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C6 The Daily Journal Wednesday, February 28, 1 990 SIXTH MAN Coming off the bench and making a difference fL fwnsvnJ Vy Top college teams rely on sixth man By LEE CREEK Gannett News Service The sixth men on the nation's top college basketball teams sit and watch the early action in games closely. They are reserve players, but they know there is no substitute for being prepared. Sixth men frequently have as much or more pressure, challenge and frustration than their starting teammates. But while they seldom get the publicity given starters, their roles frequently are just as important and they aren't overlooked by coaches or teammates. Forward Moses Scurry of the Nevada-Las Vegas tries to make sure he isn't ignored by anyone.

He said his goal is to do something positive for the team as quickly as possible. "I want to give the team an emotional lift and get the crowd into it, he said. "I'm so used to coming off the bench now that if I started, I probably wouldn't have a good game." "He's the perfect sixth man for us," Rebels' coach Jerry Tar-kanian said. "He just goes in and bangs." When UNLV needs a back-court replacement, Stacy Cvij-anovich gets the call. Most teams have at least two players classified as sixth men, with playing time depending on what position needs the most help.

There is not a huge dropoff in talent when either of UNLVs sixth men enters the action. That, for most teams, is the key to success. "I've always felt that if you could make a substitition and not hurt your team, it is an advantage," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. Jerome Harmon doesn't hurt Louisville. In fact, he is thought by many experts to be college basketball's top sixth man.

The 6-foot4 sophomore from Gary, if LSU. Johnson, a 6-5 forward, moved out of the lineup when Coach Jim Boeheim inserted Michael Edwards at point guard. The Orangemen promptly reeled off four straight victories. "It's tough giving up a starting position," Boeheim said. "But when you know you're doing it to get a point guard in the lineup, and it's not because you're playing badly, it makes it easier." And Johnson, who said the move was necessary, quickly adjusted to his new role.

"He was right about my playing better off the bench," he said of Boeheim. "Rebounding for sure. I wasn't rebounding the ball that well, and I'll attest to that And the team has been playing good with Edwards in the starting lineup, so I'll do whatever I can to help." Coach Dale Brown took Roberts, who started the season weighing 288 pounds, out of the lineup until he gets his weight down. "Stanley will not go into the starting lineup until he loses 15 pounds," he said. "He never was in as great a shape as we would have liked.

I don't think it's going to affect him. In fact, I think it will make him play better." Roberts, who has lost 10 pounds since being benched, was a highly touted recruit out of high school, and his previous bench-sitting days had been few. Still, he said he's using it to his advantage. "I'm comfortable coming off of the bench, but it has been sort of an adjustment for me," he said. "I'm getting in better shape.

It's starting to get easier for me running up and down the floor." Most all of college basketball's sixth men have had to make an adjustment from being starters, and in some cases, stars, in high school to their new roles. For Scurry, the adjustment has not been that difficult "Starting and coming off the bench are about the same thing to me," he said. "I'm used to it now. It's a mental thing for me to think they're the same thing. I believe I'm in the right role." Reserve firepower Here are the sixth men for some of coHege basketball's top teams.

Name Height Class Jerome Harmon 6-4 So. Travis Ford 5-10 Fr. Dave Johnson 6-5 So. Demetrius Callp 6-1 Jr. JohnGwynn 6-0 Jr.

Moses Scurry 6-7 Sr. Jimmy Oliver 6-6 Jr. Stanley Roberts 7-0 Fr. William Davis 6-8 Jr. Bob Johnson 6-5 Sr.

Source: GNS Research said that when he gets the call, he must produce instantly. "I feel the pressure some," he said. "I think that's what our fans and coach (Denny) Crum looks for, for me to come in and spark the team. I understand that. Any coach is going to want his sixth man to come in and contribute, hopefully as much as the starters are doing.

That strengthens us as a team." And Crum likes the fact that Harmon, who averages 14.8 points a game while playing an average of 24.9 minutes, doesn't need much time to get into the flow of the game. "He doesn't need to get warmed up to shoot the ball, and he can get it in the basket from almost anywhere," he said. "He gives us a lift every time he comes in." Louisville has had some outstanding sixth men during Crum's tenure, including Pancho Wright and eventual pro basketball star Darrell Griffith. "Jerome is as explosive and as productive per minute played as any player I've ever had," the coach said. For Scurry and Harmon, the sixth-man role means instant offense.

But Purdue's Jimmy 01- School touisvills Missouri Syracuse Michigan Connecticut UNLV Purdue LSU Oklahoma LaSalle Mia 24 9 22.8 19.9 17.0 17.3 15.0 23.0 27.2 23.6 22.0 Pts. Reb. t4.8 3.8 6.5 1.7 7.7 2.7 7.6 1.3 0.5 1 8.3' 4.2 14.7 10.5 16.0 8.3 8.2 3.9 Carolynne Miller, Gannett News Service iver and LaSalle's Bob Johnson have different approaches. "It takes a while for you to get warm and get into the flow of the game," Oliver said. "It might take five minutes before I can get 'into' the game and find out what's really going on.

"If I'm in the game, I'm in the game and I've got to produce. But if I'm not in the game, I've got to keep an eye out to see what's going on just in case he (Coach Gene Keady) says, 'Hey, Jimmy, go in for Keady likes it that way, for all of his reserves. "When they come in, they know pretty much what we expect of them, and they've had five or six minutes to watch what the other team is doing, so that gives them an edge," he said. "The tough part is coming in and being cold. We tell our kids not to shoot the ball until they've been in for awhile, to get loose." Johnson said he likes to concentrate on defense and rebounding when he first goes onto the floor, if the situation allows.

