NCAA Has Turned Game Over to Hotshots : NATIONAL PREVIEW

Forget Wilt Chamberlain for a minute. Forget George Mikan, and Bill Russell, and Alcindor-Jabbar, and Patrick Ewing.

Think of Bob Cousy, and two-handed set shots. Think of Gail Goodrich, and trajectories that returned the basketballs to Earth with frost on them. Think of long shots, and we don’t mean underdogs.

This should be the year shooting comes back to college basketball. No more dunk-a-rama. No more four-corner passing until you can force the ball into the big fella for a finger-roll or a foul. No more wondering whether any of these players with high shooting percentages can actually shoot.

The new long-distance rates--three points for a shot that travels farther than 19 feet 9 inches--is designed to bring the lost art of shooting back to a game that was not designed for dudes as tall as Manute Bol. Had Dr. Naismith known how huge human beings would get, he would have nailed that peach basket to the top of a telephone pole. Assuming that, by then, Don Ameche had gotten around to inventing the telephone.

Dunking is all well and good, and nobody wants to outlaw it again. Guys like Darrell Griffith and Dominique Wilkins have brought new pizazz to college basketball with their high-wire acts, and Lorenzo Charles of North Carolina State even won a national championship game with a stuff that dreams were made of.

But unless somebody intends to hoist the hoop higher, or launch a Division B for players 6-4 and under, something has to be done to bring the shootists back, to save basketball for sons and daughters whose parents can stroll through a doorway without ducking.

In Jason Miller’s play, “That Championship Season,” Coach Delaney claims he cannot even stand watching anymore: “The game’s changed. They shoot down at the basket now.” Yes, they do.

But thanks to the new three-point law, college basketball should have more stop ‘n’ pop than at any time since dunking was licensed. And although some coaches and players are complaining that the three-point range is too close, they forget that that’s the idea: To encourage them to shoot at will, rather than in desperation.

So, in the season that has just begun, we should get to see marksmen such as UCLA’s Reggie Miller, Indiana’s Steve Alford and Nevada Las Vegas’ Freddie Banks fire when ready. And, of course, spectators won’t have to file toward the door when a team leads by 15 points with 5 minutes to go. Some small, skinny kid on the bench might even enter the game at that point as designated shooter.

Is the distance too short?

Miller says 19-9 is “almost an underhand shot.” According to Doug Altenberger of Illinois, “An eighth-grader could make that shot.”

But when cocky shooters start shooting and missing under pressure, they will have to decide whether to risk the coach’s wrath by going for broke. It could turn college ball into a playground game, or sort out the heads-up kids from the deadheads.

Other new developments in college basketball include the much-discussed Proposition 48, an academic crackdown that has cost some schools--Michigan, in particular--immediate help from hotly recruited freshmen. Many coaches--Indiana’s Bob Knight, for one--subsequently have rid themselves of their disdain for junior college transfers, and will use them. As for the JC kids, they are still trying to rid themselves of the stereotype that a JC kid is not a smart kid.

There are new coaches all over the map, with USC, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio State, Houston, Memphis State, Stanford, Navy, Northwestern, Bradley, Boston College, Fresno State, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Wichita State among those adjusting to new regimes.

Some left because they wanted to. Some didn’t. Lefty Driesell left Maryland under a cloud. Dana Kirk left Memphis State under hot pursuit from the law. Dick Versace was told his new contract would be his last contract, due to impending NCAA sanctions, so he beat Bradley to the punch. Minnesota hired Clem Haskins to straighten out a program blighted by conduct unbecoming human beings.

From a talent standpoint, Louisville, winner of two of the last seven NCAA championships, could do it again, and maybe that would finally be enough to earn Denny Crum a national Coach of the Year honor. North Carolina will be very good--no kidding--and Georgia Tech’s preseason No. 1 ranking last season might have been a season too soon. The Yellow Jackets should be good, even without Mark Price.

Watch out for Kansas with Danny Manning, Syracuse, Alabama, Oklahoma, Western Kentucky, UNLV and at least four Big Ten teams--and if you like sleepers, you’ll like Pittsburgh. Navy has David (Top Gun) Robinson, but not enough else to win the whole shebang.

You want tall? The Marist Red Foxes, from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., have a 7-3 Dutchman named Rik Smits at center, a 6-11 Yugoslav named Miroslav Pecarski at forward and a 7-footer from Guadalupe named Rudy Bourgarel to back them up. Nervous Pervis Ellison, the 6-9 teen-ager who was center and MVP for Louisville’s national champions, might move to forward to make way for 7-1, 270-pound Felton Spencer.

