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M ay 7. 1997 »Tm P oru and O bserver
BRIEFS
COACH’S FUTURE IN AIR AFTER BLAZER EXIT
Pitino to
coach Celtics
University of Kentucky coach
Rick Pitino is reportedly on his
way to the Boston Celtics. WBZ-
TV in Boston reported Monday
that Pitino had accepted the deal
and the Boston Globe added that
Pitino has agreed to a 10-year, $70
million contract. Celtics president
Red Auerbach told the Boston
Globe that Pitino would be hired
by the Celtics but would not have
the dual titles o f coach and general
manager.
Whalers
become
hurricanes
The Hartford Whalers became
the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday.
The National Hockey League team
announced at a news conference it
will relocate to North Carolina in
time for the 1997-98 season. The
conference was held in Raleigh,
N.C. at the site of the new arena
that will house the team.
Coyotes fire
head coach
The Phoenix Coyotes, who fol
lowed up a fifth-place finish in the
Western Conference with a first-
round playoff exit in their first
season in Arizona, fired head coach
Don Hay and his staff.
Rain mars
German
Open
Heavy rain for the second con
secutive day has caused additional
first-round matches to be either
postponed or suspended at the
$2.05 million German Open —
the fourth Super 9 tennis tourna
ment of the year in Hamburg. Only
three matches were completed
before the skies opened up, forc
ing postponement of 10 matches
and the suspension of five others.
Seles
headlines
Italian Open
Top seed Monica Seles of the
United States, making her first ap
pearance in Rome in five years,
highlights the play at the $926,250
Italian Open. Seles, who won here
in 1990 and was a finalist in 1991
and 1992, will take on Germany’s
Barbara Schett in a second-round
match.
Coach wins
award
Dave Weese, aquatics and youth
program s supervisor for the
Vancouver-Clark Parks and Rec
reation Department, received the
Professional Citation o f Merit
Award from the Washington Rec
reation and Parks Association at
its annual conference in Tacoma
in April. The award is bestowed
each year.
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288-0033
P.J. Carlesimo certainly didn't
talk as if he didn’t expect to come
back next season.
In the moments after Portland’s
95-91 season-ending loss to the Los
Angeles Lakers on Friday night, the
Trail Blazers coach talked about his
team's effort and potential.
He brushed aside rumors, that
surfaced in a column in The Orego
nian on Friday, that Blazers presi
dent Bob Whitsitt already has lined
up a replacement.
"Rumors don’t bother me at all,”
Carlesimo said. “ I had a job to do
and I did it. This team stayed to
gether and improved. We won 20 of
25 down the stretch and not many
did that. We’re a good team, but a
very young team.”
Despite all the turmoil that swirled
around the franchise through the
season, with players publicly swear
ing at the coach and periodically
being penalized for various team
rule violations, Carlesimo said he
liked this team.
"We have a good nucleus for the
future,” he said. “ I think we ex
ceeded what a lot of people thought
we would do, but we didn’t exceed
our own expectations. We need to
keep the team together and go from
there. The key for us is to keep the
nucleus intact, and there’s no reason
to think we won’t.”
Blazers president Bob Whitsitt
again denied that he’d made any
decision on a coaching change.
“We’ll step back and take some
time and start evaluating every
thing,” he said.
Carlesimo has two years left on
his contract, but a buyout would be
no problem for Paul Allen, the
wealthiest owner in sports. Whitsitt
was hired after Carlesimo. After the
Blazers’ fifth consecutive first-round
playoff exit, three under Carlesimo,
Whitsitt might go after a different
style of coach.
For now, Whitsitt is keeping his
thoughts to himself
"Right now it’s just time to let the
adrenalin of the series end,” he said.
“ Whenever you end, you end, and
it’s never a good feeling.”
Lakers coach Del Harris offered
unsolicited praise ofCarlesimo, who
directed the Blazers to a 49-33 regu
lar-season record and the No. 5 spot
in the Western Conference with an
assemblage of players labeled by
many as troublemakers.
“As far as I’m concerned, they’re
as well coached as anybody that we
play against,” Harris said.
Whitsitt has at least three player
situations to deal with. Clifford
Robinson, coming off perhaps his
best overall season, becomes a free
agent this summer, and Chris Dudley
has said he will opt out of his con
tract to test the free-agent market.
Robinson, the last remaining
than people thought w e’re only
going to get better.”
But the way Game 4 slipped away
Friday night wasn't easy for the
Blazers to take, especially for Kenny
Anderson, who wasjust I -for-8 from
the field in a bitter finish to what had
been a standout first season in Port
land.
“ I'll learn from this. I’ll take this
with me,” Anderson said. "Put me in
the same spot next year and I'll do
differently. Everyone needs to look
at themselves and do better next
year. I know I will.”
And Isaiah Rider, whose roller
coaster season on the court was
matched by his erratic behavior off
it, said the team shouldn’t be satis
fied.
“ We underachieved,” he said.
“We played well against this team
all year and then we couldn't beat
them when it counted. That’s disap
pointing."
player from the Blazers teams that
made it to the finals in 1990 and
1992, wants to sign again with Port
land.
"That’s my plan, but we’ll see,”
he said.