"As a starter you have to come right out, and if you weren't prepared to play it shows in the beginning of the game," he said. "Coming off the bench, you have AP Laserphoto Jerome Harmon of Louisville, a sophomore, is considered to be the best sixth man in college basketball. He averages 14.8 points per game. a chance to get yourself prepared and see what the team needs." Freshman Travis Ford was the sixth man on Missouri until this week, when guard Lee Coward injured his wrist He now has moved into the starting lineup. He was an offensive star in high school at Madisonville, but he hasn't relied on his shooting to earn his playing time.

"He's been in somewhat of a shooting slump," Coach Norm Stewart said. "But he has not let it affect the rest of his game. "We just tell him to make sure he does like a baseball player who strikes out a lot You make sure you get your glove, play good defense and do the rest of the game. If you do that, you're helping out the team." Several teams have former starters now in the role of sixth man. Among them are Scurry, Dave Johnson of Syracuse and 7-foot freshman Stanley Roberts of Salle's Johnson used to not starting a.

If By LEE CREEK Gannett News Service La Salle's Bob Johnson is a rarity among sixth men in major college basketball in that it isn't a new position for him. While most college players were prep stars, he was the sixth man during his senior year in high school. "My junior year when I transferred to Southern (South Philadelphia High School), they were pretty much secure in the front line," Johnson said. "Coach wanted to start a senior. But I was playing like I was a starter." That continued at La Salle, although two years ago he did start the first 15 games of his sophomore season.

But he doesn't worry about not starting anymore. "I've gotten past that," Johnson said. "My sophomore year I wasn't too happy, but I could see I was still playing. I just didn't have the pre-game hype of getting my name over the P.A But I knew in the last few minutes of the game, I'd be in there because I was one of the top five players on the team." As a junior, the 6-foot-5 forward averaged 11.5 points a game. This year, he's averaging 22 minutes, 8.2 points and 3.9 rebounds a game.

While being a sixth man in college basketball pretty much eliminates his chances of being drafted by the National Basketball Association, it doesn't mean he can't continue in his role after college. "Maybe I can get in through the back door," Johnson said, eying possible free-agent status. "Maybe a team is looking for a role player. Maybe I can be a sixth man in the NBA" Here is look at the sixth men of some of the nation's top teams, including height, class, position, hometown, average minutes played, points per game and rebounds per game: Connecticut: John Gwynn, 6-0, Hillcrest Heights, 17.3 10.7 1.7 reb. Duke: Greg Koubek, 6-6, Clifton Park, N.Y.

Averages 18.7 5.9 3.0 started 11 games; Billy McCaffrey, 6-3, Allentown, 16.3 8.3 Brian Davis, 6-6, Capital Heights, Md 13.4 5.4 Thomas Hill, 6-4, F-G, Lancaster, Texas, 12.7 4.3 2.4 reb. This new tax may force doctors to raise their fees. AP Laserphoto BOB JOHNSON La Salle's Sixth man Georgetown: David Edwards, 5- 10, New York. 20.7 5.8 Ronny Thompson, 6-4, Washington, D.C., the coach's son, 15 5.0 Michael Tate, 6-7, Oxon Hill, 13 3.7 ppg. Kansas: Mike Maddox, 6-7, Oklahoma City, 18 9.2 3.4 started one game; Terry Brown, 6-1, 185, Clyde, N.Y., 16.5 12.1 2.5 reb.

La Salle: Bob Johnson, 6-5, Philadelphia, 22 8.2 3.9 reb. Louisiana State: Stanley Roberts, 7-0, Hopkins, 5. started 16 games, 27.2 14.7 10.5 among leaders in Southeastern Conference in blocked shots. Louisville: Jerome Harmon, 6- 4, G-F, Gary, 24.9 14.8 3.8 reb. Missouri: Travis Ford, 5-10, Madisonville, 22.7 6.4 ppg.

and 3.6 assists. Has been among nation's top five in free throw percentage this season. Nevada-Las Vegas: Moses Scurry, 6-7, Brooklyn, N.Y., 15 8.3 4.2 Stacy Cvijanovich, 6-3, Oxnard, Calif. 11.5 3.2 ppg. Oklahoma: William Davis, 6- 6, Kansas City, started 13 games, 24.7 16 8.3 Smokey McCovery, 6-2, LaPorte, Texas, 24.7 12 2.9 reb.

Syracuse: Dave Johnson, 6-5, F-G, Morgan City, started 15 games, 19.9 7.7 Tony Scott, 6-8, Rochester, N.Y., 12.9 5.1 Rich Manning, 6-10, North Highlands, 13.3 3.4 ppg. 1977 the State Department of Insurance decided to activate the New Jersey Medical Malpractice Reinsurance Association. The Association offered who were never insured by thatAssociation. The Medical Society of New Jersey believes that such a proposal is both unfair and illegal, and is suing to prevent the Department from creating a malpractice insurance crisis. The Society maintains that the Insurance Department must be held accountable for mismanagement of the Association and for causing the $64 million deficit.

doctors insurance in competition with a carrier owned and operated by doctors. The State Government produced a $64 million loss and the Insurance Department wants to fund that loss by taxing doctors Your County Medical Society and The Medical Society of New Jersey 2 PRINCESS LAWRENCEVLLE, NJ 08648.