P.I.T. News Wrap-Up

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Dobbins 'surrounded by so much talent here' 
No behind-the-back passes or pull-up 3's. Just fundamentally sound basketball. 


BY DAVE JOHNSON
Hampton Roads Daily Press
Published April 9, 2004

PORTSMOUTH - Maybe the five rows of pro scouts at Churchland High, each one on a mission to find talent, will recognize the substance. Tony Dobbins is plenty of things, both on and off the basketball floor. He's a tough, smart, dependable, hard-working kid. If you want flash and style, look elsewhere.

Then again, games in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament do tend to become a series of one-on-one displays wrapped up in a glorified pick-up game. Players like Dobbins, a 6-foot-4 guard who led Richmond in rebounding as a senior, tend to be overlooked. Like Wednesday night, when Dobbins scored nine unspectacular points in his team's first-round victory.

 				
 	 		 	
 				
 				
"You're surrounded by so much talent here," said Dobbins, whose Tidewater Sealants play in tonight's first semifinal game at 7. "And the reality of the situation is that no matter what people's intentions are - and most of the guys here are unselfish players - this is for everyone's future. So in a way, you have to go out and impress. People wouldn't be here if they didn't have the skills to excel in one-on-one situations.

"You can't fault guys for doing that because they have the talent and athletic ability. But the fact of the matter is, the better you do as an eight-man unit, the better you'll look as individuals."

Dobbins had his moments Wednesday, like when he hit a nice bank shot from eight feet and pulled down a rebound in traffic. And, yes, the crowd noticed his reverse dunk. Dobbins had three assists, two steals and one turnover in 28 minutes. As usual, he did nothing to hurt his team.

Yet he also didn't hit a shot from the perimeter, and that's the No. 1 knock on him. In his three seasons at UR, Dobbins shot a shade better than 40 percent and hit 28 3-pointers. Compare that to PIT teammate Timmy Bowers of Mississippi State, who hit 71 treys this season alone.

"If he had a jump shot," said an NBA scout who asked not to be identified, "there'd be a lot more interest in him."

Dobbins has heard that kind of comment before. No matter how many hours he puts in - and it's a lot of hours - he'll never be a pure shooter. That jumper he knocked down to beat Kansas in January looked nice. But that wide-open 22-footer a couple minutes into Wednesday night's game barely drew rim.

"No one goes into a professional situation as a polished player," he said. "But you develop. The thing I've focused on is to continue doing the things I do well now and then add to different facets of my game as my career progresses. I did that from my freshman year to my senior year. Hopefully I'll have a chance to play after this, and each year I can just add more to my game so that by the time I'm finished I can be a complete player."

He has most of the other areas covered. Dobbins became the first player in Atlantic 10 history to be named the conference's defensive player of the year in consecutive seasons. He led the Spiders in rebounding at 7.6 per game along with assists and steals. He was second in scoring (11.1 points a game) and blocked shots (28).

"Only people who understand basketball know how much he changes the game," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said a few weeks back.

If Dobbins became accustomed to anything in his college career, it was coaches. When he signed with Virginia Tech in November of 1998, Bobby Hussey was the Hokies' head coach. But before Dobbins arrived, Hussey had been fired. So Dobbins played for Ricky Stokes as a freshman and averaged 4.7 points a game. But after playing 50 minutes in the final six games, he transferred to Richmond.

Dobbins played a season under John Beilein, averaging 9.9 points a game. But after Beilein left for West Virginia, Jerry Wainwright became his new coach. Dobbins got in two seasons under Wainwright, starting 32 games as a senior.

"Changes can be tumultuous, especially for a young person, but I think it made me a stronger individual in the end," Dobbins said. "All of those guys, no matter what their system was, their main concern was taking care of every player in their locker room, and they did a great job of it. At no time did anybody hang me out to dry. They all had my best interest at heart, so I think it made me a better player and a better person."

djohnson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, 247-4649 


David Squires: After March Madness, April fever at Churchland 
Daily Press
Published April 9, 2004

PORTSMOUTH

Are you a college basketball addict who broke into a cold sweat seconds after Connecticut polished off Georgia Tech to become NCAA champion?

 				
 	 		 	
 				
 				
Did you head back over to your favorite sports bar one night later to watch the UConn women handle Tennessee in a real championship-caliber game?

Well here's another quick fix - and you can be so close to the action, you can reach out and touch it.

It's the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, now in its 52nd year. This is where more than 60 of the nation's top college seniors have gathered at Churchland High School to impress NBA scouts and executives, as well as representatives from foreign leagues.

Also, in attendance are agents, college coaches and - the real winners - more than 3,000 of you, the fans.

I'm wondering why more of you don't drop by and fill up the 4,000 available seats.

Since Wednesday players such as Brandon Mouton of Texas and Luke Whitehead of Louisville have been paired into teams that compete to make Saturday's night's championship.

