ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607050008
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Nobody needs to tell North Carolina coach Dean Smith how a talented, but young 1996-97 Tar Heels' basketball team could have benefitted from the direction of veteran point guard Jeff McInnis.
McInnis, resisting the advice of Smith and Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith, made himself eligible for the NBA draft and was not selected until Denver took him with the 37th pick.
UNC's Smith has not hesitated to encourage underclassmen to turn pro when it was likely they would be lottery picks, but McInnis, a junior, was never projected as anything higher than a mid- to-late first-round pick.
``It was a decision, which, for several reasons, wasn't a smart decision,'' Smith said earlier this week. ``We knew that. But, he will still be in the league next year and make $250,000, which is the minimum salary.''
Smith thought Charlotte might take McInnis with its second pick, the 16th overall. The Hornets selected Tony Delk, who played shooting guard for Kentucky this year.
There was some speculation that McInnis' stock dropped after he accepted an invitation to a pre-draft camp in Chicago, took a physical examination, but then decided not to play.
``He was awfully close to being a No.1 [pick] for about six teams,'' Smith said. ``He saw about nine and it had nothing to do with that Chicago thing.
There is little evidence that McInnis, assessed with several technical fouls late in the season, had become such a behavioral problem that Smith wanted him to leave. Apparently, most of his concerns were financial and academic.
``I've talked to Dean about it,'' Keith Drum, a scout for Sacramento, said. ``I don't think they pushed [McInnis] out of the door. It's ridiculous. The same people say Dean wanted to get rid of Rasheed [Wallace]. Rasheed was one of the most talented players to go through there.''
The departure of McInnis and senior Dante Calabria leaves Carolina with only one player, Shammond Williams, who had more than 20 3-point field goals last year. Williams or freshman Ed Cota will have to play point guard for Carolina next year.
``We were vastly inexperienced in the frontline last year,'' Smith said. ``Now, all of a sudden, we're vastly inexperienced in the backcourt.''
PROBLEMS AT CLEMSON: The decision of Clemson back-up tailback Lamont Pegues to transfer to Virginia Tech may be more costly for the Tigers than originally thought, now that Anthony Downs and Antwuan Wyatt have been dismissed from the team for marijuana-related arrests.
Downs would have entered the fall as Clemson's No.2 tailback behind Raymond Priester, but Wyatt will be an even bigger loss. Wyatt had a team-high 42 receptions last year and was the only player in Division I-A to rank among the top 15 in Division I in punt returns and kickoff returns.
Wyatt and Downs were arrested after 36 bags of marijuana were found in Downs' apartment. Police warrants said Wyatt, son of ex-Buffalo Bills defensive back and Bethune Cookman assistant coach Alvin Wyatt, told officers that the drugs belonged to him.
IN THE PROS: One-time Virginia Tech standout Tyronne Drakeford will go to camp as the leading candidate to start at one of the cornerback positions for San Francisco. Drakeford's development was one reason the 49ers did not match Charlotte's offer to free agent Eric Davis.
* Wide receiver Patrick Jeffers, a fifth-round draft pick from Virginia, has made a good first impression with Denver. Jeffers ``just flicks little cornerbacks off him,'' Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan said.
* Clinch Valley College tight end Shonn Bell has signed a free-agent contract with the Houston Oilers. Bell, a 6-foot-5, 242-pounder from Stuarts Draft, was a four-year starter who was an NAIA All-American this past season and was invited to play in the Blue-Gray Game.
LAX LEADERS: Virginia junior Doug Knight, named player of the year in Division I men's lacrosse, finished with 86 points (56 goals, 30 assists) in becoming the first UVa player since Kris Snider in 1976 to lead the nation in scoring.
Knight's classmate, Michael Watson, finished sixth in Division I in scoring and a third Cavaliers' attackman, senior Tim Whiteley, was second in assists. Virginia, not surprisingly, led the country in scoring with 17.19 goals per game.
VMI was well-represented in the final statistics by attackmen Joe Brockman and Rob Worrell, who finished fourth and 10th in Division I in scoring. Keydets goalie Ryan Olson was 19th in save percentage.
SHOW GOES ON: Susan Dunagan, the women's basketball coach at Roanoke College, says some people are under the mistaken impression that the Maroons won't have a camp this year. The camp, operated by Dunagan and Salem High School coach Dee Wright, runs from July 15-19.
RECRUITING: Dunagan next year will have five players who are 6 feet or taller, including recruit Whitney Johnson from Lexington, Ky. Dunagan did not know until Johnson applied that she was the daughter of Dunagan's one-time neighbor on Eden Drive, Susan Turner.
Cassie Carter, named player of the year in the Winchester area by two newspapers, is the centerpiece of a Ferrum recruiting class that includes Suzanne Stoneman from Fieldale-Collinsville, Michelle Jeter from Covington and Lindsay Louthian from Northside.
* Heather Burroughs, who scored more than 1,000 points at Essex Junction (Vt.) High School, is the Washington and Lee women's basketball recruit with the best chance to have an immediate impact. Coach Terri Dadio says Burroughs received some Division I offers.
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: McInnis (headshot)by CNB