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Duhon wows on and off court
Posted: Wednesday March 29, 2000 11:39 AM By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com BOSTON -- Chris Duhon, the McDonald's National Player of the Year, has had a chance to show off his intellectual smarts and his basketball skills. An excellent student (his GPA has been above 3.5 in every semester of school), the Duke-bound guard says going straight to the NBA has never even crossed his mind, and that he plans to spend four years in college and get his degree. Duhon, from Slidell, La., Salmen, is ostensibly a point guard, but like Blue Devils incumbent Jason Williams, he is just as effective off the ball (Duhon won the three-point contest Monday and averaged 23 points this season). While he looks forward to being able to learn at a more relaxed pace than Williams, who was thrust into the lineup immediately, Duhon still plans to earn a starting position. "I have really high expectations of myself and I definitely want to be in the starting five," he says. Duhon is quite a character. When asked about the prospect of a backcourt featuring a pair of McDonald's National Players of the Year -- Williams was the 1999 honoree -- Duhon smiles and hams it right up: "That only spells one thing: dynamic." He was also overheard ribbing the towering Neil Fingleton, who has signed with North Carolina, during practice. "He's a North Carolina guy, so there's hatred right there," Duhon says with a smirk. "I don't care how tall he is, 7'6" or 12" or 11" or whatever. If he's a North Carolina guy, you hate him just as much as all of them."
Nuggets
Michigan State signee Zach Randolph, a 6'9", 270-pound space-eater from Marion, Ind., scored 20 points as the West beat the East 90-85 in a scrimmage Tuesday afternoon. ... Fingleton, ironically, hails from Durham. In England, though, not the North Carolina city that's home to Duke. ... This is how you know they're still kids: Seton Hall-bound Eddie Griffin scavenged through press kits on his way out of the media room, grabbing coupons good for a free Extra Value Meal at McDonald's. ... While Darius Miles was doing interviews, future St. John's teammate -- but Wednesday-night opponent -- Omar Cook walked by and whispered, "We're gonna kill y'all." ... Best tattoo: On Cook's upper right arm is stenciled a lion wearing a crown with a basketball in its mouth. Above the image are the words "King of N.Y." ... Four members of the team are undecided about college plans: Travon Bryant from California, Jerome Harper from South Carolina, Darius Rice from Mississippi and Garner Meads from Utah. All are expected to make announcements any day now, with the spring signing period in a couple weeks.
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