DATE: Sunday, June 29, 1997                 TAG: 9706270288

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 14   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   39 lines

IN NBA DRAFT, 5 STARS OF PIT CAME OUT TO BE BIG WINNERS

The NBA validated Portsmouth Invitational Tournament officials' claim that the 1997 event featured the deepest field in years as 13 PIT players were selected in Wednesday's NBA draft, five in the first round.

That's four more first rounders than the PIT produced last year, and only two fewer than the tournament has yielded the past five years.

Johnny Taylor, a 6-7 forward from Tennessee-Chattanooga, was the first PIT player selected. Taylor was taken by the Orlando Magic, the 17th player chosen. It was the highest a PIT player was drafted since LaSalle's Randy Woods went 16th to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1992.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took 6-11 center Paul Grant with their first-round pick (20th overall). Bobby Jackson, the 6-1 guard from Minnesota who came to Portsmouth but had to leave before the tournament started because of a family illness, went to Seattle on the 23rd pick. The 24th, and perhaps most surprising pick, was Rodrick Rhodes, a 6-6 guard from USC who went to Houston. Rhodes had an uneven college career at Kentucky and Southern Cal. Rhodes was projected as a second-rounder, at best.

The final PIT first-rounder was John Thomas of Minnesota, who went to New York with the 25th pick.

Cal-State Bakersfield's Kebu Stewart, the PIT's most outstanding player, headed the tournament's second-round picks. Other PIT second-rounders: Florida State's James Collins (37th, Philadelphia); College of Charleston's Anthony Johnson (40th, Sacramento); Georgia Tech's Eddie Elisma (41st, Seattle); Memphis' Cedric Henderson (45th, Cleveland); Alabama's Eric Washington (47th, Orlando); Marquette's Chris Crawford (51st, Atlanta); and Oklahoma's Nate Erdmann (57th, Utah). ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Cal State-Bakersfield's Kebu Stewart, the PIT's top player, headed

the tournament's second-round picks.

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