THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290453
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Ivan Chappell knew junior college was going to be an academic wake-up call. He just wasn't prepared for what he found when he awoke.
``I hadn't visited, I had just looked at the school on tape,'' Chappell recalled. ``They came and got me, and I fell asleep on the car ride out.
``When I woke up, I thought I was in a ghost town.''
Chappell, who played at Western Branch High, overcame his first impression and went on to graduate from Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colo. Today, he's a starting forward on the Virginia Commonwealth basketball team, a criminal justice major who is on track to graduate.
``Junior college helped me a lot,'' Chappell said. ``I was sort of like a mama's boy. My head coach, he was on us pretty hard.''
Chappel's lesson is one more and more area players are learning. Snooze academically and you could wake up somewhere you never expected. Somewhere like La Junta, Colo. Or Parsons, Kan. Or Centreville, Iowa.
``When I was in the city, I was like, `I'm going to do my homework later on,' '' said Maury High graduate Shawn Jackson, who is starring at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kan. ``First I'm gonna go out and do something.''
Jackson is one of three members of last year's five-player All-Tidewater basketball team to sign with a junior college. The others are Shawn Hobson of Granby, the 1995 Tidewater player of the year, and D.J. Dunbar of Churchland, the 1994 player of the year.
All told, at least seven South Hampton Roads products are playing junior college basketball this year, which is more than are playing Division I.
``You're going to see more and more,'' said Boo Williams, who runs Hampton Roads' AAU basketball program, which is one of the most successful in the nation. ``Jucos and prep schools are the two big things now.''
With NCAA freshman eligibility standards increasing, many high school athletes will be unable to keep pace.
``I think we'll probably get some real quality players,'' said Jeff Burkhamer, head coach at Santa Fe Junior College in Gainesville, Fla. ``Jucos already have really good players. It may give us a few more.''
South Hampton Roads, with its large number of quality athletes, and large number who don't qualify academically to play Division I, could become a hotbed for junior college recruiters.
Making this area even more attractive is the fact that there are no junior college programs nearby. Virginia's two-year colleges do not offer intercollegiate athletics, and several former junior colleges in North Carolina recently converted to four-year schools.
While that's great for recruiters, it's not so good for players. Most must travel far from home to go to school in small towns, which seem to be the predominant setting for junior colleges.
``There's stuff here to do,'' said Jackson, referring to his new home on the plains. ``It's just that being from the city, I don't know how to country line dance.''
But then again most players come to junior colleges to get away from distractions, to lose themselves in that classic combination most jucos provide: backboards and blackboards.
``You go to class, you go to practice, you go to study hall,'' said Brandon Wynne, an Atlantic Shores graduate attending Santa Fe. ``That's about it.''
Wynne, a point guard, said he considered attending prep school. But he and teammate Shawn Wilson, a Booker T. graduate, decided junior college would be better for them.
``At prep school, you might waste a year,'' Wynne said. ``You come here, you're playing college basketball, and you're getting college credits.''
To transfer and be eligible immediately at a four-year Division I college, a junior college player must receive his two-year degree. He also must have at least 48 hours of transferable credits, and must have a 2.0 average in those courses.
In some states, like Florida, players also must pass an exit exam. Willie Young, a former star at Norview High, was tripped up by that requirement after leaving a Florida junior college and had to sit out a season before becoming eligible this year at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
``There's a lot to watch out for,'' Williams said. ``You've got to make a good decision about where you go, and where you transfer when you leave. Because you've only got two years, it has got to be somewhere you're going to play. If you transfer and you don't play, it's over.''
Not all Division I schools accept junior college transfers. But an increasing number do, and most of the players from South Hampton Roads should have little trouble finding a place to play. Dunbar is a top reserve on the nation's No. 1 team, Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College. Wynne and Wilson are reserves at Santa Fe. Hobson and Jackson are starters, Hobson at Hagerstown Junior College and Jackson at Labette. Jackson in particular has caused his recruiting stock to soar with his strong play.
A 6-foot-7 forward, Jackson is seventh in the Jayhawk Conference in field-goal percentage and 10th in rebounding. The Jayhawk annually is considered one of the nation's top junior college conferences. This year, it has the nation's top juco player, Reuben Patterson, a 6-7 forward who was second in scoring at the U.S. Olympic Festival last year.
``There are all Division I players in this league. It's a Division I league,'' said Labette coach Jerry Kassin. ``If Shawn keeps up the way he is, he's got a chance to be one of the most highly recruited junior college players in the nation.''
Which, if you can't be one of the most highly recruited high school players in the nation, is the next best thing. by CNB