Atop the list of priorities is a new
contract for Rasheed Wallace, who
averaged better than 20 points per
game in the playoffs. The Blazers
see Wallace, 22, as a budding super-
star. After an inconsistent rookie
season in Washington, Wallace blos
somed in Portland, and the front
office would like to lock him up in a
long-term contract rather than al
low him to play out the final year of
his rookie pact next season
“ I enjoyed playing with C liff
and all the guys and I enjoyed the
season on the W est C o a s t,”
Wallace said. “ I’m hoping we all
come back and have a better sea
son. I lot o f people doubted us. I
feel good that we came farther
YMCA Hosts Midnight Basketball Tournament
The Midnight Basketball League
o f the N orth/Inner NE Fam ily
YMCA will host a fun night basket
ball. Local teenagers in North/
N o rth e ast P o rtla n d w ill play
against Key Bank o f Oregon and
Portland Public School (PPS) Po
lice Department which patrols the
schol where games are played.
The event is scheduled to take
place on Friday, May 16 at Ports
mouth Middle School, 5103 N.
Willis Blvd. The event will begin at
7:30 PM.
Sergeant G eorge W eatheroy
from the Police Department will
begin the evening with a positive
message to the youngsters.
Tip-off time is scheduled for 8:10
PM. There is no cost to the commu
nity for entrance.
This is an annual event held by
the YMCA to directly involve its
donors and supporters o f the pro
gram. This will be the first year that
the PPS Police Department will par
ticipate.
Two separate games are sched
uled; first will be Key Bank and
second the PPS Police.
Portland Power Drafts Milton
Power Takes DeLisha Milton of
Florida with Second Overall Pick in
1997 ABL Draft
DeLisha Milton, the 1997 Wade
Trophy winner as the nation’s top
senior women’s basketball player,
was selected second overall by the
Portland Power in Monday’s Ameri
can Basketball League (ABL) draft,
conducted via conference call from
San Jose.
“I think DeLisha makes us an
instant contender - there’s no reason
we can’t start thinking (about the)
playoffs,” Power coach Lin Dunn
said Monday. “DeLisha is a great
person, and that was a priority for
our team, to have someone come to
our team that would have an impact
on this community.”
Milton, a 1997 Kodak first team
All-American and the 1997 South
eastern Conference Player of the Y ear
led the Gators to this year’s NCAA
Mideast Regional Finals, where
Florida fell to eventual national run
ner-up old Dominion. A native of
Riceboro, Georgia, Milton averaged
19 points and nine rebounds per game
during her senior season.
The Power, holding the second
pick in each of the six rounds, se
lected 6-1 forward LaTicia Morris
from Auburn in the second round at
number 11 overall. Morris was
named the Most Valuable Player of
the 1997 Southeastern Conference
tournament and averaged 18 points
per game last year.
In the third round, Portland stayed
in the SEC, adding 5-9 point guard
Elaine Powell of Louisiana State with
the 20th selection overall. Powell,
was LSU’s leading scorer during
1996-97, averaging 18 points per
game.
In the fourth round, Portland added
6-3 forward-center Erin Scholz from
the University of Colorado, an hon
orable mention All-American and
first Team All-Big 12 selection. The
team’s final two picks were 5-11
guard Markita Aldridge, who ap
peared in a handful of games for
Portland last season, and 5-10 guard
Charmin Smith from Stanford.
In the first round, all nine ABL
teams chose either a forward or a
center, and two teams traded away
their first round selection. With the
first overall selection, the ABL” s
new expansion team in Long Beach
took 6-4 veteran forward Yolanda
Griffith, who starred at Florida At
lantic University.
Portland followed with the 6-1
Milton at number two, and the New
England Blizzard then selected 6-7
center Kara Wolters from the Uni-
versityofConnecticutthird. Wolters,
who signed a three-year contract with
the ABL last week, had been as
signed to the Blizzard as a Regional
Draft Pick,
With the fourth selection in the
first round, the Seattle Reign then
took NCAA Player of the Year Kate
Starbird from Stanford. Starbird,
from Tacoma, signed a multi-year
pre-draft contract with the ABL on
April 22nd and was assigned to the
reign as a Regional Pick.
With the fourth selection in the
first round, the Seattle Reign then
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took NCAA Player of the Year Kate
Starbird from Stanford. Starbird,
from Tacoma, signed a multi-year
pre-draft contract with the ABL on
April 22nd and was assigned to the
Reign as a Regional Pick.
With the number-five choice in
the first round, the Atlanta Glory
selected 6-3 center Tracy Henderson
from the University of Georgia, fol
low ed by 6-3 center C larisse
Machanguana of Old Dominion,
taken by the San Jose Lasers.
The first draft-day trade took place
when the Colorado Xplosion sent
the number seven pick and forward
Charlotte Smith to the Seattle Reign
for center Tari Phillips and the
Reign’s third round pick - acquired
from Long Beach in a trade for Cindy
Brown - number 19 overall. With the
seventh pick in the first round, the
Reign grabbed 6-1 forward Shalonda
Enis from Alabama.
La’Keisha Frett, and All-Ameri
can who from Georgia who signed
with the ABL on Friday, was then
selected eighth overall by the Rich
mond Rage, the 1997 ABL runner-
up.
The first round closed with an
other trade, as the ABL Champion
Columbus Quest sent the last pick
in the first round to the New England
Blizzard.
The adult teams are made up by
Key Bank employees o f various
branches and officers o f the PPS
Police Department.
The teenagers playing are con
sistent participants of the Midnight
Basketball Program played at Ports
mouth Gym.
The YMCA has sponsored this
program at Portsmouth Middle
School over the past two years and
overal for the last six years, the
program runs 28 weeks per year,
including a summer session at
Roosevelt High School. There is
no cost to the youth. Teams are
formed and organized and players
actually show up 80% o f the time.
The second week o f each session
is the cutoff for new players.
C lk C l e a n e r s
1014 N Killingsworth
Portland, Oregon
735-2989
T
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