DATE: Sunday, June 15, 1997                 TAG: 9706150179

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C10  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   43 lines

MORE BASKETBALL? PRO-AM LEAGUE TIPS OFF ITS SIXTH SEASON HIGH-SCORING LEAGUE OFFERS COLLEGIANS, OTHERS A CHANCE TO SHINE.

Two days after the end of another long NBA season and it's time for more.

Maybe you've had enough, already. But if not, here are three reasons to check out the Hampton Roads Pro-Am Basketball League, which begins its sixth season this afternoon at Lake Taylor High.

If you think Philadelphia's Allen Iverson shoots a lot during the regular season, you should see him in the summer. Iverson once scored 81 points in a Pro-Am game and is expected to play again this summer.

If the trend toward lower scoring games has you hankering for something a little more freewheeling, this is the league for you. In the same game in which Iverson scored 81, Golden State's Joe Smith, a Pro-Am regular, scored 61.

As always, admission is free.

So let the summertime ``runs'' begin.

One warning: Smith and Iverson, who have been the league's main attractions for the past two years, do not keep regular hours. They're free to play whenever they feel like it.

The league's mainstays are college and ex-college players, overseas pros and a few playground phenoms. Among the regulars expected this year are collegians like Old Dominion's Odell Hodge, Wake Forest's Tony Rutland and the University of Alabama's Damon Bacote as well as overseas pros like former Virginia star Cornel Parker and ex-Norfolk State star Darren Sanderlin.

Stepping up from the high school ranks are Kempsville's Brian Bersticker, Indian River's David Selby and Cox's Carl Lentz, among others.

In an attempt to stress the developmental side of the league, 48 of the 96 roster spots have been reserved for collegians.

No other changes are in the offing. The big one came last year, when games were reduced from 48 to 40 minutes. That reduced scoring - but only slightly.

``We're going to leave it alone for a while,'' said Wayne Hoffler, the league's founder and commissioner. ``And see what happens.''

The Pro-Am's women's division begins play Saturday. The league's annual midsummer classic, which has attracted capacity crowds to the Hampton University Convocations Center, is scheduled for the July 4 weekend.

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