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

DATE: Thursday, August 25, 1994              TAG: 9408250759
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C8   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: ROBBEN ISLAND, SOUTH AFRICA        LENGTH: Short :   40 lines

NBA GROUP GETS NEW PERSPECTIVE IN VISIT TO MANDELA'S OLD PRISON THE CURRENT AND FORMER PLAYERS AND COACHES ARE TOURING SOUTH AFRICA.

NBA stars here to teach a few moves to South African youngsters learned a lesson themselves during a visit Wednesday to a prison.

Centers Alonzo Mourning of the Charlotte Hornets and Dikembe Mutombo of the Denver Nuggets and former Virginia guard John Crotty of the Utah Jazz toured the island lockup where President Nelson Mandela spent much of his 27 years behind bars.

``To see where Nelson Mandela spent almost all of his life is really shocking,'' Mutombo said. ``I wondered what was going through his mind when he crossed this sea for the first time.''

``It is all part of gaining a historical perspective on change that's taking place in South Africa,'' said Charles Grantham, director of the NBA Players Association. ``Our players feel a bond to some degree to this change and are committed to South Africa's development.''

Mutombo, a 28-year-old native of Zaire, also visited South Africa last year and held basketball clinics for black youths in Soweto. He and the rest of this year's contingent plan clinics in black townships near Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The group includes retired NBA players Michael Banton and Alex English, Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens and former Washington coach Wes Unseld.

New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing is scheduled to join the group today. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo

Alonzo Mourning walks through the Robben Island prison that formerly

was home to South African President Nelson Mandela.

by CNB