 points, followed by Ohio State's Jimmy Jackson, 362; Michigan State's Steve Smith, 222; Providence's Eric Murdock, 194; Arkansas' Todd Day, 132 points; Indiana's Calbert Cheaney, 122; and UCLA's Don MacLean, 29.

Keywords:
BASKETBALL 


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