You want small? Tyrone Bogues is back, all 5-3 of him, at Wake Forest. He’s good, too. Might even make Small-American. And, eek, don’t forget Mouse McFadden of Cleveland State. Then there is that 5-5 guard from Cincinnati with the appropriate name, Russell Shorter.

You want new? Here comes Tito Horford and the University of Miami (Fla.), which no longer just plays football. (But hey, wouldn’t that Testaverde make a pretty fine small forward?) Everybody wanted Tito. Nobody could hang onto Tito. Now, at last, we will get to see Tito, starting Dec. 20, when he becomes eligible.

You want an All-American first five? OK, try 6-11 Manning of Kansas and 6-7 Reggie Williams of Georgetown at forwards, 6-11 Robinson of Navy at center and Kenny Smith of North Carolina alongside Indiana’s Alford at guards.

Then make room for Ellison or Miller or Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins at forward, and for Duke’s Tommie Amaker or Notre Dame’s David Rivers at guard.

Five sophomores to follow: Tommy Hammonds, 6-8, Georgia Tech; Charles Shackleford, 6-9, N.C. State; Melvin McCants, 6-9, Purdue; Glen Rice, 6-8, Michigan, and (thank heaven for normal-sized guys) Pooh Richardson, 6-1, UCLA.

Here’s the lowdown on the major races and conferences:

Pacific 10 Conference--Times are tough. No school west of the Rockies has reached the Final Four since 1980. No team from this conference has won an NCAA tournament game since 1984. Postseason play last March was so embarrassing that not only did Arizona and Washington lose their first-round NCAA games, but UCLA and Cal lost their opening NIT games--to UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount, yet.

Arizona looks good again, although the Wildcats would look a lot better coming off a 23-9 season if they had deadeye Steve Kerr. He tore up a knee in the World Championships last summer and will sit out this season. Arizona’s big hope for this season is 6-8 sophomore swing man Sean Elliott. UCLA should provide the big challenge, with Reggie Miller bombing from the three-point line and behind.

If you want a better deal this season, go see Cal. The Bears were 19-12 last season and could get considerably better if 6-9 Dave Butler’s surgically repaired knees hold up.

USC is replacing a coach and several runaway players but won’t be as bad as some people think.

Projected finish: 1. Arizona; 2. UCLA; 3. Cal; 4. Washington; 5. Stanford; 6. Arizona State; 7. USC; 8. Oregon; 9. Washington State; 10. Oregon State.

Atlantic Coast Conference--At the smoke-filled Dean Dome, along North Carolina’s Tobacco Road, heat will be generated by the vastly underrated 6-10 Joe Wolf and speedy guard Kenny Smith. J.R. Reid, a 6-10 freshman and the nation’s No. 1 recruit, also is on the premises. As usual, Dean Smith has North Carolina talking trophies.

Georgia Tech will be solid as long as 6-4 Bruce Dalrymple is around, and Hammonds could become a killer. Tech probably will challenge North Carolina alone, now that N.C. State has lost Chris Washburn to the pros, but with Shackleford on the boards, N.C. State cannot be dismissed easily. Nor, of course, can Duke’s team--or Duke’s crowd.

Projected finish: 1. North Carolina; 2. Georgia Tech; 3. Duke; 4. N.C. State; 5. Clemson; 6. Virginia; 7. Maryland; 8. Wake Forest.

Big Ten--Had Michigan not lost prep stars Terry Mills and Rumeal Robinson to Prop. 48, all would be cool. Now, the front line needs patching. But the Wolverines did pile up 115 points against Bradley in their season opener, so look out.

Indiana remains the favorite because of Alford and some unprecedented junior college help. Daryl Thomas could be good, if Coach Bob Knight doesn’t hit him with a chair before the season ends. They do not exactly get along.

Iowa should be fine under new coach Tom Davis, who left Stanford when George Raveling took the USC gig. The Hawkeyes also lost their top recruit to academics, as did Illinois. This will not help the Big Ten crack the Final Four for the first time in five years.

Projected finish: 1. Indiana; 2. Illinois; 3. Michigan; 4. Iowa; 5. Purdue; 6. Ohio State; 7. Michigan State; 8. Northwestern; 9. Minnesota; 10. Wisconsin.

Big East--No longer as dominant as in the days of Ewing, Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Pearl Washington, the Big East will still be tough. And after years of dragging tail, Pittsburgh’s time finally might have come. Yes, Pitt’s no longer the pits.

All the Panthers needed was discipline, so Coach Paul Evans was hired away from Navy. That ought to do it. Watch 6-5 Demetrious Gore and 6-10 Charles Smith soar, and watch Evans yank them the minute they start their free-lance foolishness.

Syracuse has a big man and a big dome. Rony Seikaly is 6-11 and promising, but terribly raw. If he improves, last season’s 26-6 record can be duplicated.