During Thursday's afternoon session, Whitehead, a forward, scored 18 points to lead his Holiday Inn team to an 89-83 win over the Portsmouth Sports Club, which got 17 points from Luis Flores, the dynamic guard out of Manhattan.

At only $8 per session, or $25 for an entire tournament pass, this is a serious basketball best buy.

For Daniel Carrera, 40, of Hampton, and his son, Jonathan, 9, it was much more - something like one shining moment.

Jonathan is working as a ballboy for the event; Dad came as chaperone - and serious fan.

"That's Connecticut's point guard (Taliek Brown)," Daniel Carrera said. "Three days ago he was in the Final Four.

He then approved his son's quest to go get an autograph.

"I'm a basketball enthusiast," said Daniel, a Chicago native who played as a walk-on at Wisconsin, in Chicago's summer leagues and in pickup games with Michael Jordan. "This is just great to be around the college players, the coaches, Tubby Smith, Larry Bird. This is amazing."

By the end of Thursday's afternoon session, Jonathan had collected the autographs of Brown, Mouton, Darius Rice of Miami, Cliff Hawkins of Kentucky and Demon Brown of Charlotte.

"It feels real good," Jonathan said. "I was excited about getting to meet a lot of ballplayers."

His only disappointment is that no players here are from Duke or North Carolina.

But three players are from Kentucky - Hawkins, Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels - with a serious fan of their own in their head coach, Smith.

"I'm here to support my players, to visit with them and to answer any questions that someone, such as scouts, might have about my kids," Smith said.

Smith and tournament organizer James "Booty" Baker say they do not believe the Portsmouth event has been made less relevant by many of the better players forgoing parts or all of their college careers.

"It's a great opportunity for these players to showcase their talents to scouts and coaches in one place," Smith said.

"I think everybody from the NBA is here."

Baker agrees that early NBA entrants from the U.S., as well as foreign players, are cutting into the number of jobs for seniors, but there are still many positions available.

"So we bring in as many as we can to help Marty Blake and the NBA scouting service," said Baker, who points out that executives such as Jerry West, and this year for the first time, Bird, are not coming to town for Virginia's beaches.

"We have more draftable people here than ever," Baker said. "The talent level here is the best we've ever had."

Baker said that one of the reasons for the rise in talent is that a similar tournament in Phoenix quit operating three years ago.

Baker noted that 26 of last year's PIT participants were selected to advance for further screening at Chicago's Moody Bible College, where they were joined by early entrants from the U.S. as well as foreign players hoping to enter the draft. And 13 of the PIT 26 were drafted by NBA teams.

In-state players here include Bryant Matthews of Virginia Tech and Mike Skrocki of Richmond, but not Adam Hess of William and Mary or Dominic Jones of Virginia Commonwealth, the CAA's player of the year.

"Hess' and Jones' names were on the list" sent to NBA brass for final selections, Baker said. "But the 50 people who select felt they wanted to see other people."

Need another reason to attend?

Proceeds fund local scholarships.

David Squires can be reached at 247-4639 or dsquires@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


Pack's Melvin Hopes to Catch NBA's Eye 
NC State forward in Portsmouth for annual event. 
April 8, 2004 
By Tony Haynes 
Raleigh, N.C. - By putting together a strong senior season at NC State, Marcus Melvin certainly enhanced his NBA Draft status. Now the versatile 6-8 forward from Fayetteville hopes to raise his stock even more by performing in front of league scouts and general managers that will gather for this week's pre-draft camp in Portsmouth, Virginia. The Portsmouth Invitational, which opened on Wednesday, is an annual showcase that allows college seniors to show off their basketball skills over a four-day period. 
In his final season with the Wolfpack, Melvin averaged 14.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range and 81.3 from the free throw line. Melvin, who was named to the All-ACC second team, led the Wolfpack in 3-point field goals with 59. 
To go along with his scoring, Melvin evolved into a very good rebounder and a much-improved defender by his final season, two attributes that were rarely noticed as much as his offensive prowess. 
		

"He's been a special player for us," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "I can remember writing him notes, whispering in his ear, yelling in his other ear that rebounding had to be more prevalent in his game. This past year he really took that to heart; he clearly was our best rebounder and he also was a very underrated defensive player. The way he helped off the ball and the way he covered for his teammates really went unnoticed by the casual observer." 
A total of 64 players are invited to the Portsmouth Invitational, which features 11 games over four days. The field of participants is broken down into eight teams featuring eight players. The team on which Melvin will play features, among others, Western Kentucky center and Florida State transfer Nigel Dixon, Texas forward Brian Boddicker and Providence forward Marcus Douthit. 
Two other ACC seniors - Georgia Tech's Marvin Lewis and Jamar Smith of Maryland - were also invited to participate.