
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994                    TAG: 9406190197 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C11    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940619                                 LENGTH: NORFOLK

FEW SEE USBL GAME AT ODU

{LEAD} The United States Basketball League came to town Saturday, but judging from the turnout at the Old Dominion University field house, it may have been a one-night stand.

The official attendance was 414 at the 4,800-seat arena, though the crowd appeared to be closer to 300.

{REST} Most had left by the time Lambert Shell banked in a 15-foot jumper with two seconds left to give the Connecticut Skyhawks a 124-123 victory over the league-leading Atlanta Trojans.

Steven J. Harwood, a Virginia Beach attorney and sports agent who promoted the game, said he was disappointed by the turnout.

Harwood is trying to organize an ownership group for a USBL franchise. He left ODU unsure as to whether the USBL, a summer league, and Hampton Roads would be a good mix.

``The level of play in the USBL is good,'' Harwood said. ``But I wonder if people here are inclined to be outside this time of year.''

``I certainly think this is a good basketball town,'' Harwood said. ``It's a question of finding the right (league) at the right time of year.''

Harwood said that league might be the Continental Basketball Association, the nation's top minor league, which plays during the winter.

``It could be the CBA,'' he said. ``But the franchise fee in the CBA is $1 million (it's $150,000 in the USBL).''

Terry Munk, president of the Skyhawks and chairman of the USBL's expansion committee, was upbeat in spite of the poor turnout.

``I think there's a good chance that Hampton Roads will be in the USBL'' next season, he said.

Those who turned out were treated to a good show. Atlanta erased a 9-point deficit to retake the lead with 16 seconds left on two foul shots by Chuckie Evans, who played at ODU and Mississippi State.

Shell's game-winner came after former Temple star Mark Strickland blocked two Connecticut shots.

``I think a team would work in this area,'' said Evans, who played professionally in Russia last winter, and was the clear crowd favorite Saturday.

Added Harwood: ``We'll probably lose some money (on the exhibition). But we look at this as the first step of a long-term evaluation of how we can bring professional basketball to the area.''

by CNB