DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 1997            TAG: 9711250760

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: Day 5

        The Norfolk State men's basketball team will spend most of this

        season, its first at the Division I level, traveling. The Spartans

        have 19 away games and will spend nearly 50 days on the road -

        including stops in Los Angeles, Hawaii, Wyoming and Colorado.

        Wednesday was Day 1.

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: LONG BEACH, CALIF.                LENGTH:   59 lines

TRAVELING SPARTANS DON'T FORGET TO WRITE

Postcards from the Left Coast:

Dear Spartan family:

Yo, what's up! It's me, Kenny, chillin' in sunny California!

To tell the truth, it hasn't been all that exciting, because we haven't really got a chance to get around and see some of the things we want to see. But I have seen a lot of famous people - Brandy, Ice-T, Cedric the Entertainer, Queen Latifah, the woman on the Jamie Foxx show. . . . And I did get to ride through the Crenshaw area and see where a lot of the rap music comes from.

I'd like to give a big shout-out to all my boys, and I really miss my son (two-year-old Raekwon) and my mom. I even miss my pops, even though we don't talk much any more. The basketball's been disappointing, but I can't worry about what's happened in the past. Besides, I have a good feeling about this next game. Then again, I have a good feeling about every game.

Kenny Brown

Dear Spartan family:

It's been a really busy trip so far. When people think about California, they think about relaxing in the sun and all that. We haven't really had a chance to relax yet. But I think that's good for the guys. They need to learn that this is a business trip.

The adjustment from playing in the CIAA to playing in Division I is huge. The players here are bigger, stronger and more disciplined. In the CIAA, you could play hard for 30, 32 minutes and still win. You could be inconsistent and still win. But on the Division I level, guys play all 40 minutes. They're sending two and three guys to the boards every time.

But you know, I like the challenge. And playing against bigger people every night? I actually prefer playing against taller players.

I miss my girl (fiancee Kenya Davis), but that's the way it is with all the guys. Everybody misses their girl.

Sean Blackwell

Hey, fellas:

You wouldn't believe the scene at Nick Van Exel's party after the Lakers game Sunday night. It was at the Hyatt Regency in Beverly Hills, and there were so many people the fire marshal should have been turning some away. The ratio was about 50 women for every one guy. Black ones, white ones, famous ones, all kinds. A lot of groupies. And tall, too. Seems like they ranged between 5-10 and 6-8.

Anonymous Spartan

Urgent:

I just want to state for the record that I did not attend Nick Van Exel's party Sunday night.

Kevin Perry

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