DATE: Saturday, November 15, 1997           TAG: 9711150408

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   57 lines

FLIGHT DELAY CAN'T KEEP ERVING FROM CEREMONY HE'S AMONG 6 INDUCTED IN HAMPTON ROADS AFRICAN AMERICAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME.

Waterside over courtside. That was Julius ``Dr. J'' Erving's preference Friday night.

Erving, the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Orlando Magic, missed the team's home game against the Denver Nuggets to attend the ceremony for his induction into the new Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame at the Waterside Marriott.

``I made a commitment when Horace asked me about it,'' Erving, 47, said of coordinator Horace Balmer's invitation. ``This is important enough to miss the game.''

Erving, who started his professional career with the Virginia Squires of the ABA in 1971, was one of six inductees this year.

``With this being the inaugural induction, I feel flattered,'' said Erving, who went on to play with the New York Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers. ``It's an honor.''

A moment quite different from the 36-hour negotiations in a Philadelphia hotel that initially brought him to Norfolk and the late flight that delayed his return Friday.

Erving, at the time a junior at the University of Massachusetts, worked out a free-agent deal to play with the Squires.

He spent the first two years of his career making adjustments to living away from campus while building a camaraderie with teammates Fatty Taylor, Charlie Scott and George ``the Iceman'' Gervin.

However, the Squires' owner's decision to unload Erving instead of dishing out the big bucks sent the star forward to New York.

He later won an NBA championship with the 76ers in 1983, served as an NBA analyst for NBC and has started a NASCAR racing team. But Dr. J's return to where it all began was a nervous one for hall organizers Friday.

Erving's flight from Florida was delayed three hours, causing him to arrive in Virginia two hours before the function. ``Everything was messed up,'' Erving said.

However, Dr. J made it for the final 30 minutes of the reception and was able to catch up with old friends and associates.

Twenty-four years removed from Norfolk, Erving still has ties with former Squires. Erving occasionally sees Taylor, Scott and coach Al Bianchi and golfs with Gervin. He also saw hundreds of former teammates and foes at the ABA 30th Reunion this summer.

Friday's other inductees were Newport News native Roger Brown, an eight-time NFL Pro Bowl pick; Dick Price, a former Norfolk State coach and current athletic director; Steve Riddick, 1976 Olympic gold medalist and current NSU track coach; Bobby Dandridge, the former NSU basketball and NBA star; and George Crawley, a former Norfolk assistant city manager and creator of the Police Assisted Community enforcement program. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot

Julius ``Dr. J'' Erving, former Virginia Squire, arrives at the

Norfolk Marriott for Friday night's ceremony.

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