Georgetown? Reggie Williams and pray for rain.

Projected finish: 1. Pittsburgh; 2. Syracuse; 3. Villanova; 4. Georgetown; 5. St. John’s; 6. Seton Hall; 7. Boston College; 8. Providence; 9. Connecticut.

Southeastern Conference--Three of the four finalists in last season’s NCAA Southeast Regional were from this conference. LSU made it as far as the Final Four, despite losses related to injury, grades and chicken pox.

Kentucky, 32-4 under Eddie Sutton but upset in the regional, lost Kenny Walker to graduation but would have remained powerful had 6-7 Winston Bennett not been hurt. His status could prove the difference between decent and great.

Beware of Alabama and Auburn in this “off-season” sport of theirs. Both lost All-American forwards--Buck Johnson and Chuck Person, respectively--but Alabama still has most of its starters left, and Auburn does, as well.

Projected finish: 1. Alabama; 2. Auburn; 3. Kentucky; 4. Florida; 5. LSU; 6. Georgia; 7. Mississippi; 8. Tennessee; 9. Mississippi State; 10. Vanderbilt.

Big Eight--Although Kansas is supposed to rely on tradition, Coach Larry Brown still has trouble recruiting against schools that appear constantly on TV. With Danny Manning back from last season’s 35-4 Final Four team, Brown’s club might be seen early and often.

Projected Finish: 1. Kansas; 2. Oklahoma; 3. Missouri; 4. Iowa State; 5. Kansas State; 6. Nebraska; 7. Colorado; 8. Oklahoma State.

Metro--National champion Louisville could be even better. The hard part is replacing an entire backcourt. But Ellison, Spencer and 6-7 Herbert Crook could make up an awesome front line. This team has nine players on its roster 6-7 or taller.

Projected finish: 1. Louisville; 2. South Carolina; 3. Southern Mississippi; 4. Florida State; 5. Cincinnati; 6. Memphis State; 7. Virginia Tech.

Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.--Banks and friends will be cranking them up from long range for Nevada Las Vegas. The rebels were 33-5, but this season they may slip as far as 30-8.

Projected finish: 1. UNLV; 2. Cal State Fullerton; 3. San Jose State; 4. Fresno State; 5. UC Irvine; 6. New Mexico State; 7. Utah State; 8. Cal State Long Beach; 9. Pacific; 10. UC Santa Barbara.

Southwest--This conference was lousy last season. Only one team, Texas Tech, made the 64-team NCAA field, and it lost in the first round. This season? Not much better.

Projected finish: 1. Arkansas; 2. Texas Christian; 3. Texas Tech; 4. Houston; 5. SMU; 6. Texas A&M; 7. Texas; 8. Baylor; 9. Rice.

Sun Belt--Western Kentucky, impressive in spoiling Notre Dame’s season opener, will be exciting under new Coach Murray Arnold. Maybe even Final Four material.

Projected finish: 1. Western Kentucky; 2. Alabama Birmingham; 3. Jacksonville; 4. South Alabama; 5. Old Dominion; 6. Virginia Commonwealth; 7. South Florida; 8. North Carolina Charlotte.

Missouri Valley--Tulsa has a couple of Okies from Muskogee, the Rahilly brothers, 6-11 senior Brian and 6-9 freshman Jeff. They are more promising than interesting, but Coach J.D. Barnett also has high-scoring Trady Moore and David Moss and a team that understands defense. Conference opponents averaged 54.8 points a game last season.

Projected finish: 1. Tulsa; 2. Bradley; 3. Drake; 4. Wichita State; 5. Creighton; 6. Illinois State; 7. Southern Illinois; 8. Indiana State.

Atlantic 10--Temple has been in four straight NCAA tournaments and should make it five. Bill Cosby, your alma mater looks strong. Big up front and a nice backcourt with Nate Blackwell and Howard Evans.

Projected finish: 1. Temple; 2. West Virginia; 3. St. Joseph’s; 4. Duquesne; 5. Massachusetts; 6. Penn State; 7. Rutgers; 8. St. Bonaventure; 9. Rhode Island; 10. George Washington.

Independents--No way that Notre Dame, with Rivers still getting over an auto accident, will go 23-6 again. No way DePaul will go to the third round of the NCAA tournament again unless gifted Dallas Comegys gets his act together. Miami of Florida broke even in its first season back in basketball, and now, here comes Tito. The 7-1 Horford, the big one who got away from LSU, will not be eligible until the Dartmouth game in December. Eric Brown, a 6-6 sophomore who led the Hurricanes in scoring and rebounding, also returns.

Marquette and Dayton will be good, not great. New Orleans, rarely good, might be great.

A guesswork Final Four: Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Arizona, Michigan.