ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: ATLANTIC 10 NOTEBOOK
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Soon after Saturday night's conclusion of the 20th Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament, the Philadelphia Civic Center has a date with a wrecking ball.
For the first time in eight years, the A-10 is playing its entire championship at one site, but the league could have found a better venue for its biggest show. The decrepit 66-year-old facility that housed many of the epic 1950s and '60s battles between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell has seen better days.
The crowd estimates from Wednesday's four-game first-round block at the one-time opera house attest to that fact. The afternoon session drew 1,800, tops; Wednesday night's session 2,500, and that's being generous.
The official attendance listed for both sessions was 7,138 (day) and 7,410 (night). That was the number of tickets sold, leaving a rather serious no-show count.
A-10 coaches will try to tell you their league is as good as any. Well, what's it say when the Pennsylvania State Catholic high school tournament up the street at the Palestra outdraws you 3-1?
The antiquated building and its sea of empty seats won't help the league's image. Massachusetts, the second-ranked team in the country, played in front of a crowd of perhaps 3,000 (the announced attendance was 7,313) on Thursday afternoon. All those empty seats must have looked nice to the nation and potential recruits watching on ESPN.
``I was very surprised there weren't more people here,'' said Carmelo Travieso, UMass guard. ``It's different playing in front of a small crowd like that. We're used to a full house, a lot of crowd noise.
``You know, this place really looks old. I hear it's an opera house. Well, it's got a basketball court, that's all we need, I guess.''
While John Calipari, UMass' coach, said he was ``certainly disappointed'' with the size of Thursday afternoon's gathering, he noted the A-10 isn't the only league with its share of tournament no-shows.
``Did you see the Big East?'' Calipari asked, referring to Wednesday's first round at Madison Square Garden in New York. ``They had about 200 people in the seats.
``The only thing I think would help this is if they moved it to Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Then, people only have to take one day off from work. I think we'll have 8,000 to 10,000'' for Saturday's 6:30 p.m. title game.
Thankfully for the A-10, this is the league's first and only date with the stone-aged civic center. Next year, the tournament will move to the 18,168-seat CoreStates Spectrum in west Philly.
``At least there's parking there,'' said one Philadelphia fan. ``This place here has nothing. It's the pits. Nobody comes to this place anymore.''
That's not totally true. Bill Cosby was at the civic center Thursday, watching his beloved Temple Owls.
OUTTA HERE: La Salle, which has played its home games at the civic center, bid adieu to the ancient edifice after losing 85-59 to Rhode Island on Wednesday in the first round.
Coach Speedy Morris's Explorers will play their home games next season at the Spectrum.
Coming off a school-worst 6-24 season, La Salle has one chance to get well in a hurry: land Philly prep star Kobe Bryant, the nation's top recruit.
Don't count out the Explorers. La Salle has one huge edge over other schools: Bryant's father, former NBA player Joe ``Jellybean'' Bryant, is an Explorers assistant coach.
TECH PAIR PICKED: Hokies junior forward Ace Custis was a first-team selection and senior guard Damon Watlington a second-team choice on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I District 4 team.
Custis was joined on the first team by Georgetown's Allen Iverson, Virginia Commonwealth's Bernard Hopkins, George Washington's Kwame Evans and Hampton's JaFonde Williams.
GW's Alexander Koul, Georgetown's Othella Harrington, George Mason's Curtis McCants and West Virginia's Damian Owens joined Watlington on the second squad.
TECH TIDBITS: Before Thursday's A-10 quarterfinal vs. Rhode Island, the Hokies were 22-0 in games they led at any point in the second half. ... The Hokies' four regular-season losses were their fewest since 1966, when Tech finished 19-4. ... The Hokies' 13-3 record was the best for any first-year A-10 member. ... Custis didn't attain his goal of leading the A-10 in rebounding. Will Johnson of St.Joseph's edged Custis for the league boards crown, averaging 10.1 per game to Custis' 9.8. Custis finished fourth in field-goal percentage (50.9), seventh in steals (1.73) and 14th in scoring (13.58). ... Tech forward Shawn Smith led the league in free-throw shooting (81.7), while Watlington topped the A-10 in 3-point shooting (46.6).
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB