THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511250356
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
On the night three seasons ago when David Donerlson became Norfolk State's all-time leader in 3-point field goals, Carnell Penn was a freshman reserve trying to carve his niche.
He didn't know what his future held. But former Spartan Fred Benjamin had an idea and stopped Penn coming off the court.
``Fred said, `That 3-point record will be yours by your junior year,' '' Penn remembers. ``I didn't pay it any attention.''
Why should he have? Penn made only eight 3-pointers that season, hardly a record pace.
Benjamin, nonetheless, was a soothsayer. Entering his senior season, Penn has made 148 career 3-pointers, 70 in each of the last two seasons. He shattered Donerlson's record of 114 around the midpoint of his junior campaign.
Now, every time Penn makes a 3-pointer it's like adding another flapjack to an already full plate.
He hopes to heat up the griddle again when the Spartans open their season tonight against Augusta College at Echols Arena at 7:30.
Penn was cooking at the end of last season. Despite the presence of All-American Corey Williams, it was the 6-foot, 170-pound Penn who led the Spartans in scoring in their final five games, averaging 21.4 points.
``He showed during the course of the year that he had that kind of scoring ability,'' Norfolk State head coach Mike Bernard said. ``But he wasn't consistent about it until the last five or six games. It was a matter of confidence. Kids have a couple of good games and it just appears overnight.''
At the beginning of last season, Bernard didn't have the full degree of confidence in Penn he now has.
Although Penn had started as a sophomore, Bernard recruited 6-4 Marvin Stinson out of Gloucester County (Junior) College in New Jersey last year to challenge Penn for the Spartans' shooting-guard position.
``In pressure situations early on last season, I had Stinson in the games,'' Bernard said. ``If there was an element of surprise, it was that Carnell is a very, very fierce competitor. Carnell recognized he hadn't been in the game when he wanted to be. From that point on, he met the challenge on a daily basis.''
While Bernard says Penn will add enough 3-pointers this season to make the record ``a hard one to break,'' he doesn't want his senior co-captain living life behind that bonus stripe. For the Spartans to be successful, Penn must add to his repertoire.
``I'm trying to make him recognize that a two-pointer is as good as a 3 in many cases,'' Bernard said. ``Sometimes he looks for 3s when he could penetrate or get off a 12- or 13-footer.''
Penn, who played a year at Salem High School in Virginia Beach before heading for Norfolk State, is aware of that and used the Hampton Roads Pro-Am League as his experimenting grounds over the summer. Facing such talents as Georgetown sensation Allen Iverson, Wake Forest's Tony Rutland and former Norfolk State standout Darren Sanderlin, Penn saw it as a chance to hone his penetrating skills.
``In the past, I've keyed too much on the jumper and not on the drive,'' said Penn, who is the squad's leading returning scorer with a 15.5-point average. ``I've got to drive to the basket and get to the foul line. One of the key parts of my game that I worked on this summer was going to the hole. I can't just look to run off screens and shoot all the time.''
A change in philosophy hopefully will increase his number of trips to the free-throw line.
While Penn has attempted 390 3-pointers in his career (and hit 39.7 percent), he's attempted less than half as many free throws (147). And even when he's made it to the line, he hasn't had glowing success. Penn is a 63.3 percent career free-throw shooter.
``I should have a higher percentage,'' Penn said. ``If I go into the gym and shoot 100 free throws, I'll make 80 of them. But when I've gone to the line in games, it's like I'm shooting from somewhere on the court where I don't normally shoot.''
``I just haven't been there enough. If I get to the line more, I'll be more comfortable there.'' ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT, The Virginian-Pilot file photo
``One of the key parts of my game that I worked on this summer was
going to the hole,'' said NSU's Carnell Penn, right.
by CNB