THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603220197
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Openings remain for only a dozen players as a star-studded field starts to shape up for the 44th annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
The PIT is scheduled April 3-6 at the Churchland High School gym. Tournament director Rudolph Freeman said confirmations have been received from 52 players.
The 64-player field will be completed by Friday, March 29 when the rosters of the eight teams will be announced at the annual drawing party, scheduled for noon that day at The Max.
``Not only do we have several players who are competing on teams still in contention for the NCAA championship but we are looking to have 45 or so from other teams that qualified for post-season play, either in the NCAA or in the NIT,'' said Freeman.
``This definitely is going to be one of the finest tournaments we have ever had.''
Six of the premier players in Virginia colleges have agreed to play - Norfolk State's Derrick Bryant, Virginia Union's Ben Wallace, Virginia Tech's Damon Watlington, Virginia Commonwealth's Bernard Hopkins, Hampton's Javonte Williams and James Madison's Darren McLinton.
Duke's Chris Collins, who will undergo surgery, was forced to withdraw. But another Atlantic Coast Conference player, Maryland's Duane Simpkins, has joined the field.
Here's the 52 players already confirmed listed by colleges and universities:
Massachusetts - Dana Dingle, Donta Bright and Shawn Smith
Georgia - Shandon Anderson, Carlos Strong and Katu Davis
Rutgers - Damon Santiago
Virginia Tech - Damon Watlington
Virginia Union - Ben Wallace
Western Carolina - Anquell McCollun
Maryland - Duane Simpkins
Western Michigan - Ben Handlogten
Ben Wallace - Virginia Union
Derrick Bryant - Norfolk State
Cal-Irvine - Ramon Mielinieks
Iona - Mikkel Lawson
Illinois - Richard Keen
Missouri - Sammie Haley and Simeon Haley
South Florida - Chuckie Atkins
Kentucky - Mark Pope
Mississippi State - Daryl Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth - Bernard Hopkins
James Madison - Darren McLinton
Texas Southern - Kevin Granger
Penn State - Glen Sekunda
Marquette - Amal McCaskill
Villanova - Eric Eberz
George Washington - Kwame Evans
Wake Forest - Rusty LaRue
Arizona State - Ron Riley
Florida - Dametri Hill
Vanderbilt - Frank Seckar
Western Kentucky - Chris Robinson
Brigham Young - Ken Roberts
Toledo - Craig Thames
Wisconsin Green Bay - Jeff Nordgaard
Hampton - Javonte Williams
Nebraska - Eric Strickland
Michigan State - Jamie Feick
Arkansas Little Rock - Derek Fisher
Canisius - Michael Meeks
Texas Tech - Jason Sasser
Houston - Tim Moore
Temple - Derrick Battie
Cincinnati - Art Long
Iowa - Russ Millard
Drexel - Malik Rose
Mississippi Valley State - Marcus Mann
Seton Hall - Adrian Griffin
Mount St. Mary's - Chris McGuthrie
West Virginia State - Shawn Harvey
Valparaiso - Chris Ensminger ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Robinson
Roberts
LaRue
by CNB