C's Crush Wizards 98 - 77

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

It looks like Adrian Griffin will make the team...

      Boston Herald

      Sheppard leads C's: Former Wildcat prowls for Pitino
      Summer League Notebook/by Mark Cofman 
      Tuesday, July 27, 1999
      The Celtics opened their Shaw's Pro Summer League schedule last night at 
      UMass-Boston's Clark Athletic Center with a 98-77 victory over the 
      Washington Wizards.
      Jeff Sheppard, a 6-foot-3 free-agent guard who played for Celtics coach 
      Rick Pitino at Kentucky, was impressive with a team-high 14 points and 
      three steals. Tony Battie and Walter McCarty, the two contract players 
      representing the Celtics, added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Boston 
      native Randell Jackson had a game-high 19 points for the Wizards.
      Another impressive free-agent hopeful for the Celtics was 6-5 Adrian 
      Griffin, who had 12 points and eight rebounds. Griffin, a former Seton 
      Hall star and last season's MVP in the CBA, also played well for the C's 
      earlier this month at the Fila Pro Summer League in Long Beach, Calif.
      Pitino has kept a watchful eye on the versatile swingman, one of the 
      favorites to earn a regular roster spot with the Celtics for the upcoming 
      season. Griffin will play for the team here throughout the week.
      Ellison aches to return
      Pervis Ellison was expected to play for the Celtics this week, but the 
      oft-injured center was scratched yesterday because of swelling in his 
      right ankle. Ellison, sidelined last season after undergoing November 
      surgery to repair ligament damage in the ankle, had worked out with the 
      C's over the weekend in Waltham before he was shut down. He's not expected 
      to play this week.
      The timing of the Shaw's Pro Summer League has effectively stolen much of 
      the thunder of the Nike Beantown Basketball League, which begins its 
      playoffs tonight at Boston College's Conte Forum. The Beantown League, 
      with rosters made up of pros and collegians, is in its fourth year.
      Celtics guard Dana Barros and Minnesota's Bill Curley, both local products 
      and ex-BC stars, were the only NBA players to take part this season. The 
      league generally attracts a larger nucleus of NBA players, including 
      multiple members of the Celtics.
      The Beantown quarterfinals and semifinals are tonight and tomorrow, 
      beginning at 6:40 p.m. each night. The league championship game is 
      scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, an off day for the Shaw's Pro Summer 
      League.
      Mohammed lifts 76ers
      Nazr Mohammed, who played for Pitino at Kentucky, played well for 
      Philadelphia in the opening game. Mohammed collected 13 points to share 
      team-high honors with Larry Hughes and added eight rebounds in 30 minutes, 
      but the 76ers dropped a 64-62 decision to New York. Salem's Rick Brunson 
      had seven points and eight assists for the Knicks.
      Larry Brown doesn't miss a beat. The 76ers coach was busy guiding the 
      United States team to victory over Canada on Sunday, wrapping up a 10-0 
      record in the Tournament of the Americas Olympic qualifying in Puerto 
      Rico. Yesterday, he was at Clark Athletic Center bright and early to take 
      notes on prospective players for his team.
      Bird refuses to delegate
      Larry Bird was the only head coach of the seven NBA teams here to maintain 
      coaching duties yesterday, calling the shots in the Pacers' 123-71 rout of 
      the German Select Team. Assistant coaches handled the chores for the 
      others, including Jim O'Brien with the Celtics, Randy Ayers with 
      Philadelphia, (ex-Salem State coach) Tom Thibodeau with New York, Tree 
      Rollins with Washington, Butch Beard with New Jersey and a Dwane Casey/Bob 
      Weiss tandem with Seattle.
      Former Providence star Austin Croshere was the star of Indiana's runaway 
      victory over the German squad with 30 points. Vladimir Stepania collected 
      21 points to lead the SuperSonics to an 85-79 victory over New Jersey in 
      Game 3.