THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607030251
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 90 lines
TWELVE PLAYERS in the 1996 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament were selected in the two-round National Basketball Association draft.
Derek Fisher of Arkansas-Little Rock, a guard who played in the PIT for Sales Systems Ltd., was a first-round pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the 24th player chosen.
Eleven other PIT players were chosen in the second round. They were: Moochie Norris of West Florida, drafted by Milwaukee with the No. 33 overall pick; Shawn Harvey of West Virginia State (No. 34 by Dallas); Russ Millard of Iowa (No. 39 by Phoenix); Marcus Mann of Mississippi Valley State (No. 40 by Golden State); Ron Riley of Arizona State (No. 47 by Seattle); Jamie Feick of Michigan State (No. 48 by Philadelphia); Amal McCaskill of Marquette (No. 49 by Orlando); Chris Robinson of Western Kentucky (No. 51 by Vancouver); Mark Pope of Kentucky (No. 52 by Indiana); Jeff Nordgaard of Wisconsin-Green Bay (No. 53 by Milwaukee); and Shandon Anderson of Georgia (No. 54 by Utah).
``This is truly a tribute to our tournament, showing the caliber of the players we had in Portsmouth,'' said Yale Dolsey, co-chairman of the player-selection committee for the PIT. ``Overall, in the two rounds of the draft, there were 58 players chosen.
``Our field is limited to college seniors. The NBA drafted only 35 seniors and a dozen of them played in our tournament.
``In addition, there were some fine players who elected to by-pass our tournament and they were not picked in the draft. Maybe some of them will wake up and see the importance that playing in the PIT can be to them.
``Jerry West liked what he saw in Fisher as a guard and that's why he's a No. 1 round pick. Norris also had been projected as a first-rounder and he was just four players away from going in that round.''
There also were 12 PIT players drafted last year, two in the first round.
Dolsey attended the Desert Classic at Phoenix and the NBA's Chicago camp after the PIT this year.
``We had 12 of our PIT players at Phoenix and 22 at Chicago. That's pretty good when you realize 15 of the 55 at Chicago were underclassmen,'' said Dolsey.
Fisher played on the second-place finisher in the PIT. He scored 16 points in the championship game, an 82-75 loss by Sales Systems to Beach/Barton Ford.
In an 85-80 victory over K-Plus Services in the semifinals, Fisher scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
In his opening appearance, Fisher racked up 15 points as Sales Systems defeated the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 78-72.
He was not selected on the All-PIT team.
The most valuable player in the PIT, Bernard Hopkins of Virginia Commonwealth University, was not drafted. Neither was Kevin Granger of Texas Southern, the top scorer in the nation.
``That was a little surprising,'' said Dolsey. ``But I believe both of them will still get a chance to make it to the pros.
``Some really good players were not drafted.
``But I can tell you who came out of all this with some really fine publicity. That was the city of Portsmouth.
``The city had to be mentioned 20 or 25 times during the draft on national prime time television. Every time a player who competed in the PIT was picked, there was a mention of Portsmouth. What do you imagine that kind of advertising would cost the city if they had to pay for it?'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Derek Fisher
First round, Lakers
Russ Millard
Second round, Suns
Ron Riley
Second round, SuperSonics
Jamie Feick
Second round, Sixers
Amal McCaskill
Second round, Magic
Chris Robinson
Second round, Grizzlies
Mark Pope
Second round, Pacers
Jeff Nordgaard
Second round, Bucks
Shandon Anderson
Second round, Jazz by CNB